Recruitment and selection to specialty training in Scotland 2008
May 2008
Additional training opportunities commencing in Scotland in August 2008 were advertised in the BMJ on 10 May 2008 at the following link: http://careers.bmj.com/careers/view-job.html?id=7817 and on the SHOW website (http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/) on 17 May with application details. If you have not received a training offer for August 2008, please ensure you keep checking these websites regularly.
April 2008
Swap Shop
A Swap Shop which will allow candidates to request a geographical sector swap with a candidate in another geographical sector opened on Monday 21 April until noon on Thursday 24 April 2008. To access the Swap Shop, candidates who have accepted an offer should log into their home page on the MMC Scotland website and select from the sector swap options, which is available from Monday. On Thursday 24 April, NHS Education for Scotland will process the swap requests and inform applicants of the outcome. The system will match swap requests based on applicant rankings.
If you are successful in obtaining a swap, you will be deemed to have accepted the new geographic sector offered to you.
Clearing process
If you applied to a specialty training programme and were unsuccessful in securing an offer of a placement in Scotland in the three wave offer process, please ensure that you continue to check your email as appointable applicants in specialties with any remaining posts were contacted by NHS Education for Scotland by email on Friday 18 April. Candidates were invited to select from remaining available programme places in the specialties to which they originally applied and asked to indicate the posts they would be prepared to accept. Candidates have until 5.00pm on Monday 21 April 2008 to do this. Posts will then be offered to applicants in ranked order on Tuesday 22 April 2008.
For further details, please download the latest MMC Scotland update as a Word document.
NES has advised that by 27 April 2008, NHSScotland Boards will have received all details for successful applicants and they will then start the formal pre-employment check and employment contract process.
March 2008
There were 827 run through programme vacancies and 426 FTSTA vacancies available and a total of 6654 applications were made to specialties in Scotland. The three wave offer process began on 26 March.
Short-Listing Statistics by specialty and level
The MMC Scotland team has published a table on the MMC Scotland website showing the number of candidates shortlisted by specialty and level. View the table here. A table showing the number of candidates that have been offered an interview in each specialty and level will be published shortly.
Feedback to unsuccessful candidates
Candidates not shortlisted for interview in Scotland were emailed their individual shortlisting scores during the week beginning 31 March 2008. Those candidates wishing for further feedback, including candidates who were unsuccessful at interview, can obtain this from the relevant recruitment team by submitting the feedback request form.
Complaint and Appeal Process
The MMC Scotland team has published the arrangements for complaints and appeals on the MMC Scotland website. The deadline for candidates to submit their complaint to NES is 30 April.
NES has advised that if candidates who are currently an FHO1 or FHO2 in Scotland are unsuccessful at the end of the 2008 offer process they should contact their Foundation Tutor in the first instance for guidance. All other trainees within Scotland who are unsuccessful have been advised to contact either their educational supervisor or postgraduate tutor in the first instance.
Trainees can also use the BMA careers advice service.
Programme preferences within Scotland and linked applications
Candidates shortlisted for interview(s) will be contacted by NES by email the week commencing 3 March and invited to select preferences for the programmes available to them. Every effort will be made to match them to their first choice preference, depending on their interview score and number of training opportunities available. Candidates will have until 17 March to finalise their choices. Details of the process for selecting programme preferences were published in the MMC Scotland newsletter issued on 27 February.
At the same time as ranking programme preferences, applicants will have the option to type in the candidate identification code of the candidate they wish to be linked with. Further details about linked applications are available in the MMC Scotland newsletter issued on 27 February and also in the Applicant's Guide.
Details about programmes in Scotland can be found via the programme links on the MMC Scotland website.
MMC Scotland 2008 Offer Methodology
The Offer Process begins in Scotland on 26 March and full details of the three wave process are available in the Applicant's Guide.
NHS Education for Scotland has advised that the methodology used to determine offers is based on an applicant getting the best possible offer depending on their interview ranking, stated specialty and geographic (sector) preferences, the level to which they applied, their ST or FTSTA preference and the number of vacancies available.
Accepting Offers from elsewhere in the UK
Applicants may begin to receive offers from elsewhere in the UK prior to the Scotland offer process. The MMC Scotland team have advised that candidates should be reminded of the GMC Good Medical Practice when they are making their decisions and in particular paragraph 49.
Candidates may also wish to refer to the JDC FAQs which provide advice about accepting offers from English deaneries.
GP Applications
The MMC Scotland team published guidance about GP programmes and preferences in Scotland and guidance on the Stage 3 Scotland Selection Centre in the MMC Scotland newsletter published on 28 February.
February 2008
Interview offers and formats
Applications to specialty training in Scotland closed on 18 January 2008 and applications to GP closed on 20 January 2008.
If you have applied to a specialty training programme in Scotland, please ensure you review the recruitment timeline and the interview schedule.
From 6 February, NHS Education for Scotland recruitment teams will start to issue interview and selection centre invitations to short-listed applicants by email and will advise candidates of their next steps. Please ensure you regularly check your email over the next few weeks as NHS Education for Scotland does not have specific dates for when interview invitations will be issued as recruitment teams will complete short-listing at different times.
NHS Education for Scotland has advised that candidates will have 72 hours in which to respond to the email and if candidates do not respond to the email within the time allowed, the interview offer will be withdrawn and offered to the next ranked applicant. Candidates who are not offered an interview will be emailed by NHS Education for Scotland confirming this.
The selection centre process for GP applicants is being handled by the National Recruitment Centre - please ensure you check the Applicant's Guide for detailed information.
Details of the interview formats can be found on pages 29 - 30 of the Applicants Guide.
The Interview Expense Claim Form, Guidance Notes and list of HR contacts for further information have been published on the MMC Scotland website.
NHS Education for Scotland have advised that, while every effort will be made to avoid clashing dates in Scotland, it will not be possible to make alternative interview dates once they are fixed. If you are shortlisted, you will need to decide which interviews you wish to attend and you should contact NHS Education for Scotland if you are unable to attend an interview to which you have been invited and which you have accepted.
Please remember that if you are experiencing any problems please do not hesitate to contact us so we can monitor and raise these with NHS Education for Scotland, if necessary.
Time off for interviews
Most employers understand the need to release you from your duties so you can attend interviews, but this is at their discretion. Although employers are not obliged to release staff to attend interviews for new jobs we would hope that they will be sympathetic to your situation and understanding of the importance of the interview to your future career, and a compromise will be able to be negotiated. If you experience difficulties you should call askBMA on 0870 60 60 828.
As soon as you have made your applications you should inform your consultant/supervisor and medical staffing of the applications you have made and that you may need time off to attend interviews. Once you are aware of the range of interview dates you should pass this information on as well.
As soon as you have confirmation of an interview you should request time off and where possible make arrangements with colleagues to swap shifts. Be prepared to take annual leave if necessary.
Important announcement regarding GP training opportunities
If you have applied to GP training programmes in Scotland, please be aware that NHS Education for Scotland has made an important announcement regarding the potential for further GP training opportunities for August 2008.
JDC FAQs
The JDC has developed FAQs in response to queries it has been receiving, which include advice for applicants applying to or already working in Scotland. There is also detailed information regarding the recruitment and selection process in the Scotland Applicant's Guide and numerous FAQs produced by the MMC Scotland team.
Offer process in Scotland
NHS Education for Scotland will offer successful applicants their ‘best possible preference’ offer based on their specialty and deanery preferences.
There will be three waves of offers, details of which are fully explained in the MMC Applicant’s Guide. As this is a complicated process, we strongly recommend you read this information, and the information in your offer email, carefully. Please ensure you also familiarise yourself with the offer deadlines - if you do not respond on time, this will be interpreted as a rejection and you will be excluded from any further recycling of offers.
December 2007
Applying to Specialty Training programmes in Scotland
Applications to Specialty Training Programmes in Scotland open from 4-18 January 2008.
The new MMC Scotland website that will support the application and recruitment process to Specialty Training in Scotland went live on 10 December, and can be found at here. The site includes: the Applicant’s Guide; FAQs; person specifications for each specialty; and the structured applications forms for each specialty.
If you are applying to specialty training programmes in Scotland, please ensure you:
- check the MMC Scotland website regularly;
- sign up via the MMC Scotland homepage to receive email alerts and newsletters from the MMC Scotland communications team, which will keep you informed about any developments concerning the application process;
- register your interest in applying to specialty training programmes in Scotland via the facility on the MMC Scotland home page, which is now live. You will then be allocated your unique reference number and will need to follow the registration process;
- read the Applicant’s Guide and FAQs available on the MMC Scotland website which provide detail about the application process and making your application;
- review the Structured Application Forms available on the MMC Scotland website for each specialty you wish to apply for and start to plan your application;
- review the person specifications for each specialty you wish to apply for to ensure you apply at the right level for you;
- review the programmes available in Scotland for August 2008, which will appear on the MMC Scotland website shortly;
- from 4 January 2008, use your unique reference number to complete your application form(s) relevant to the specialty/ies and level you wish to apply to.
Given the scarcity of extra training places, we are pleased that the CMO has recently confirmed that there will be some conversions of FTSTAs to run through training posts. These will be mainly at ST3 and some at ST4 levels, giving experienced FTSTAs and returning researchers opportunities to compete fairly for run through training posts.
What the SJDC is doing to represent you in MMC
The SJDC represents you on each of the Scottish Specialty Boards for Training and the new Scottish Specialty Training Programme Board and Recruitment & Selection Delivery Board, which ensures we are inputting the views of trainees at each level. Despite misgivings about some aspects of the process, we have remained fully involved in order to get the best possible outcome for those applying to specialty training programmes in Scotland.
So far we have successfully lobbied for:
- an expansion in the number of vacancies available in many specialties;
- no restrictions on the number of applications a candidate can make;
- a structured application form with specialty specific questions and many fewer ‘white space’ questions than previous years;
- revised person specifications;
- the removal of plans for references to be scored;
- further run through training programme places to be offered for August 2008;
- an offer process which allows candidates to know their individual score and ranking for each specialty they have applied for;
- the ability to hold a training programme offer whilst waiting to see if an offer in a higher choice specialty/geographical region is made or an ST from FTSTA upgrade;
- the ability to submit linked applications.
- the Scottish Government to create enough run through training vacancies to absorb doctors currently in FTSTAs and research fellows who wish to re-enter training;
- improved communication with applicants;
- robust IT systems to support the recruitment process. SJDC has insisted that the proposed allocation computer system must be fit for purpose and “tested to destruction” and a paper-based backup process planned in event of its failure.
The Scottish Government Health Directorates has set up a new Specialty Training Programme Board and new Selection and Recruitment Delivery Board for 2008. BMA Scotland is pleased to have representation on both Boards.