Microsoft Word - CST- Supplementary Applicant Handbook

2021 Core Surgical Training

CT1/ST1

Supplementary Applicant Handbook

Introduction

The National Recruitment Office for Core Surgical Training is Health Education England – London

and Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex are recruiting to posts on behalf of England, Scotland,

Northern Ireland and Wales.

Working alongside the Royal College of Surgeons we manage a centralised process aimed at

delivering a fair and consistent process for all applicants.

For more information about Core Surgical Training please refer to the Royal College of Surgeons

website.

For careers advice please visit the Health Careers Website.

Detailed information including person specifications, competition ratios and the national medical

specialty recruitment applicant handbook are available on the national specialty training website.

This handbook aims to provide applicants with information regarding the 2021 Core Surgical Training

CT1/ST1 recruitment process.

General information regarding recruitment to all specialty training posts is available on the national

Specialty Training website and in the 2021 Applicant Handbook. These can be accessed via the

links below:

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/

Please note that all communication with applicants will be via Oriel, or via

the contact details you provide as part of your Oriel application. You must

ensure that your contact details are correct and kept up to date throughout

the recruitment process.

Summary of changes for 2021 recruitment

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak there will be some changes to the way the recruitment process will

run in 2021. Details of these changes are provided throughout this handbook in conjunction with

central guidance issued by the national recruitment team that applies across specialties. You can

find the central guidance in the resource bank of the HEE specialty training website

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Resources-Bank. You must read both this Supplementary

Handbook and the Medical Specialty Applicant Guide before beginning your application.

CST recruitment has 2 models for assessing applications in 2021: plan A and plan B. We are

planning to assess all applications using plan A throughout 2021 recruitment, however, in the event

that the COVID-19 pandemic worsens to the point where plan A cannot be completed (for example if

interviews need to be cancelled due to clinician or administrative team availability) then we will

switch to plan B. Plan B will consist of selection by the validated self-assessment score alone. All

applicants will be notified via Oriel if a switch to plan B is required.

Plan A for recruitment will involve the following stages (which are outlined in more detail in the

relevant sections of this handbook):

1. As part of the Oriel application form you will be asked to provide a self-assessment score

depending on your personal achievements. Please see advert-linked document ‘2021 CST

Self-Assessment Guidance for Candidates’ for full guidance on how to complete your self-

assessment scoring.

2. Your self-assessment score, as submitted on your application form will be used to shortlist.

The top scoring 1100 applicants (approximately) will then be invited to upload evidence of

their achievements to the Evidence Upload Portal

3. The evidence you upload will be reviewed by surgical consultants. They will verify that you

have claimed the correct number of points and can change your score if they feel your

evidence merits a different score from your self-assessment. This produces your verified

evidence score. Applicants will be given the opportunity to appeal, more information on this

process will follow after the application closing date.

4. After the evidence verification process is complete, the highest scoring 960 applicants

(approximately) will be invited to attend a remote interview

5. A combination of your verified evidence score (1/3 of total score) and scores at interview (2/3

of total score) will be used to determine your final total score and ranking.

Plan B

Plan B will follow the same stages as plan A except that there will be no remote interviews. An

applicant’s verified evidence score then becomes their total score and this is used to determine

rankings. Please note that we will only switch to plan B in the event that plan A cannot be completed

due to COVID-19.

Timeline and Key Dates

Core Surgical Training CT1/ST1 recruitment will follow the below timeline:

Activity

Date(s)

Advert appears

Monday 2 November 220

Applications open

At 10am on Thursday 5 November 2020

Applications close

At 4pm on Tuesday 1 December 2020

Evidence upload portal opens

Wednesday 23 December 2020

Evidence upload portal closes

Thursday 7 January 2021

Results of evidence verification

released to applicants and appeals

window opens

Thursday 21 January 2021

Appeal window closes

72 hours after results of evidence verification are

released to applicants

Invite to Interview sent on

Tuesday 9 February 2021

Interview Dates

Monday 22 February – Friday 5 March 2021

Preferences open date

Monday 8 March 2021

Preferences close date

Tuesday 16 March 2021

Initial offers released by London &

Kent, Surrey and Sussex (on

behalf of all regions)

By no later than Monday 19

April 5pm on Thursday

18 March 2021

Hold deadline

At 1pm on Friday 16 April 2021

Upgrade deadline

At 4pm on Monday 19 April 2021

Interview scoresheet release date

To be confirmed

Please note that all dates are subject to change, appropriate notice will be given to applicants

should changes be required.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you are an applicant that wishes to request reasonable adjustments, please go to:

https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/tickets/new?form_15=true

For further information, please refer to the ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guidance’ that can be found on

the webpage below:

https://www.lpmde.ac.uk/laserecruitment/applicant-enquiries-renamed

Self-assessment and submitting an application

All applications must be submitted on Oriel before the national deadline of 16:00 (GMT) on

1/12/2020. Under no circumstances will late applications be accepted.

Providing a self-assessment score is a mandatory part of your application form. Please see advert-

linked document ‘2021 CST Self-Assessment Guidance for Candidates’ for full guidance on how to

complete your self-assessment scoring.

If you are a dual qualified (medical and dental) applicant, please note the following when

completing your employment history on the Oriel application form:

• If you are a dentistry first applicant call your pre-medical jobs ‘Dental’ and avoid the term

SHO. Completing your MRCS does not preclude you from applying to CST.

• If you are a medicine first applicant and you have worked in surgical specialities before

dentistry, doing your second degree ‘resets the clock’ on the 18-month limit of surgical

experience. You may have to provide evidence of maintaining your foundation training

competencies whilst studying for your dental degree.

Longlisting

Longlisting is the process of checking that applicants meet the minimum requirements to be eligible

for a Core Surgical Training post. You can find the eligibility criteria on the person specification here:

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Recruitment/Person-specifications. More information about

longlisting can be found in the Medical Specialty Recruitment Applicant Handbook in the resource

bank: https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Resources-Bank

Shortlisting

As the number of expected applications for CST exceeds the maximum capacity for both the evidence

verification process and remote interviews, shortlisting will be done in two stages for 2021 CST

recruitment.

The first stage will use the self-assessment score provided as part of the Oriel application form to

decide who will progress to the evidence verification stage. Applicants who score highly enough in

their self-assessment will be invited to upload evidence for their claimed score to the evidence upload

portal between 23/12/2020 and 7/1/2021.

Guidance on how to score your self-assessment can be found in the advert-linked document ‘2021

CST Self-Assessment Guidance for Candidates’

Therefore, it crucial that you complete your self-assessment honestly and accurately at the

time of application. It is not possible to change your self-assessment score after you have

submitted your application under any circumstances.

Any instances where applicants are found to have deliberately over-scored their self-

assessment may be treated as probity concerns. This may lead to being removed from the

recruitment process or a referral to the GMC.

Submitting Supporting Evidence

Applicants will be provided with further instructions about how to upload evidence to the portal after

the application closing date. Applicants should ensure that they present the evidence in the requested

format. Failure to do so could result in your evidence being rejected and/or the self-assessment score

being revised downwards.

Failure to submit all evidence by the stated deadline will result in your application being withdrawn by

the recruitment team.

Recruitment administrators will not be able to upload evidence on behalf of applicants and once the

deadline for submission has passed, applicant access to the evidence portal will be withdrawn.

Evidence Verification

The second stage of shortlisting is the evidence verification stage. Submitted evidence will be reviewed

by consultant surgeons and verified against the self-assessment scoring criteria. Where the evidence

submitted does not match the self-assessment score awarded, the verified score will be adjusted

accordingly.

On completion of the verification process applicants will be sent their verified score together with the

verification panel’s feedback explaining any changes to score. Where the applicant disagrees with

the verified score awarded, they can lodge an appeal.

If the applicant self-assessment score differs significantly from the assessor score then

applicants should expect to be contacted by an assessor as part of a probity process. Please

ensure that your contact details on Oriel are correct and kept up to date as these are the details

that will be used to contact you.

Appeals against verified scores must be lodged within 72 hours of the scores being sent to applicants.

No additional evidence can be submitted but you can request a review of the evidence already

submitted via the portal. Your appeal request should clearly explain why you feel that the score should

be adjusted, based on the evidence that was initially submitted and verified. Appeals received after

the 72-hour deadline will not be considered.

Appeals will be reviewed by consultant surgeons who will decide whether verified scores should be

changed or not and you will be informed of the outcome. The outcome of the appeal is final and there

is no further recourse for dissatisfied applicants. Disagreements over self-assessment scores fall out

of scope of the MDRS Complaints Policy.

Once the evidence verification and appeals processes have been completed then the applicants with

the highest verified scores will be invited to book an interview slot via Oriel.

Interview Booking and Interview Process

Applicants will need to book an interview slot using their Oriel account. Slots are offered on a first

come first served basis and will need to be booked by the deadline stated in the invitation to

interview. Further information on how to book an interview slot can be found in Oriel Applicant User

Guide.

All interviews will be undertaken online using Microsoft Teams between Monday 22

February and

Friday 5

March 2021.

There is an Applicant Declaration which all applicants must agree with and adhere to in order to sit an

online interview. The Declaration also contains a list of vital steps you must undertake before the day

of interview. You can find a copy of the Applicant Declaration here:

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/portals/1/Content/Resource%20Bank/Recruitment%20Document

s/2021%20Recruitment%20Applicant%20Declaration.pdf

As soon as the link to join the online interview has been received, applicants should ensure that they

test this from the device they plan to use for their interview as you may need to source an alternative

device to ensure connectivity if you experience any issues. Any applicants unable to connect should

contact the recruitment team at the earliest opportunity. When testing the link, applicants should reach

a screen that states that the host will commence the meeting shortly or similar wording. If you are

unable to connect directly from the link, try pasting the URL link into the browser, or try using an

incognito browser.

On the day of the interview, each applicant should click on the link and join the call 5 minutes prior to

their allocated time. Before the interview commences, applicants will be briefed on the interview

process and will be required to confirm their identity with the interview administrator. It is therefore

important that applicants have suitable photographic ID available (passport or UK photo driving

license). In addition, applicants will be required to move their camera to show the entire room where

they are undertaking the interview, to confirm that nobody else is present. Once identity has been

confirmed, the administrator will advise the interview panel that the interview process can commence.

Applicants should ensure that their camera and microphone are turned on and working correctly prior

to joining the call. Interviews will be terminated where the panel cannot see the applicant.

The interview must not be recorded by either the applicant, the administrator or the panel members.

On completion of the interview, the applicant should terminate their connection to the call and the

interview process is complete.

Interview format

The interview will consist of one 20-minute interview station with 2 sections completed in the

following order:

1. Management question lasting for 10 minutes

2. Clinical scenarios lasting for 10 minutes

There is no break in between the management and clinical questions and they are asked by the

same panel members.

The remote panel will be comprised of a maximum of two consultants and there may also be a lay

representative on the panel whose role is to check for fairness and consistency.

The two sections contain the following components:

Management Section

- 1 pre-prepared 3-minute presentation. Applicants will receive the presentation title and

instructions via Oriel as part of the invitation to interview

- 2 minutes of questioning on presentation

- 1 management scenario question. The is question is provided during the interview and

encourages the applicant to think on their feet.

- 5 minutes allowed to answer question

Clinical Section

2 clinical scenario questions lasting 5 minutes each. These questions are provided during the

interview to encourage applicants to think on their feet.

Interview scoring criteria

The different sections of the interview will be scored according to the following points system:

Management Section:

Presentation

Content

0 – No Evidence

1 – Very Poor

2 – Weak

Presentation skills

3 – Satisfactory

4 – Good

5 – Excellent

6 – Outstanding

Questioning

Management Question

Probity & Professional integrity and

awareness of safety & ethics

0 – No Evidence

1 – Very Poor

2 – Weak

3 – Satisfactory

4 – Good

5 – Excellent

6 – Outstanding

Judgement under pressure &

prioritisation

Communication

Clinical Scenarios (each clinical question is scored separately according to the same

points framework):

Clinical skills & knowledge

0 – No Evidence

1 – Very Poor

2 – Weak

3 – Satisfactory

4 – Good

5 – Excellent

6 – Outstanding

Judgement under pressure &

prioritisation

Communication

Preferencing

Preferencing of posts will be available prior to offers being made. You will be able to preference

posts between Monday 8 March 2021 and Tuesday 16 March 2021. After the first iteration of offers

are made (date TBC), preferencing will reopen between offer iterations, in light of enhanced

preferencing.

For guidance on how to submit your preferences please refer to the Oriel Applicant User Guide.

For full guidance on enhanced preferencing, please refer to ‘Offer Exchanges/Enhanced

Preferencing in the 2021 Medical Specialty Applicant Handbook:

https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank.

Applicants may preference either traditional 2-year Core Surgical Training posts, 2-year uncoupled

Improving Surgical Training (IST) Pilot Posts, run-through IST pilot posts (in General Surgery,

Vascular Surgery, Urology or Trauma and Orthopaedics), the run-through Otolaryngology pilot

programme, the run-through Paediatric Surgery Pilot programme or a combination of any of these.

Detailed information about the Improving Surgical Training programme is available at

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/careers-in-surgery/trainees/ist/

Further information and guidance will be released in due course regarding the different types of

programme available and how to submit your preferences.

Offers, references and scoresheet

Following interview all applicants will receive a total score, a unique ranking and will be deemed

successful or unsuccessful and will be informed of this via Oriel.

One third of your total score will be your verified evidence score. One third will be your score in the

management section of the interview and one third will be your score in the clinical section of the

interview.

Offers will be made to those successful applicants that have ‘matched’ to a post and will be based on

the applicant’s ranking and preferences. Initial offers will be made via Oriel on Thursday 18 March

2021.

Following initial offers being released, further offers will be made in subsequent iterations.

Applicants have 48 hours from the time of offer (excluding weekends) to confirm via Oriel whether

they wish to accept, reject or hold their offer. Offers made after the hold deadline will only have the

option to accept or reject.

References will only be requested when an offer has been accepted.

Scoresheets will be released to ALL applicants on Thursday 18 March 2021; therefore, you do not

need to request your scoresheets after interview.

Allocation

Once an applicant has accepted a Core Surgical Training CT1/ST1 post, their information will be

passed to their relevant region who will contact them directly to complete the allocation process.

Further information on how to request a deferred start date or training less than full time (LTFT)

can be found in the 2021 Applicant Handbook.

Next steps/roles and responsibilities

If you accept an offer of a training programme your details will be passed on to the local training

programme director around 14 weeks prior to your start date, and to the first trust you have been

appointed to 12 weeks prior to your start date. Therefore, you should not expect to receive any

communication from them prior to this time.

Enquiries and FAQs

Should you have any queries relating to the recruitment process for Insert Specialty you can contact

the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex recruitment team via our online enquiries portal -

https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home

Useful Links

Health Education England -

London and KSS

https://london.hee.nhs.uk/recruitment/london-and-kent-surrey-and-

sussex-lakss-recruitment

Oriel 2 Resource bank

https://new.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank

Oriel 2 home page

https://new.oriel.nhs.uk/Web

HEE Specialty Training

Website

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/

Royal College of Surgeons

IST website

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/careers-in-surgery/trainees/ist/

Core Surgery Recruitment

https://london.hee.nhs.uk/recruitment/london-and-kent-surrey-and-

sussex-lakss-recruitment