Histopathology (Northern Ireland) ST1 - Specialty Specific Application Form Questions

These are the UK Specialty Training application form questions used on Oriel for applications to ST1, CT1, ST3 and ST4 specialty training posts. 

The questions are presented here to help you prepare for your future applications. Please be aware application form structures, questions, word counts, etc. can change and there is no guarantee that future application forms will remain the same. 

Supporting Information

1. Supporting Information
Use the spaces below to provide information to demonstrate how you are suitable for a training post in this specialty.  Please refer to both the essential and desirable criteria on the person specification as you complete the following sections.
 
If you do not have an achievement in that area, please put ‘N/A’ in the relevant box.
 
Additional Undergraduate Qualifications
Please include details of the qualification awarded, institution/awarding body and dates. If you have a degree/qualification that does not fit the usual UK grading system, you will need to use your knowledge of the grading system in the country where the qualification was gained to select the most appropriate option and include text here to justify your selection (Words allowed: 100)
 
Postgraduate Qualifications
Please include details of the qualification awarded, institution/awarding body and dates. Do not include qualifications you are currently undertaking and have not yet completed, or use this section for membership exams or other qualifying postgraduate exams listed on the person specification, these should go in section 2 below. (Words allowed: 100)
 
Achievements
Please specify details of any honours degrees, prizes, awards and other distinctions you have gained (Words allowed: 100)
 
Presentations/Posters
Please provide details of your most relevant presentations and/or posters. Please give a statement about your personal contribution to the work. Other than the option of being a significant contributor at a national or international meeting, it is a requirement that you deliver presentations yourself (or co-present) and for posters that you are available for questions/answers where it is shown. (Words allowed: 350)
 
Publications
Please provide details of your most relevant publications. Please give full citation details (as in Pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed)) of any published work and then give a statement about your personal contribution to the work. If adding details of an abstract, please add ‘(abstract)’ as a note. (Words allowed: 300)
 
Teaching Experience
Please provide details of your teaching experience. Please give full details about the type of teaching, your personal contribution, details of any feedback obtained and how you have reflected on this. (Words allowed: 250)
 
Training in Teaching
Please provide details of your training in teaching. Include details about; the course provider, any qualification gained, start and end dates, the length of training and the how the course was conducted (Words allowed: 100)
 
Quality Improvement
Please provide details of your experience of quality improvement activities, giving titles and dates. What specifically was your contribution, what did the project show, how was it sustainable, was it presented or published. (Words allowed: 250)
 
Leadership / Management
Please provide details of your experience in leadership and management, specifying the; name of the organisation, nature and scope of your role, start and (if applicable) end date. You must also include details of the positive impact you were able to make. Roles must be subsequent to commencing your first undergraduate degree (ie this includes any degree undertaken prior to your primary medical qualification) (Words allowed: 250)
 
Commitment to specialty
Please outline any specific skills or attributes that you possess that make you suitable for a career in this specialty. (Words allowed: 150)
 
Achievement outside Medicine
In this space please describe any other attributes or activities outside of the field of medicine that you feel may support your application. It is not mandatory to enter any information here but is recommended to refer to the person specification when considering information to include. (Words allowed: 150)
 
2. College Membership Progression
Please provide details of any membership exams you have passed or are in the process of sitting.  If you are due to sit an exam and expect the exam results before the interview window for this round, please enter the date of the exam and your current status (e.g. Passed, booked, awaiting result).  
 
For each exam:
o Name
o Exam Name
o Date of Exam
o Exam Status
 
3. Training courses attended
In this section you can provide details of training courses you have attended that are most relevant to the programme/specialty for which you are applying. There is no need to enter training relating to teaching as this should be covered in section 1.
 
For each course:
o Name
o Course Title
o Date Attended
o Course Provider
o Duration
o Course Content
 
4. Advanced life support (ALS)
Please provide details on how you meet the criteria “Recognition of, and ability to undertake the initial management of, an acutely ill patient.”
 
Do you hold a valid advanced life support qualification (ALS or equivalent qualification)? (Yes/No)
 
Please select your ALS certification from the drop-down list of accepted qualifications. [Dropdown list]
 
Please enter the date on which you completed the course
 
If you do not have a valid advanced life support qualification, please explain how you meet the criteria “Recognition of, and ability to undertake the initial management of, an acutely ill patient.”  This information will be considered in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. (Words allowed: 200)
 
5. NIMDTA Welcome Event 
NIMDTA runs an annual Welcome Event for trainees new to Northern Ireland. This event is predominately aimed at doctors who have neither worked nor lived in Northern Ireland before.  The course is designed to address some of the elements of life particular to Northern Ireland, both inside and outside medicine.
All new appointments are welcome; however we would appreciate if you could answer the questions below to indicate the range of trainees attending.
 
Do you identify yourself as someone New to Northern Ireland (N2NI)? (Yes/No)
i.e. If you don’t have enough experience of working or living in NI, then please answer yes.
 
Would like to receive an invitation to NIMDTA’s New to Northern Ireland Welcome Event? (Yes/No)

Self-Assessment

1. ST1 Histopathology Self-Assessment 2025
The questions below require you to select the most appropriate achievement from each section. The answers to these questions will make up the application score used to allocate candidates to interview.  
 
  1. All Candidates MUST upload evidence for ALL self-assessment domains at time of application.
  2. All Evidence MUST be uploaded in PDF FORMAT.
  3. You MUST upload an index page before completing the self-assessment. The index should detail the evidence you have provided for each domain, to help the validators navigate through your evidence. This document MUST be named 00Index.pdf. An approved index template can be downloaded from the document library for this vacancy which illustrates how we expect your evidence to be organised. Failure to provide an index that clearly lists where all required evidence can be found AND which domain it is linked to will result in your application being rejected. 
  4. Please combine evidence for each domain into ONE pdf per domain in the order listed within your index document. Each Domain should then be labelled accordingly (ie. 01Quals)
  5. If it is not possible for you to combine documents into one pdf, you will be permitted a max of 5 documents per domain and they should be labelled accordingly (ie, 01a, 01b, etc. in order based on your index page)
  6. Please ensure you keep to the naming convention above and DON’T use any non-alphanumeric characters (ie. &*.%$) as this will prevent the transfer of your documents into SharePoint for validation.  The naming convention is provided to allow the validation panel to quickly identify your evidence and identify which domain it applies to.  If it is not clear from the file name which domain the evidence relates to, the validation panel reserves the right to reject that file. 
  7. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure uploaded documents FULLY DEMONSTRATE the required evidence based on the rating they have chosen. Failure to do so may result in the score for that domain being reduced. (ie. if you have claimed that you have presented at a national or international meeting, do not expect your slides alone to be accepted as evidence; instead please upload confirmation from the conference organisers that your presentation was included in the programme of events.)
  8. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure uploaded documents are CORRECTLY ORIENTATED AND LEGIBLE. Failure to do so may result in that domain being scored zero.
  9. ONLY upload documentation directly relevant to your self-assessment. The validating panel cannot be expected to review your entire portfolio. If a candidate is deemed to have uploaded unnecessary documentation that prevents the validation panel from quickly identifying the correct evidence, their application will be rejected.
  10. You can only claim on the basis of achievements completed at point of submission of your application.
  11. Scores are not adjustable after submission – you cannot amend your self-assessment score after should you have made a mistake on your application form or gained an achievement after the submission of your application.
  12. It is never permissible to share or upload patient identifiable data.  Any file found to contain patient identifiable data will be removed from your evidence folder, prior to validation, to prevent it being shared further.  NIMDTA may also be obliged to raise this as a GDPR issue and inform your Responsible Officer.
 
Please select one option from each of the dropdown boxes below.  The score for each option is clearly indicated.  You must provide suitable evidence of all your achievements in order to be awarded points.  This evidence must be uploaded onto Oriel at time of application.  Please note, evidence used in support of one domain cannot be used in support of another.
 
01 – Additional Undergraduate Degrees and Qualifications.  
Please Choose one of the following
  • Degree obtained prior to starting medicine – 1ST CLASS HONOURS OR EQUIVALENT (can include non-medical related degrees) : 3
  • Degree obtained prior to starting medicine – 2.1 OR EQUIVALENT (can include non-medical related degrees) : 2
  • None/Other : 0
 
02 – Postgraduate Degrees and Qualifications.  
Please choose one of the following
  • PhD or DPhil Doctor of Philosophy (can include non-medical related qualifications) : 4
  • MD Doctor of Medicine (not undergraduate) – two-year original research-based or MPhil Master of Philosophy (can include non-medical related qualifications) : 4
  • Masters level degree eg MSc, MA, MRes, etc. (can include non-medical qualifications). Typically lasting 8 months or longer, full-time equivalent : 3
  • Other relevant postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate typically lasting BETWEEN ONE AND TEN MONTHS (whole time equivalent). You cannot claim for any membership examinations, or parts thereof, from within or outside of the UK, this includes MRCP(UK). Qualifications unrelated to medicine cannot be claimed for in this option : 2
  • None/other : 0
03 – Presentation / Posters.  
Please choose one of the following
  • I have GIVEN a HISTOPATHOLOGY related ORAL PRESENTATION at a NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meeting after being INVITED/SELECTED to do so : 8
  • I have GIVEN a NON-HISTOPATHOLOGY related ORAL PRESENTATION at a NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meeting after being INVITED/SELECTED to do so  : 5
  • I have SHOWN MORE THAN ONE HISTOPATHOLOGY related POSTER at NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meetings : 8
  • I have SHOWN MORE THAN ONE NON-HISTOPATHOLOGY related POSTER at NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meetings : 5
  • I have SHOWN ONE HISTOPATHOLOGY related POSTER at a NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meeting : 6
  • I have SHOWN ONE NON-HISTOPATHOLOGY related POSTER at a NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meeting : 4
  • I have GIVEN a HISTOPATHOLOGY related ORAL PRESENTATION at a REGIONAL medical meeting after being invited to do so : 6
  • I have GIVEN a NON-HISTOPATHOLOGY related ORAL PRESENTATION at a REGIONAL medical meeting after being INVITED to do so : 4
  • I have SHOWN ONE or MORE POSTERS at a REGIONAL medical meeting(s) : 4
  • I have GIVEN an ORAL PRESENTATION, or SHOWN ONE or MORE POSTERS at a LOCAL medical meeting(s) after being INVITED to do so  : 2
  • I was a significant contributor to an ORAL PRESENTATION or POSTER at a NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL medical meeting, which I DID NOT personally present or show : 2
  • None/other : 0
 
04 – Publications.  
Please Choose one of the following
  • I am first author, or joint-first author, of TWO or MORE PubMed-cited original research publications (or in press) : 5
  • I am co-author of TWO or MORE PubMed-cited original research publications (or in press) : 4
  • I am first author, or joint-first author, of ONE PubMed-cited original research publication (or in press) : 4
  • I am co-author of ONE PubMed-cited original research publication (or in press) : 3
  • I am first author, joint-first author, or co-author of MORE THAN ONE PubMed-cited OTHER PUBLICATION (or in press) such as editorials, reviews, case reports, letters, etc. : 3
  • I am first author, joint-first author, or co-author of ONE PubMed-cited OTHER PUBLICATION (or in press) such as an editorial, review, case reports, letters, etc. : 3
  • I have published one or more abstracts, non-peer reviewed articles or published articles that are not PubMed-cited : 2
  • None/Other : 0
05 – Teaching Experience.  
Please Choose one of the following
  • I have worked with local tutors to DESIGN and/or ORGANISE a teaching programme (a series of sessions) to enhance locally organised teaching for healthcare professionals or medical students. I have CONTRIBUTED REGULARLY to teaching over a period of APPROXIMATELY THREE MONTHS or longer. I have evidence of FORMAL FEEDBACK : 5
  • I have provided REGULAR teaching for healthcare professionals or medical students over a period of APPROXIMATELY THREE MONTHS or longer. I have evidence of FORMAL FEEDBACK : 3
  • I have taught medical students or other health professionals OCCASIONALLY. I have evidence of FORMAL FEEDBACK : 2
  • None/Other (0)
 
06 – Training in Teaching.  
Please Choose one of the following.
  • I have been awarded a masters level teaching qualification : 5
  • I have a higher qualification in teaching eg PG Cert or PG Diploma : 3
  • I have had some training in teaching methods (eg a local deanery course) : 1
  • I have had no training in teaching methods : 0
 
07 – Quality Improvement (QI).  
Please Choose one of the following
  • I played a leading role in the DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION of a sustainable change (ie more than one completed PDSA cycle) using QI (not audit) METHODOLOGY, AND I have PRESENTED the results at a meeting : 10
  • I have ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED in the DESIGN and IMPLEMENTATION of a sustainable change (ie more than one completed PDSA cycle) using QI (not audit) METHODOLOGY, AND I have PRESENTED the results at a meeting : 8
  • I played a leading role in the DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION of a sustainable change (ie more than one completed PDSA cycle) using QI (not audit) METHODOLOGY, BUT I have NOT PRESENTED the results at a meeting : 6
  • I have participated on a course on QI methodology : 4
  • None/Other : 0
 
08 – Leadership and Management.  
Please Choose one of the following
  • I hold/have held a NATIONAL leadership or managerial role related to the provision of healthcare for 6 OR MORE MONTHS : 8
  • I hold/have held a NATIONAL leadership or managerial role in a non-medical voluntary capacity for 6 OR MORE MONTHS : 8
  • I hold/have held a REGIONAL leadership or managerial role related to the provision of healthcare for 3 OR MORE MONTHS : 6
  • I hold/have held a LOCAL leadership or managerial role related to the provision of healthcare for 3 OR MORE MONTHS : 4
  • I hold/have held a LOCAL/REGIONAL leadership or managerial role in a non-medical voluntary capacity for 6 OR MORE MONTHS : 4
  • None/Other : 0
09 – Commitment to Histopathology as a Specialty.  
Please Choose one of the following.
  • I have completed a postgraduate period of training in Histopathology lasting 3 or MORE MONTHS (eg foundation year programme etc.) within the last five years OR I have completed a brief taster attachment in a Pathology Department of two or more days duration within the last 5 years : 10
  • I have completed a postgraduate course in pathology (not already listed in Domain 2) eg MSc in Molecular Pathology : 8
  • I have completed an undergraduate elective or taster in a pathology department of two or more days or I have completed a student selected special study module : 6
  • I have attended a scientific meeting in pathology or a College meeting in Pathology : 4
  • I have had no experience of histopathology : 0
 
10 – Histopathology Related Activities.  
Please choose one of the following
  • I have completed a research project related to pathology resulting in a dissertation or published abstract or publication (not already mentioned in Domain 4) : 8
  • I am a co-author of a publication related to pathology (must be different to any publication listed in Domain 4) : 6
  • I have completed an alternative activity related to histopathology that is not listed above and have evidence to demonstrate this : 4
  • I have not completed any of the above histopathology related activities : 0
 
Evidence Index
Please upload your index page to help the validators navigate through your evidence.  Index templates can be downloaded from the document library for this vacancy.  Please list all evidence you have uploaded as part of this self-assessment in the order it will appear.  The document should be named ‘00Index.pdf’.