1. Career planning & getting your next job | A guide for F2s
Dr Ian Barton, Medical Careers Lead
NHS East of England Multi-Professional Deanery
Meeting name : date

2. Aims Discuss local careers support Building a comprehensive portfolio
Preparing for ST1 application
Application processes

3. Careers Planning
Career planning involves more than just choosing a career
e.g. How are you going to achieve your goal?
Self help: Complete the Deanery careers support form (even if you have a career plan) and follow the live links
It’s not too late to ask for some help i.e. a careers support meeting – you must complete the careers support form first
Stress the value of the careers support form to review careers plans even for those who have made a careers choice.

4. Getting the Most out of a Careers Support Meeting
What exactly do you need at the present time?
Choose the most appropriate advisor
Prepare for the meeting (complete the form!)
Remember it’s your problem, not your advisors!
Advisor: see next slide
No form means no meeting
Ensure trainee remains in charge

5. Who should you meet for advice
Educational supervisors
Relevant tutors/other specialists
Trust Careers Lead:
Deanery Careers Leads
Whoever it is, use the careers support forms
Generally it should not be necessary to speak to the Trust Careers Lead. The Deanery Careers Lead should only be approached in exceptional circumstances (e.g. the need for careers counselling in a failing trainee)
Stress the need to use the form as preparation and an agenda for the meeting

6. Latest version of the form (there have been over 25 previous versions
Latest version of the form (there have been over 25 previous versions!!). There is a score for satisfaction with career plans

7. Why and when to use the form
Self assessment
Puts you in charge
Evaluates where you are
Provides a framework
Develops a plan
Acts as an agenda for a careers meeting
Serves as a record for your portfolio
Justifies the use of the form

8. “Speciality Recruitment” section of the Medical Speciality Training website www.mmc.nhs.uk
Processes explained
Timelines
Person specifications
Competition ratios
By speciality
By deanery
Sample application forms
Moving on now to recruitment processes. The MST website is a MUST read at this time

9. Preparing your Evidence
Get a box file to save things you might need.
Keep everything!
Degree/exam certificates
Prizes
Certificates of attendance at teaching / courses etc Copies of papers/ presentations / audits
Keep your ePortfolio up to date
Try to put something in every week
Keep your CV up to date and targeted
Remind them that for most specialities we will go through their portfolio in the interview. If nothing else catches our eye, we will look at their reflective practice and their C.V. so make sure their C.V. is updated.
Take the opportunity to remind them to put something in their portfolios every week.

10. Showing you are committed
Do psychometric / aptitude tests
Do courses:
ALS
ATLS etc – if relevant
Surgical skills etc
College exams
Do a taster
Do relevant assessments
Sci59 is an aptitude test; Most Trust libraries have it and BMA members have access to it. It has never been validated and it doesn’t point enough trainees at general practice; the best way to use it is to analyse the answers to the individual questions rather than the final outcomes.
Psychometric tests, Belbin or Myers Briggs are best done properly with a face-to-face meeting with someone trained to interpret them. On-line versions are less useful. There is no evidence that particular personality types are more suited to particular specialities.
The Dean has agreed that Foundation trainees will be allowed study leave for the day of College exams but not to prepare for them

11. Appointment processes
Change every year
Different for different specialities
Most nationally coordinated
Assessed by first choice/Lead Deanery
Coordinated allocation process (NES)
No National clearing system for Round 1 for at least some specialities
Suggest you look at the latest version of the “Quick Guide to Speciality Recruitment” on the Medical Speciality Training website: (

12. Advertisement and applications
Check Deanery and College websites regularly
Advertised
NHS jobs
BMJ careers
National/Deanery websites
Narrow window
Don’t leave until the last minute!!!
Remind them that the majority leave it to the last day and that slows the whole system up so that last year some applications didn’t get downloaded until after the deadline and were therefore NOT considered

13. Application forms
Sample forms on Medical Speciality Training website (
Two parts to form
Part 1 not available to appointments committee
Answer all questions honestly
Incomplete forms will not be considered
Not on MST website for all specialities e.g. surgery at present
Dishonesty may result in your post being removed and/or referral to the GMC

14. Application Form Part 1 Personal details Eligibility to apply:
Registration
English language skills
Right to work in UK
Fitness to Practice
LTFT, deferred start, disabilities etc
Fitness to practice includes GMC referrals, criminal investigations etc
Deferred starts will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances (I’m unsure for other specialities but for CMT it will only be for statutory reasons (maternity leave)

15. Application Form Part 2
Section 1: Evidence of competence and experience
Section 2: Employment history
Including gaps
Section 3: Evidence of meeting selection criteria
Note that they have to be explicit about gaps

16. Evidence of Selection Criteria
Additional degrees
Prizes
Courses attended
Achievements outside medicine
Presentations and Publications
Teaching and Audit
(Meeting the person specification)
(Commitment to speciality)
Not all specialities have questions on the two areas in brackets

17. Rules for “white boxes”
Read each question carefully
Answer it exactly – every bit of it
Be succinct; good grammar and spelling
State situation, your involvement, reflect
Be relevant to speciality at ST level if possible
Do not plagiarise – be honest
Few white boxes nowadays
Write answers in word with word count on; Spell and grammar check them
Anti-plagiarism software is being used; trainees who have been caught have been struck off by the GMC

18. Interviews For specialities other than GP
Biographical (including portfolio)
Be prepared to talk about anything in your portfolio
Clinical scenarios
Ethical scenarios
Practical skills
No face to face interview for GP
Different for different specialities

19. General rules for interviews
Inform own team, rota coordinators etc
Arrange cover if needed
Try to anticipate questions and practice
Take the requested evidence with you
Appropriate dress and demeanour
Arrive in good time
Say if you don’t understand a question
Be yourself and be honest
Say what you believe not what you think the interviewer wants to hear
You will be told what evidence you need to bring with you e.g. certificates, passport, parts of portfolio

20. Process for General Practice
GP Recruitment website (
Application form as for other specialities
Machine Marked Test (MMT)
Selection Assessment Centre (SAC)
No interview
No review of your portfolio
Website gives all the most recent info

21. Machine Marked Tests Professional Dilemmas Clinical Problem Solving
Specialities other than GP which piloted MMTs in 2009 are not using them in 2010)
Example questions on the website
There are courses but the evidence is that those who go on courses do less well in the real thing!!!

22. Selection Assessment Centres
Written
Prioritisation
Three ten minute simulation exercises
Communication with patient
Communication with relative
Communication with a non-medically qualified colleague
Group exercise (Communication with peers) has been removed
Again there are example questions on the website
Group exercise removed as the behaviour of one individual (e.g. if very dominant) could adversely affect the performance of the others

23. Questions

24. Thank you