Eligibility FAQs

This will depend upon your current status and level of training; trainees with different experience will be required to give different evidence.

The application form will guide you on this, but please also visit the core competences page of this website for more information.

Please note - if you are not currently on, or have not previously completed, a UK/UK-affiliated pre-ST3 UK training programme which is valid for the specialty to which you are applying, you will likely be required to submit a completed 'Alternative Certificate' as evidence of your foundation competence.

Information on this can also be found on the core competences page of this website; with further guidance and the certificate itself available to be downloaded from the document library.

The short answer here is no.

If more than one Alternative Certificate of Core Competence is required to demonstrate a complete set of core competences, the version of the form must be the same for comparable purposes.

If you have a previous version of the form partially completed, you will need to get the most current version of the form fully completed for it to be accpeted.

At the time at which you submit your application, it is only necessary for you to have passed MRCP(UK) Part 1 to be considered eligible at that stage. This will allow your application to progress further.

Your application can progress through the stages of long and shortlisting, interview, and even to the point of offers; but to take up a post you will need to obtain the full MRCP(UK) diploma, including all three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and PACES.

If at the time of application you do not have Part 2 or PACES, you will need to demonstrate that you have applied or are awaiting the results of these examinations at the time of interview.

Offers can be made subject to you passing the missing parts of the examination, but you will not be able to take up an ST3 post until you prove that you have gained the entire qualification by the deadline published within the person specification of your chosen specialty. In round 1 this is the 'posts commencing from' date.

Please note - alternative examinations or training can be accepted instead of the MRCP(UK), please see the MRCP(UK) page of this website for more information.

Candidates who have gained the necessary core competences can apply to ST3 and progress through the recruitment process; it is only necessary to have gained the full MRCP(UK) diploma by time of appointment.

Provided that your ARCP outcome evidences that you completed all competences except for the MRCP(UK), this can be used as evidence of achievement of competences and should be attached to your form; this will generally be an ARCP outcome 3 or 4.

You can then separately demonstrate completion of the MRCP(UK). Please note that you will need to have gained Part 1 by the time you come to apply and it must be possible to pass outstanding examinations before the posts commencing from date for that round; in some rounds the dates of examinations and when results are released mean that it will not be possible to apply without the examination.

If you do not gain an ST3 post as a result of not passing the full MRCP(UK) diploma, you will not be able to take up your offer, and you should contact the relevant region as soon as possible to confirm.

Aside from this there are a number of options available to consider:

Part 2/PACES re-sit

The first option to consider would be re-sitting the examination for the relevant part(s) of the diploma. Application, examination and results dates can be found on the MRCP(UK) website.

LAS recruitment

One further option that may be open in some cases is that of recruitment to LAS (Locum Appointment for Service) posts.

Some regions may wish to recruit to LAS posts to meet service requirements while recruitment to ST3 posts is going on; and unlike NTN and LAT posts, LAS posts do not require trainees to meet the full eligibility requirements as set out in the relevant person specification .

For more information, please contact the region(s) at which you are interested in working directly for this - contact details can be found on the region contacts page of this website.

UK CMT/ACCS applicants

As well as an 'entry requirement' for ST3 post, for candidates undertaking UK CMT or ACCS-AM programmes, gaining the full MRCP(UK) diploma is an 'exit requirement' - ie they cannot formally complete the CMT/ACCS programme until they have gained the full diploma.

As such, candidates who will not pass the full MRCP(UK) diploma prior to the completion of their CMT/ACCS programme should contact their current region or programme director to ask for further advice; in some circumstances, you may be eligible to apply for additional training time.

Some specialties accept candidates from alternative training routes (ie not from CMT/ACCS).

Applicants must have, as a minimum, passed the initial part(s) of the exam related to their training (eg MRCPCH Parts 1 A & B), and and it must be possible to pass outstanding examinations before the posts commencing from date for that round; in some rounds the dates of examinations and when results are released mean that it will not be possible to apply without the examination.

Please review the relevant specialty page and person specification for more information about where this applies.

You can, however your application will need to be supported by a form signed by both the Training Programme Director / Head of School and the Postgraduate Dean in the region that the training took place. The form can be downloaded from the Oriel resource bank.

The person specification states that this should be in 'exceptional circumstances', which: 'may be defined as a demonstrated change in circumstances, which can be shown on the ability to train at that time and may include severe personal illness or family caring responsibility incompatible with continuing to train.'

In short, no. In general, you would only be considered to have relinquished, been released or removed from a post if you had formally taken up and begun an ST3 post - ie started working in the post - and then departed from it at a later date.

If you applied to ST3 previously, and then:

• withdrew your application

• progressed through the recruitment process before declining a post offer

• accepted a post offer, then withdrew prior to starting the post

You would not be considered as having relinquished/been removed from/released from a post in the manner described in the person specification.

Some applicants may be considered before others on the basis of immigration status in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Candidates whose applications are subject to the resident labour market test, may apply for ST3 posts and will be considered on an equal basis up until longlisting has been completed.

Candidates cannot be invited to interview until the pool of candidates who are not subject to such restrictions has been exhausted. This will also be the case at offers, where candidates who are subject to such restrictions cannot be made an offer until the pool of candidates who are not subject to such restrictions have been exhausted. Where national clearing is used this will not be until then, and only once there are no candidates without restrictions remaining.

Unfortunately, we are not able to give advice or specific guidance to candidates with regard to individual queries on immigration/visa status. Immigration issues are particularly complex, so it is important that you discuss this with appropriately qualified people.

For specific queries relating to your immigration status and eligibility to apply for specialty training, you can refer to the NHS Specialty Training Applicant Handbook or contact the UK Home Office.

Regions assess candidate eligibility so should also be able to help advise on immigration issues. Please see the region contacts page.

The UK Resuscitation Council (RC[UK] website) is keen to ensure strict quality control and standardisation of experience/skills gained in resuscitation training. As such, there are strict guidelines applied on which courses/certificates can be classed as equivalent to the RC(UK) certificate.

RC(UK) course certificates are recognised across Europe and are valid for four years (ILS/PILS are valid for one year).

The holder of any RC(UK) course certificate has achieved a standard defined by the RC(UK); the tight quality control applied to the course programmes, the teaching scenarios, the instructors and the assessment provides some assurance of this standard.

Since RC(UK) have no such information on, or control over, the standards of potential 'equivalent' courses, RC(UK) clearly cannot offer any similar guarantee concerning successful participants.

However; ALS certificates provided by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) (ERC website) or Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) (ARC website) are recognised by RC(UK), as these organisations use the same programme, teaching material and assessment process.

So in summary: ALS courses/certificates from only the UK , European and Australian Resuscitation Councils can be accepted as meeting the requirement for advanced life support training.

Please note this does not include:

• ACLS (advanced cardiac life support)
• ATLS (advanced trauma life support) courses
• paediatric versions of ALS