Vascular Surgery ST3

Selection to Vascular Surgery ST3 programmes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is taking place through a single national process. This is jointly managed by the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex (LaKSS) on behalf of all Regions/Deaneries and by the Specialty Advisory Committees (SAC) in Vascular Surgery (on behalf of the Joint Committee for Surgical Training). The selection methodology has been adapted following COVID-19, but has been developed in keeping with GMC recommendations and the national person specification for ST3 Vascular Surgery.

The vascular surgery programme will comprise six years of training in the speciality. It will culminate in a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Vascular Surgery. Trainees will be expected to acquire competencies in open, endovascular and endovenous surgery and the relevant imaging skills. They will also spend one year in elective and emergency gastrointestinal surgery. Trainees will have the opportunity to develop an area of special interest during the programme, such as in superficial venous disease or aortic aneurysmal disease.

Please check the below link for the person specification:

https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications

Applications should be submitted via the Vascular Surgery vacancy on Oriel.

All applicants applying to medical specialities are required to have essential competencies or equivalent depending on the level they are applying for. For more information on competencies please refer to the resource bank on Oriel.

Please upload all required evidence of competences to your Oriel application form when completing the application form online. For those experiencing difficulties when uploading evidence, please ensure you contact the recruitment team via the Applicant Support portal before submitting your application.

Reasonable adjustments and Disability Confident Scheme 

For information regarding reasonable adjustments and Disability Confident Scheme please refer to  the Medical Specialty Recruitment website.

Eligibility to work in the UK

All medical practitioners are on the shortage occupation list, so all specialty recruitment applicants will be exempt from the resident labour market test.

NHS England (NHSE) is responsible for the sponsorship of Medical and Dental trainees for their Skilled worker visa application in England. The Medical Specialty Recruitment website has guidance for applicants requiring a visa.

Key dates & information

Application window:       Thursday 16 November – Thursday 7 December 2023

Interview dates:            18 March 2024

Interview venue:           Online

Posts commence:          from August 2024 (Please note the start date is indicative)

The anticipated rotation frequency for posts in this programme is 6 – 12 months but may vary in different programmes and or regions.

Completion of each specialties Higher Surgical Training (HST) scheme will lead to the recommendation of CCT/CESR (CP), subject to satisfactory progression through the annual ARCP process.

The expected duration of each of the programme is 6 years, however, this may depend on the circumstances of the individual.

Please note that London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex recruitment has a strict application policy and will not accept applications submitted after the deadline.

The Postgraduate Dean confirms that each placement and/or programme has the required educational and Dean’s approval. The Training Programme is equally open to those who may, either from the outset or subsequently, wish to train flexibly or job share.  Approval must be sought from the recruitment team before the interview, and this is subject to availability of suitable training placements.

Shortlisting process

An online portfolio self-assessment will take place this year. Applicants will be required to score themselves in their Oriel application form. Shortlisted applicants will then have their self-assessed score verified by a panel separately from the interviews. If it is subsequently discovered that any submitted evidence is false or misleading, evidence will be collected, and you may be referred to a Probity Panel.

Interview process

Document checking: Please check the supplementary handbook for further details of documents required for the interview.

Interview structure: The interview will last around 50 minutes and cover various criteria from the person specification. It will be conducted online using the Qpercom video platform, with two stations;

Station 1 

Clinical scenario reading time (5 minutes)

You will be given a clinical scenario about a patient and have 5 minutes reading time prior to the interview.

Clinical scenario & questions (10 minutes)   

You will have 10 minutes to answer questions about the clinical scenario and other related questions.

Communication scenario & questions (10 minutes)   

You will have 10 minutes to answer questions about a communication scenario and other related questions. 

Station 2 

Management scenario reading time (5 minutes)  

You will be given a management scenario about a problem based in the clinical environment and have 5 minutes reading time prior to the interview. 

Management scenario & questions (10 minutes)   

You will have 10 minutes to answer questions about the management scenario and other related questions.  

Virtual skills scenario & questions (10 minutes)   

You will have 10 minutes to answer questions about a virtual operative skills scenario and other related questions. 

Preferencing post

Preferencing will be made available via Oriel from 22nd March 2024 to 10th April 2024.

Contacts / Enquiries

During the recruitment episode please visit the Oriel recruitment system FAQ section. For any queries that cannot be answered by the methods above please contact: Applicant Enquiries.

If you have made a positive declaration in the FTP section, you must e-mail via https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home by the close of the application window. Please refer to the supplementary FTP guide for the information you must include. Failure to e-mail the outlined information by the close of application may result in your application being withdrawn.

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. 0-4) 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.

Please see the Medical Specialty Recruitment website for updated post information.

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.