Am I eligible?

Progression in training

The following criteria apply:

• Completed ST3 – you must have successfully completed your ST3 year by the time of application; current ST3 trainees are not eligible to apply.
• Not final year – trainees must not be in the final year of training in their parent specialty at the time of application to stroke medicine
• ARCP outcome 1 – you must have an ARCP outcome 1 at the most recent ARCP for your parent specialty (and also in general internal medicine if you are dual training).

It is a requirement to have the full MRCP(UK), or EEA alternative training, and two years working in medical specialties, post foundation level, with at least 12 months including the care of acute medical in-patients.

As most trainees will have completed core medical training, they automatically meet these criteria. The only possible exceptions are applicants from clinical pharmacology and therapeutics or rehabilitation medicine who entered from a non-medicine training pathway.

Applicants in this positon will need to demonstrate that they have the MRCP(UK) diploma and the required competence and experience to be eligible. Please see the ST3 eligibility section for details about these criteria and how to demonstrate them.

As only existing trainees are eligible to apply, this criterion will be met by default.

However, if you are on a Tier 2 visa, and sponsored by one of the four nations’ training agencies, there will be restrictions applied to your application if you wish to work in a different nation to your parent specialty.

In this case, as you would be changing sponsor, any offer would be subject to the resident labour market test. Whilst you could be made an offer in another nation, this would only be after those without restriction have been considered, regardless of your ranking. The UK eligibility page of the ST3 eligibility section has more information about this.

If you have previously undertaken stroke medicine training, or are a current trainee in the sub-specialty, there are some rules of which to be aware:

Previously released/relinquished a stroke medicine programme

You must not have previously relinquished, been released or removed from a stroke medicine programme, except under exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances may be defined as a demonstrated change in circumstances which impact on your ability to train at the time, such as severe personal illness or family caring responsibilities, incompatible with continued training.

Should you be in this position, your application can only be considered if accompanied by a completed Support for Re-application to a Specialty Training Programme certificate - completed by the postgraduate dean, or designated deputy, of the region managing the training programme on which you were employed. This can be accessed/downloaded from the document library.

You will be required to email this to the region managing applications prior to the closing date for applications.

If you are a current stroke medicine trainee and are reapplying to continue training in another in another region, or a different area within their current region, without a break in service, you will be required to submit a Support for Reapplication of Specialty Training in a Different Region form; which can be downloaded from the document library.

The form must be completed by a Head of School or Training Programme Director, with direct knowledge of your training from the region where you currently undertake training in stroke medicine.

Please ensure you advise your current Training Programme Director as soon as possible and ideally before the application is submitted. Submission and approval of post numbers for recruitment happens way in advance of training programmes being advertised. Being aware of a potential vacancy could assist your Training Programme Director with the management of their training programme. Early communication of intention to the Training Programme Director will not affect your application.

You will need to email the Support for Reapplication of Specialty Training in a Different Region form to the region managing your application. You will need to email this prior to the closing date for applications.

Applications are not open to trainees who have already completed a UK stroke medicine training programme or have sub-specialty registration in stroke medicine on the GMC Specialist Register.