This was really helpful, doctor! I had one doubt..in the teaching section..when you summarised the feedback..did you create the tables yourself and did you have to get it verified? Because what if the interviewing consultant asks for the authenticity of all the feedback?
Thanks Jack, this was really helpful! To check, a surgical taster is something done specifically after med school? Or could I organise a week with a dept at my local hospital during med school? And do you know if things like courses are valid to put on portfolios indefinitely or do they kind of expire after some time? Thank you!!
Thanks! Surgical taster weeks are arranged after medical school (i.e. when you are a doctor). I doubt they would count a week in surgery during medical school because every doctor has had a surgical rotation in medical school. For courses, it is essentially up to the interviewer who marks your portfolio whether they accept a course that has expired (Such as ATLS), so I can't 100% give you an answer. When applying, I'd advise you to definitely put the course in your portfolio and let the interviewer decide. Ideally, the course would not be an expired one, but you might as well try. Best of luck!
Hi Bilal, great question! If it was a national competition (where anyone in the country could enter) then I would definitely recommend putting that in your portfolio. When I applied, they gave me points for runner up in a national competition, even though I didn't claim points for it initially (this doesn't happen all the time, I think I got lucky). My general advice is that if you can think of a justification for putting it in your portfolio, then you should do. It's rare to get accused for over claiming in your portfolio, unless you actually lie. Good luck!
@@Mr.Radiologist great thank you very much, they've recently changed the prizes to "recognised surgical institution", so would the royal society of medicine come under that?
Ah, I see - that is new since I was in surgical training! I've just looked at the portfolio scoring - If it was a national conference or meeting, then it looks like they'd give you full marks. Either way, definitely put it in the portfolio - it's up to you how you score yourself depending on which category it fits, but RSM isn't regional, it's national, of course. Good luck!
Thanks for the helpful video. 😇 Would like to know the difference between a taster & elective. Can electives be done after graduation as well? Can we get leaves for a taster week during a job like SHO/JCF?
Hi, in summary: Taster week - typically a 1 week period where you join a department and observe/shadow clinics, theatre, wards, etc. You organise this with the department and can take these during a SHO/JCF job, but you need to get study leave approved for it from your current educational supervisor. Elective - these need to be done in medical school and are typically a longer period (4+ weeks) in a department doing similar things to a taster week, except you have more time to undertake projects, audits, etc. If you have done an elective during medical school, you would need a signed letter from a supervising consultant to prove it. Hope that helps!
Hi it was a very informative video 👍 Can you pls clarify few doubts of mine...I'm currently in India, did my MS ENT(post-graduation) 1 yr back, waiting for my DOHNS OSCE results now and hoping to enter the st3 pathway in 1-2 yrs.. 1. Can you tell me when is the time application starts for st3 post and the evidence deadline? 2. From where do we get the scoring sheet for the same? 3. In ENT how many yrs r there in higher speciality training? From st3- st6/8 4.what are the usual scoring parameters for st3 ent which are achievable from abroad 5. Do u know any img who has entered ent in st3 post and can you pls help me contact them? 6. What is the usual cut off score to secure an interview seat in application scoring for st3? There are very few information about ent route out there..so it would be highly appreciated if you could help
Hi, I'm glad you liked the video. To answer your questions, most of the information can be found on the ENT ST3 recruitment website: www.yorksandhumberdeanery.nhs.uk/recruitment/national-recruitment/national-otolaryngology-ent-st3-recruitment Yorks and Humber deanery runs the specialty training recruitment. There is a recruitment timeline and on the right-hand side, there is the self assessment guidance which tells you how to score in your portfolio and I'm sure many of these could be achieved from abroad. 3. Specialty training is 6 years for ENT (ST3 - 8) 5. I'm afraid I don't know any ENT registrars who are IMGs 6. I don't know what the cut off is for interview, sadly. I got an interview last year with 70/100 portfolio points Hope that helps and good luck!
Hi, for the surgical taster week, it needs to be after graduating. For procedures for your logbook, it seems operations while a medical student count. It seems these people have uploaded the self-assessment checklist (coresurgicalprep.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022-Core-Surgical-Training-Self-Assessment-Scoring-Guidance-for-Candidates.pdf)
Thanks for sharing. I have some few questions and I will be glad if you could answer them. Does it matter when (i.e right from medical or after completing and working as a junior doctor) the individual begins to show interest and commitment to Surgery? Does the number of years one takes out of formal training have an effect on his/her chances of getting into CST? How correct is it that the total points gained is divided by the numbers of years from completing medical school and the time of applying. Thank you.
Hi, if you start wanting to do surgery earlier, then of course there is a slight advantage as you have more time to prepare, however don't let that put you off applying for surgery. If you really want to do surgery, then go ahead! Also, any audits or publications you have for other specialties will have some role to play in your application. CST is usually not affected by taking years out of training, however be careful as doing too much of a surgical specialty can affect ST3 applications as they can penalise you for having done too much (see ST3 application self assessment checklists for these). For CST, the number of years you take doesn't matter, however I am aware that for some specialties for ST3 application, they divide some your points by the number of years since foundation.
Hello, I am currently in the last year of medical school (6th year). Due to the education system in my country, I will try to count my last year as a foundation year after I graduate. I have an internship that meets the necessary conditions. Since I want to work in the surgical field, I have already started to fulfill the requirements in my portfolio. During this year, I actively took part in surgical operations. However, as I am from outside the UK/Ireland, I cannot register with the UK Pan-Surgical Logbook and formalize surgeries. How is the logbook entry of those living abroad accepted or what kind of logbook should I prepare? Is a registry approved by surgeons and hospital at my own writing acceptable? If you knows anything about this and can help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you
If you get a signature from a consultant/attending to confirm you did a taster week, it should count. It is good to include a timetable and some reflections on the taster week as well
Unfortunately, I believe you can only register in the UK as I believe it requires a GMC number and surgical consultants need to also have access to it. perhaps see if the country you are doing internship in has another kind of logbook that you can get signed by surgeons?
What is the minimum points required on portfolio to be called in for the interview ... and is 1 or 2 years enough to build a portfolio for cst , because there are certain aspects I cannot score at all like the extra degree and an award.
I would say that 1 to 2 years would be enough to build a CST portfolio if you focus on the high-yield points (audits, presentations, etc.). Most people don't have extra degrees beyond a BSc, anyway. It is possible to get an award within a year - I'd recommend looking at essay competitions - there are a lot of these around that many people don't know about. If you submit to a few, then you have a chance for a prize. Sorry, I don't know what the minimum points are for shortlisting for interview. I had heard people in the mid-40s last year got interviews, but I may be wrong. Aim for the most points you can get and good luck!
Essentially, you first need to find a good project supervisor, then a good project that is likely to be completed and is valuable enough to the surgical community for an international meeting to want to hear you present. The projects I've been involved with that were presented internationally were with supervisors that published regularly (i.e. professors and academics). They could direct me towards a good project and then, once completed, we submitted for international conferences. Please note, these projects were a LOT of work, ranging from 6 months to 2 years. National meetings are easier to get presentations at and you can get these with a good clinical audit, which will take you significantly less time so I'd recommend focussing on that if you are shorter on time. Hope that helps!
You probably can, I can't see anything in the core surgical training portfolio self-assessment to say you can't (coresurgicalprep.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022-Core-Surgical-Training-Self-Assessment-Scoring-Guidance-for-Candidates.pdf). It would be good to get experience in the UK as well, as surgery here may be practised differently to other countries. Whichever you choose, the most important thing is to get a signed letter from your consultant supervisor stating that you did a taster week (and how many days you did). Good luck!
@@Mr.Radiologist No what i meant was, if im doing general surgery and planing to enter CST pathway, as a surgical taster week, can I choose anaesthesia? Rather than choosing plastic sx,GU sx, orthopaedics
