Specialty recruitment models

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ST3 recruitment 2012 (round 1)

This page outlines the three differing recruitment processes that will be used by the 16 RCP-managed specialties in 2012 ST3 recruitment.

'UoAs'

Here, the term'UoAs' is used regularly – this stands for 'Units of Application', ie the bodies which will be used to organise recruitment locally.

In many cases, these are essentially the same as deaneries (eg 'Mersey', 'West Midlands', 'London', etc.) However, in some instances the bodies to which candidates apply may be smaller or larger than actual deaneries; eg 'East Midlands (North)', 'Severn-South West Peninsula', etc.

Please see the post information and deaneries/UoAs sections of this website for more information.

‹ The single cascadable application model ›

The Single Cascadable Application recruitment model

For 2012 ST3 recruitment, the RCP-SRO is pleased to announce that a new recruitment process will be piloted for eight of the 16 participating specialties, designed to maximise the chances of candidates being offered an opportunity to attend interview as part of their overall assessment.

Within these eight specialties, the DH Medical Programme Board Task & Finish Group has given the RCP-SRO permission to implement a ‘single cascadable application’ (SCA) model.

Here, candidates need only complete and submit one single application form per specialty (as opposed to two in previous years), stating (up to) four preferences of deaneries/UoAs at which they would wish to be considered.

Upon submission, under the SCA model all applications will then be allocated to deaneries based on the candidate’s stated preferences, and the scores awarded to the application forms.

Essentially, all applications submitted to a specialty will be ranked highest-to-lowest. From highest-scoring downwards, all candidates will then be invited to their first-choice deanery/preference; once the process reaches a candidate whose first-choice deanery/UoA capacity has been reached, that candidate will be invited to her/his second-choice preference instead; and so on, until either all candidates have been invited to interview, or until all interview capacity at preferenced deaneries has been reached.

Those of you who have had previous experience with the RCP-SRO CMT (now CT1) recruitment process will have had experience of this model before.

The following specialties are taking part in the SCA system and will benefit from interviewing more candidates:

acute internal medicine
cardiovascular medicine (formerly 'cardiology')
endocrinology & diabetes mellitus
gastroenterology
geriatric medicine
infectious diseases (and the associated specialties tropical med, med micro and med virology)
neurology
respiratory medicine.

More information on each specialty can be found on the relevant specialty page, within the specialties section of this website. However, for more information on the SCA model itself, please see the information lower down this page.

‹ Non-SCA recruitment in 2012 ›

RCP-SRO specialties

Of the eight remaining specialties participating in RCP-coordinated recruitment to ST3 in 2012, five will retain the 'two applications per specialty' method used in 2010 and 2011. These are:

dermatology
haematology
palliative medicine
renal medicine
rheumatology.

The remaining three specialties, which are likely to have smaller numbers of posts available, will allow candidates to apply via a single national portal.

Here, interviews are held centrally, and preferences (in terms of eventual deanery, trust, particular rotations, etc.) are sought of candidates at the interview stage. Therefore, there is no need to preference at time of application, and only one application is needed to cover all preferences.

These specialties are:

clinical pharmacology & therapeutics (CPT)
genitourinary medicine (GUM)
rehabilitation medicine.

For more information on applying to any of the eight specialties above, please see the relevant page within the specialties page of this website.

Summary

Please see the table below for a summary of the recruitment processes being employed across the different specialties:

	Single Cascadable Application	2 applications	National application
Specialties involved	- acute medicine - cardiovascular medicine - endocrinology and diabetes - gastroenterology - geriatric medicine - infectious diseases - neurology - respiratory medicine	- dermatology - haematology - palliative medicine - renal medicine - rheumatology	- clinical pharmacology & therapeutics (CPT) - genitourinary medicine (GUM) - rehabilitation medicine
Application	Applicants can only make one application per specialty, but can preference up to four UoAs on their application form.	Applicants can make up to two applications per specialty. All applications are entirely separate from, and independent of, each other.	Each specialty has just one UoA, covering all England & Wales deaneries - this will be a 'lead deanery' who coordinate the process, host interviews, etc. All applications will be made to this UoA. Applicants do not preference UoAs at this stage - this will be done at interview.
After applications close	An algorithm is run to determine which UoA each applicant will interview at. This is based on the short-list score awarded to the application form (see link). Any candidates who cannot be assigned a UoA will be notified; candidates that do not get their first choice preference will also be notified. Applications will be checked for eligibility after candidates have been assigned a deanery/UoA.	Application forms will be checked for eligibility by recruiters at the UoAs to which the forms are submitted.	Eligibility checks will be done by the lead deanery/UoA for each specialty.
Interviews	After eligibility checks, the assigned UoAs will invite candidates to interview. This may not happen straight away, particularly if interviews are scheduled to take place later in the interview window.	Recruiters invite candidates up to interview capacity. Once interview capacity is reached, all non-invited candidates will be rejected.	Recruiters invite candidates up to capacity. Once interview capacity is reached, all non-invited candidates will be rejected. Candidates will be invited to preference UoAs and/or posts at interview.
Offers	UoAs make their offers. Candidates can only receive offers from the UoA at which they were interviewed.	UoAs make their offers. Candidates can only receive offers from a UoA at which they were interviewed.	The lead deanery/UoA makes offers on behalf of each deanery, and then notifies that deanery when the offer is accepted.