Respiratory medicine is a varied, exciting and challenging specialty.
It is concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and continuing care of adults of all ages with a wide range of respiratory and related conditions.
The respiratory specialist is at the forefront of the hospital acute services including intensive care, and at the same time cares for a large group of people with a variety of chronic disorders, including both in- and out-patients.
Respiratory medicine - trainee characteristics
Respiratory medicine will particularly suit trainees who:
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are highly motivated and enthusiastic
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enjoy dealing with a large range of different diseases and with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges
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enjoy practical skills
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are able to work within a team and have good time-management and ability to prioritise
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enjoy both the excitement of acute medicine and the management of chronic conditions
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are able to communicate effectively, and are empathic, patient and sound clinical decision-makers.
Working/training in an ST3 respiratory medicine post
Respiratory medicine involves both acute and chronic care and also involves being able to deal with significant diagnostic and therapeutic uncertainty.
Broad scope and interaction
There are a huge number of different respiratory conditions - including, among others, pulmonary infection, airways disease, cancer, interstitial lung disease, autoimmune diseases, sleep related breathing disorders, pleural disease and a significant interaction with many other specialties within the hospital and primary care setting.
This also includes significant interaction with intensive care medicine (ICM) and, indeed, there is a requirement to undertake some formal ICM training as part of the curriculum. For further details please refer to the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine website.
Variety of practical procedures and training
There are a large number of practical procedures, including chest drain insertion, pleural ultrasound, bronchoscopy, interventional bronchoscopy and thoracoscopy.
The ability to work within a multidisciplinary team with cardiologists, rheumatologists, radiologists, pathologists, cardio-thoracic surgeons and oncologists is essential.
A good sound training in general internal medicine (GIM) is vital to success as most (but not all) consultant appointments are in respiratory medicine with some GIM.
In view of the significant number of practical procedures in respiratory medicine, good manual dexterity skills are an advantage.
Research opportunities
Respiratory medicine is a specialty that attracts a high level of opportunities for research; in fact, research during training is encouraged. Many trainees will obtain higher degrees such as MD or PhD.
Less-than-full-time training
Respiratory medicine has a long tradition of supporting less-than-full-time working amongst both trainees and consultants. We welcome applicants whose personal circumstances mean they wish to train flexibly in this way.
Competition for posts
Gaining a training post is usually competitive, so previous inpatient and outpatient clinic experience in the specialty, and some experience of related practical procedures, is desirable (but not essential) before application.
Medical Care
Find out more about respiratory medicine and the services delivered by the specialty on Medical Care – the RCP’s online guide to service design.
Further information
General / application queries
For general queries relating to areas such as eligibility criteria, making an application or the Oriel system, please contact the Physician Specialty Recruitment Office.
Queries regarding the progress of a submitted application should be directed to the below:
Health Education and Improvement Wales | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
email address | [email protected] |
2021 participation
Please note that there are not planned to be any posts in England in this specialty in 2021. There will only be recruitment for Scotland and/or Wales posts. Please see the 'dates and posts' tab for information about post availability in these nations.
Should the specialty be recruiting to both Scotland and Wales, there will be a separate vacancy for each nation participating. You can only be in contention for posts to a nation to which you have submitted an application.
Should an applicant apply to and be shortlisted for both nations, they will only be offered a single interview with the scores used for both applications.
Eligibility
This specialty uses the standard ST3 eligibility criteria, and does not accept candidates from any alternative training routes.
Please visit the am I eligible? section of this website for further information.
Please note that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, certain recruitment processes have been affected for round 2 ST3 PSRO-coordinated specialties. As a result, the below information on this page is not applicable for this round only and should not be used where the process has changed. Please refer to the applicant guide for the latest information about how round 2 will operate.
Further guidance about the scoring format of interviews will be published to each specialty page and we hope to have this updated by application closing date. Please visit the specialty pages closer to the time for updated information.
Interview content
You will spend approximately 10 minutes at each of the three interview stations, with three-to-five minutes' transfer time between each. Thus the overall time for the interview will be approximately 40-45 minutes.
Click on the relevant stations below for more information on the content of the interview.
Please note that this is subject to change, and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
Station 1 is where your application form will be reviewed.
This review will include all of the documentation you have brought along (see the interview preparation section) being reviewed and verified, to ensure that all content on your application form is correct.
Your evidence will usually be reviewed prior to the start of the station by one or both of the interviewers. Sometimes there may be a third interviewer present at station 1 who will be checking the evidence of the next candidate.
The main areas for discussion here, and on which you will be assessed, will be your suitability and commitment to both CT1 and to the region at which you are being interviewed, as well as your achievements to date.
Prior to arriving at station 2, you will be given a clinical scenario to review. Upon arrival at station 2, you will be asked questions relating to this scenario.
The clinical scenario will be relatively brief (two/three sentences), so once you have read this, the remainder of the pre-station time will allow you to undertake some short preparation (just mental preparation - this does not mean making notes, etc.)
Scenario considerations
The scenario will describe a hypothetical clinical situation which has arisen in which you are, or have become, involved.
There are some points you should consider when reviewing the scenario and preparing for discussion:
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what steps you would take
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any potential treatments possible
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any further information you would gather
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how you would go about communicating with any people (eg patients, family members, colleagues) involved in the scenario
Of course, you should take into account any other factors you deem appropriate, using your experience and professional judgement.
Areas for assessment
One mark will be awarded to you based on your suggestions and responses to the clinical scenario.
The second assessment carried out here will be on the communication skills you display.
This will be both an assessment of how you would communicate with patients, colleagues, etc. in the scenario, as well as of how well you communicate with interviewers at the station.
This station will feature assessment of an ethical scenario; and you will be required to give a presentation which you must prepare in advance, on a given subject (see below).
Station 3 of the interview is divided into three main parts - a presentation and discussion of it, plus a further discussion on an ethical scenario.
Presentation
Upon arrival at station 3, you will need to give a presentation on the following topic, for no more than three minutes:
'An interesting recent development / research finding in respiratory medicine'
When preparing your presentation, please bear in mind the points below:
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Clarity & relevance most important - Select a topic that is relevant to respiratory medicine, and which you can present with clarity. This is more important than trying to impress by choosing a subject that is esoteric or complex. It should be relevant to your application where possible.
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No aids/resources - There will be no projectors or laptops for PowerPoint, no OHPs, flip-charts, etc. You are welcome to use prompts on small cards, but these should be for your own use only, and should not be given out as hand-outs.
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Three minute time limit - Your presentation must last for no more than three minutes. Please note that you will be stopped after three minutes so as to allow further discussion to take place, so try and get your main points across before then. At the same time, bear in mind that interviewers will be assessing the level, depth and content of your presentation, as well as expecting some structure.
Interview nerves will be taken into consideration.
Post-presentation discussion
Once your presentation is finished (interviewers will stop you at the three minute-mark), interviewers will discuss it with you and ask further questions relating to the items you raise and any further points.
This discussion will take place for (approximately) another three minutes.
[collapse]Ethical scenario
The second assessment area will be the ethical scenario. As with the clinical scenario at station 2, this takes the form of a hypothetical situation, described briefly in text form, details of which will be given to you before arriving at station 3.
However this scenario focuses less on a clinical situation, and deals more with consideration of the moral, ethical, legal (etc.) issues which may arise in a particular situation.
Familiarise yourself with Good Medical Practice
Please note - assessment at station 3 is underpinned by the principles of GMC Good Medical Practice.
Interview scoring
Appointable - automatic
If you are awarded a score of at least 3/5, for all marks given to you at your interview, then you will automatically be classed as appointable.
If your 12 interview scores contain one or two marks of 2/5 (and the rest 3/5 or above), and you receive a total raw interview score of 36 or above, then you will automatically be classed as appointable.
Not appointable - automatic
If any of the 12 scores awarded to you at interview are 1/5, this will reflect poor performance and an area of major concern.
If three or more of your 12 interview scores are of 2/5, this will reflect several areas of concern across your whole interview.
Should your interview assessment falls under either category above, the level of concern over your potential progression to ST3 will see your application classed automatically as not appointable .
Total score calculation
After interview, a weighting is applied to the scores in each area, and a score derived from your application form is then added to give your total score. This score determines your ranking which is used to inform how offers are made. The weighting of different sections, as well as the method by which your total score is established, can be seen by clicking on 'Total score calculation' below.
Please note that this is subject to change, and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
Application score calculation
The initial application score is used to shortlist applications. At interview this specialty reviews achievements from the application form against the re-scoring matrix in the document below to calculate the score which will contribute to the total score.
Whilst some achievements do not directly contribute to the re-scoring matrix, they will form part of the interviewers’ assessment in station 1 when awarding their score. In particular, quality improvement and teaching normally form a major part of the questioning in this station and as such are likely to significantly influence interviewers’ scoring; which will affect both the total score and determination of appointability. Thus these two domains should not be overlooked or considered any less important in any application.
Int. 1 | Int. 2 | Weighting | Max score | |
Station 1 | ||||
Evidence | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Suitability for specialty | / 5 | / 5 | x1.2 | / 12 |
Station 2 | ||||
Clinical scenario | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Communication mark | / 5 | / 5 | x0.8 | / 8 |
Station 3 | ||||
Presentation research | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Ethical scenario | / 5 | / 5 | x1.2 | / 12 |
Raw interview score | / 60 | |||
Interview score (including weighting) | / 80 | |||
Evidence score - scored at station 1, based on achievements claimed on the application form | / 20 | |||
Overall assessment score | / 100 |
As part of the process of applying to ST3, you may wish to gain an idea of how recruitment progressed in previous years for the various specialties participating in the nationally-coordinated recruitment.
To this end, we have published data dating back to 2013 (where this is available), based around four main areas:
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Competition ratios - application numbers submitted to each specialty, along with the number of NTN and LAT posts available in each. It is worth noting that posts are subject to change throughout the round (increasing on average between 20-40%), and post numbers for this data are taken at the end of the round.
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Shortlist scores - the scores awarded to all submitted applications, including average scores and distribution nationally.
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Total scores - the total score awarded to all candidates who completed the full recruitment process for a specialty (application and interview), including some analysis of scores.
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Post fill rates - the number of posts filled by region.
We have published information for all specialties participating in our process that year; consequently not all specialties will have data in all cases.
Round 1
Year | Apps. | NTN posts | LAT posts | Total posts | Comp. | Unique* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 383 | 64 | 8 | 72 | 5.3 | 45% |
2019 | 253 | 94 | 3 | 97 | 2.6 | 47% |
2018 | 204 | 88 | 2 | 90 | 2.3 | 55% |
2017 | 217 | 112 | 2 | 114 | 1.9 | 44% |
2016 | 216 | 111 | 1 | 12 | 1.9 | 45% |
2015 | 222 | 108 | 32 | 140 | 1.6 | 45% |
* the percentage of unique candidates that only applied to this specialty (out of the 24 PSRO-coordinated specialties)
Round 2
Year | Apps. | NTN posts | LAT posts | Total posts | Comp. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 84 | 36 | 1 | 37 | 2.3 |
2017 | 73 | 32 | 1 | 33 | 2.2 |
2016 | 66 | 36 | 1 | 37 | 1.8 |
2015 | 56 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 0.8 |
Indicative post numbers
Indicative vacancy numbers are available in the table below, broken down by region and divided between substantive national training number (NTN) and locum appointment for training (LAT) posts. In many cases these will be presented as a range (e.g. 1-4) as it is not always possible for regions to know at this stage how many vacancies there will be.
It is the intention that indicative post numbers for all regions will be published prior to the application opening date, although this cannot be guaranteed. Please note that this table is not likely to be updated subsequent to indicative numbers and actual numbers will be confirmed when programme preferences are opened later in the round.
Numbers subject to change
Please be aware that it is not uncommon for vacancy numbers to change as the round progresses.
More commonly, post vacancy numbers can increase as the round goes on (and confirmation of posts becomes available); but it is also possible that numbers can reduce as well. In the past, post numbers have risen an average of 20-40% from the start to the finish of the round but this can vary greatly for individual specialty/region combinations.
It is possible that regions which do not have a post at the start of the round may declare one after applications have closed. Whilst we try and minimise instances of this, it is not always possible to predict vacancies so even if there appears not to be a vacancy in your preferred specialty/region combination, you may wish to consider applying in case one becomes available during the round; you can check with the region concerned if you wish to check on the likelihood of a post arising.
Generally, once a region enter a post into a round they would always have at least one post available and would only withdraw it in exceptional circumstances.
Round 1 interview dates & posts
Region | NTN posts | LAT posts* | Evidence upload date(s) | Interview upload date(s) |
Wales | 0-2 | TBC | 1 February - 8 February 2021 | 8 April 2021 |
Scotland** |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
East Midlands |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
East of England |
N/A |
N/A |
||
London and KSS |
Kent, Surrey & Sussex N/A |
N/A |
||
London N/A |
N/A |
|||
North East |
N/A |
N/A |
||
North West |
Mersey N/A
|
N/A |
||
North Western N/A |
N/A |
|||
South West |
N/A |
N/A |
||
Thames Valley |
N/A |
N/A |
||
Wessex |
N/A |
N/A |
||
West Midlands |
N/A |
N/A |
||
Yorkshire & Humber |
N/A |
N/A |
N/a
*English LATs
Please note, English regions do not recruit to LAT posts.
**Scotland post numbers
If you are interested in working in Scotland, a breakdown of post numbers by the four Scottish deaneries is available on the Scottish Medical Training website. This has details of all specialty training post numbers in Scotland, including specialties which are not part of the nationally-coordinated process.
Please note that whilst we endeavour to keep the Physician ST3 recruitment website up to date, the SMT website will always be the more accurate one where they differ.
Interview Content
The interview will consist of three questions which will range between 5 – 10 minutes each in length. You will be marked on these three questions and your communication skills, giving four scored areas in total. You will be scored by two interviewers on each question.
Including time for questioning and scenario reading, the interview will be approximately 25 minutes.
Please note that this is subject to change and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
Prior to this question you will be given a clinical scenario and a short while to review it. You will then be asked questions relating to this scenario. Your communication skills will also be assessed during this question and marked accordingly. This question will last 10 minutes.
The clinical scenario will be relatively brief (two/three sentences), so once you have read this, the remainder of the reading time will allow some short preparation (just mental preparation - this does not mean making notes, etc.).
Clinical scenario considerations
The scenario will describe a hypothetical clinical situation which has arisen in which you are, or have become, involved. Some points to consider when reviewing the scenario and preparing for discussion are:
- what steps you would take
- any potential treatments possible
- any further information you would gather
- how you would go about communicating with any people (eg patients, family members, colleagues) involved in the scenario
You should also consider any other factors you deem appropriate, using your experience and professional judgement.
Areas for assessment
One mark will be awarded to you based on your suggestions and responses to the clinical scenario. The second mark will be on the communication skills you display.
This will be both an assessment of how you would communicate with patients, colleagues, etc. in the scenario, as well as of how well you communicate with interviewers.
This is where your application form and training to date will be reviewed. Interviewers will ask you questions based on your career, achievements to date and your engagement with training and learning.
It is important to recognise that the scores awarded to you will not purely be about your achievements, as this already contributes towards the scoring via your application form. Interviewers will be deciding upon scores via a combination of factors, for example: your responses to the questions asked, the breadth and quality of your achievements and your career progression.
This question will take approximately 5 minutes.
This question will focus on your suitability for and commitment to ST3 training in the specialty and give you opportunity to expand on the information provided in your application form.
This question will last approximately 5 minutes.
Scoring Framework
The score of 1-5 an interviewer will award you for each assessment area is judged in relation to how well you perform against an expected level. Below is the framework used to award scores at interview, as well as interpretation of what these scores represent:
Mark
|
Rating
|
Assessment
|
1 |
poor |
not considered appointable |
2 |
area for concern |
performed below the level expected; possibly unappointable, subject to discussion and performance in other areas |
3 |
satisfactory |
performed at the level expected during CT2; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
4 |
good |
above average ability; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
5 |
excellent |
highly performing trainee; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
As shown in the table, for each of the question areas at interview, 3/5 is considered a satisfactory score; and reflects the level of performance that would be expected of a trainee ready to progress to a specialty training programme.
Should your performance go above and beyond this expected level, interviewers can award marks of 4/5 or 5/5 as appropriate.
Conversely, should your interview performance not reach the expected level, then interviewers can award marks of 1/5 or 2/5, as reflects their level of concern over your performance.
Appointability
From the eight scores awarded during your interview, an 'appointability' status will be calculated to determine whether you can be considered for an offer.
The intention is to ensure successful candidates can display competence consistently across all areas of assessment covered at interview, rather than allowing outstanding achievement in one or more areas to make up for sub-par performance elsewhere.
Appointability is awarded automatically and is based on two factors: individual interview scores and the 'raw interview score'.
Appointability criteria
To be classed as 'appointable', you must meet three criteria below:
- none of your 8 interview scores can be 1/5
- no more than two of your 8 interview scores can be 2/5
- your RIS must be 24 or above.
If you meet all three requirements, your application will be assessed as appointable, and can progress to be considered for post offers.
However, if you fail to meet any of these requirements, your application must then be assessed as not appointable, and it will progress no further in that round.
Total Score
After interview, a weighting is applied to the scores in each area, as well as your application score.
These scores are then combined to give your total score which determines your ranking, which will in turn be used to inform how offers are made. The weighting of different sections, as well as the method by which your total score is established, is detailed in the table accessible through the link below:
|
Interviewer 1
|
Interviewer 2
|
Weighting
|
Max score
|
Question 1 |
||||
Clinical scenario |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Communication |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.2 |
12 |
Question 2 |
||||
Application review |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.8 |
18 |
Question 3 |
||||
Suitability and commitment |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Raw interview score |
/ 40 |
|||
Interview score (w weighting) |
/ 80 |
|||
Application score |
/ 56 |
0.36 |
/ 20.16 |
|
Total score |
/ 100.16 |