It is currently an excellent time to consider a career in dermatology.
This is a far-ranging specialty, covering skin diseases, cancer and surgery in children and adults.
There are excellent career opportunities to sub-specialise and currently many consultant vacancies in the UK.
Dermatology - trainee characteristics
Dermatology will particularly suit trainees who are
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able to deal with many possible diagnoses ( >2,000!)
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excellent pattern recognition and integrated clinical skills
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excellent hand-eye coordination
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confident in making quick and accurate clinical decisions.
Summary of the specialty
Training in dermatology provides time for critical appraisal, analysis and academic development, which is not always available in other specialties. It also provides exposure to skin diseases and their interface with adult and paediatric medicine.
Broad scope and remit
Dermatology is an exciting and tremendously varied specialty.
The core role of a dermatologist is to improve the care of patients with skin disorders; and this will range from a neonate born with a genetic disorder or infection through to an elderly person with skin cancer.
The specialty has a wide remit, with over 2,000 possible diagnoses. However, with recent advances in medicine more people can be treated for chronic diseases, so that their illness is controlled; and this makes the specialty particularly rewarding.
Interface with other specialties
Dermatology interfaces with many other branches of medicine and surgery, such as paediatrics, plastic surgery, immunology, rheumatology, general medicine, allergy, etc.
This wide remit combines clinical practice with development and implementation of new therapies, training and teaching of current and future innovations, as well as the promotion of evidence-based practise.
We strongly encourage out-of-programme degrees in research or medical education.
A career in dermatology
It is currently an excellent time to consider dermatology as a career, as there is a shortfall of approximately 100 consultant posts.
There are also exciting developments in skin cancer care pathways, and the advances and use of systemic therapies, such as biological therapies in the management of psoriasis.
Medical Care
Find out more about dermatology 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 lead recruiter for this specialty. The lead recruiter for dermatology in 2021 is North West.
Health Education North West | ||||||
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Postal address |
Health Education North West Health Education England |
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email address & regional contact | specialtyrecruitment.nw@hee.nhs.uk | |||||
website | http://www.nwpgmd.nhs.uk/ |
Eligibility
Please be aware that, in addition to physician training, the specialty also accepts applicants from paediatric training routes.
Paediatric applicants must have obtained the basic specialty professional examination in addition to specific clinical experience and competences to be eligible. In addition to paediatrics, there is a requirement to have specific physician experience and competence.
Please view the specialty's person specification for information about the requirements for applying from a non-physician background and the deadlines for when this must be achieved. In addition to this, we have produced a guidance document which gives greater detail about the specific experience and competences required of paediatric trainee applicants and this can be found at the bottom of the page. All trainees applying from this pathway should read the document before applying.
Physician trainees can view the standard eligibility criteria as detailed in the am I eligible? section.
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.
This is where your application form and training to date will be reviewed. This will include checking the documentation you have brought along to ensure all content on your application form is correct.
Evidence checking
Normally your evidence folder will have been reviewed by the interviewers immediately prior to your arrival in the station. They will be:
• Checking that your achievements in your evidence folder match that claimed on your application form.
• Considering your career progression to date.
• Identifying areas about which they may wish to question you during the interview.
Areas for assessment
The two main aspects of discussion here, on which you will be assessed, will be your suitability for and commitment to ST3 training in the specialty, and your achievements and engagement with training and learning to date.
Scoring at the station
It is important to recognise that the scores awarded to you at this station 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.
The two assessments at station 2 will be based on your responses to two separate questions - one on the subject of research & academic medicine, and the other on professionalism & governance.
Research & academic medicine
Of the 10 minutes at station 2, five minutes will be given to discussion of research/academic medicine.
There are two methods by which your understanding of research/academic medicine issues will be assessed here; either in pure discussion, or with the use of an abstract which will be provided to you before arriving at the station.
You will be notified which method is to be used; and obviously, if it is the abstract method, you will be provided with the abstract before arriving at the station.
Whichever method is used, you will be assessed upon your understanding of research and academic medicine.
Discussion
Should it be the case that you are to discuss research in general, interviewers will give you some brief questions upon your arrival at the station.
As general guidance here, you should consider the challenges, costs and benefits of research, its role/relevance to medicine broadly, plus some more specific considerations regarding any research experience you have had, bodies involved commonly in research, and the approach to research you have taken, or would take.
Abstract
If it is the case your research discussion will be in reference to a particular abstract, you will be expected to consider this in the transfer time before the station, before discussing this upon arrival at the station.
Upon receiving the document, read it in full and then consider the main points, important areas, potential application of any findings; and be critical in your analysis.
Professionalism & governance
Following the scenario will be discussion of professionalism and governance. This discussion will be prompted by a short question (often a single sentence) provided by interviewers. This will not be given to you before arriving at the station - this will be given verbally by interviewers once the presentation is finished.
This section of the interview is designed to assess your demonstration and understanding of professionalism and governance in a given situation.
Familiarise yourself with Good Medical Practice
Please note - assessment of professionalism & governance is underpinned by the principles of GMC Good Medical Practice.
Station 3 will see you assessed on two 'scenarios' - one designed to assess your communication skills/knowledge of ethical issues, and the other your clinical understanding .
Please note - you will not be given details of either scenario prior to your arrival at the station.
Communication/ethical scenario
Upon your arrival at station 3, you will be given details of a hypothetical situation which has arisen, in which you are, or have become, involved.
These details will be relatively brief (no more than a few sentences) and will not take long to consider. Areas to consider when reviewing the scenario are:
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what steps you would take
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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
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how best to provide information to, and seek information from, any people involved in the scenario
Of course, you should take into account any other factors you deem appropriate, using your experience and professional judgement.
Clinical scenario
The second scenario at station 3 will be related to a situation focusing more on your clinical assessment and input.
Once discussion of the communication/ethics scenario is complete, interviewers will provide you with a photo of a condition reported by a patient, and will provide some brief additional information (presentation of patient, patient's details, etc.)
Following this you will be asked some short questions relating to this by interviewers.
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, as well as the application form score, to give a '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.
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 | ||||
Research / Academic | / 5 | / 5 | x1.2 | / 12 |
Professionalism and governance | / 5 | / 5 | x0.8 | / 8 |
Station 3 | ||||
Communication and ethics | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Clinical scenario | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Raw interview score | / 60 | |||
Interview score (including weighting) | / 80 | |||
Short-listing (app form) | / 80 | x0.25 | / 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* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | 132 | 36 | 1 | 37 | 3.6 | 85% |
2018 | 150 | 51 | 1 | 52 | 2.9 | 80% |
2017 | 156 | 31 | 0 | 31 | 5.0 | 74% |
2016 | 158 | 35 | 4 | 39 | 4.1 | 74% |
2015 | 168 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 4.0 | 79% |
* 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 | 48 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
2017 | 69 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 4.6 |
2016 | 72 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 5.1 |
2015 | 87 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 4.6 |
Provisional post numbers
Specialty 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.
It is the intention that initial post numbers for all regions will be published prior to the application opening date, although this cannot be guaranteed. Numbers will be updated as and when notifications are received from each region and will be checked later in the round when programme preferences are open for selection.
Numbers subject to change
Please be aware that it is not uncommon for vacancy numbers to change throughout the round.
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. On average post numbers rise between 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 date(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
HE East Midlands | TBC | n/a |
07 - 14 January 2021 |
09 - 11 February 2021 |
HE East of England | TBC | n/a | ||
London and KSS |
London TBC KSS TBC |
n/a | ||
n/a | ||||
HE North East | TBC | n/a | ||
HE North West |
Mersey TBC |
n/a | ||
North Western 0-2 |
n/a | |||
HE South West |
Peninsula TBC |
n/a | ||
Severn TBC |
n/a | |||
HE Thames Valley | TBC | n/a | ||
HE Wessex | TBC | n/a | ||
HE West Midlands | TBC | n/a | ||
HE Yorkshire & Humber | TBC | n/a | ||
Scotland** | TBC | TBC | ||
Wales | TBC | TBC |
*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 are each 6-7 minutes 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 reading, the interview will be approximately 30 minutes.
Please note that this is subject to change and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
Your understanding of research/academic medicine issues will be assessed via the use of an abstract which will be provided to you for a short time to consider before starting the question.
Upon receiving the document, read it in full and then consider the main points, important areas, potential application of any findings; and be critical in your analysis.
Following the time to review the abstract, discussion will last for approximately 7 minutes.
At the start of this question you will read a clinical situation to consider. Interviewers will provide you with some information about a patient to ask for your initial response and will follow this up with a series of follow-on probes relating to the diagnosis and management of this case. This question will last approximately 7 minutes.
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.
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 6 minutes.
Not an actual question, you will be assessed and scored specifically on the communication skills you demonstrate throughout the interview.
This will be both an assessment of how you would communicate with patients, colleagues, etc. in the clinical scenario, as well as of how well you communicate with interviewers throughout all questions.
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 |
||||
Research / academic |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Question 2 |
||||
Clinical scenario |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.8 |
18 |
Question 3 |
||||
Commitment to specialty |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Question 4 |
|
|||
Communication mark |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.2 |
12 |
Raw interview score |
/ 40 |
|||
Interview score (w weighting) |
/ 80 |
|||
Application score |
/ 56 |
0.36 |
/ 20.16 |
|
Total score |
/ 100.16 |