Psychiatry of Learning Disability (NI) ST4 - Specialty Specific Application Form Questions

These are the Specialty Training application form questions used on Oriel for applications to Psychiatry of Learning Disability ST4 higher specialty training in Northern Ireland. These are the application form questions used for posts advertised in November 2023 with a start date from August 2024.
 
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. Additional Undergraduate Degrees and Qualifications

Please include details of the qualification awarded, institution/awarding body and dates. Include intercalated BSc/ equivalent degree here, if you have one. Do not include details of your pre university school education/ exam results. 

For each qualification enter:

  • Name
  • Qualification
  • Place of Study
  • Grade/Honours
  • Date Completed


2. Postgraduate Degrees and Qualifications

Please give details of any completed postgraduate medical qualifications/ other degrees/ diplomas/ certificates. Where a qualification is partly completed please state your exam status. For an MD please state whether this is linked to your primary medical qualification or the result of an independent research thesis. Please include here any relevant qualifications listed as desirable on the person specification.

For each qualification enter:

  • Name
  • Subject/Qualification
  • Place of Study
  • Grade/Result
  • Date Completed


3. Additional Achievements – Prizes, Awards and Distinctions

Prizes, awards and other distinctions (please include specialty and qualifying distinction). Please indicate whether these were awarded to you as an undergraduate or postgraduate.

For each prize/award/distinction enter:

  • Name
  • Prize/Award/Distinction
  • Awarding Body
  • Date Awarded


4. MRCPsych progression

Please provide details of your MRCPsych Part A, Part B and CASC progression. 

If you are due to sit an exam and expect the 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).  

Please state whether you have completed MRCPsych Paper A

  • I have passed MRCPsych Paper A
  • I have sat MRCPsych Paper A and am awaiting the results
  • I have booked MRCPsych Paper A and expect to have results by the start date
  • I have neither passed MRCPsych Paper A or booked my place on the exam

Please enter the date you passed MRCPsych Paper A.  If you have not yet received results, please enter the date you sat / are due to sit the exam.

Please state whether you have completed MRCPsych Paper B

  • I have passed MRCPsych Paper B
  • I have sat the MRCPsych Paper B examination and am awaiting the results
  • I have booked the MRCPsych Paper B examination and expect to have the results by start date
  • I have neither passed MRCPsych Paper B or booked my place on the exam

Please enter the date you passed MRCPsych Paper B.  If you have not yet received results, please enter the date you sat / are due to sit the exam.

Please state whether you have completed CASC 

  • I have passed CASC
  • I have sat the CASC examination and am awaiting the results
  • I have booked the CASC examination and expect to have the results by the start date
  • I have neither passed CASC or booked my place on the exam

Please enter the date you passed the CASC examination.  If you have not yet received results, please enter the date you sat / are due to sit the exam.

5. Presentations and Publications

In this section please provide details of your most relevant publications in journals or presentations to local bodies, regional or national societies. Please state whether the presentation was oral or a poster. Please give full citation details of any published work (please provide PubMed link or alternative in your answer). Please give a statement about your personal contribution to the work (e.g. first author, lead investigator)

If you do not have an achievement in that area, please put ‘N/A’ in the relevant box.

Presentations at regional or national level (Words allowed: 200)

Presentations at local level (Words allowed: 200)

Publications in peer reviewed journals (Words allowed: 200)

Other publications – conference extracts etc. (Words allowed: 200)

6. 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.

 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 how the course was conducted (Words allowed: 100)

Quality Improvement

Please provide details of your experience of quality improvement activities, providing 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)

Skills and Attributes

Describe how you believe you meet the person specification for the programme you are applying for. Include the particular skills and attributes that make you suitable for a career in this specialty. (Words allowed: 250)

Commitment to specialty

Please provide evidence of activities and achievements which demonstrate your commitment to a career in this specialty and/or have led to the development of skills relevant to career in this specialty (Words allowed: 200)

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)

Research Skills

Please give brief details of all research projects, and/or relevant research experience that you have undertaken or are undertaking, including methods used. Indicate your level of involvement and your exact role in the research team detailing when this took place, your time commitment, your contribution/involvement and source of funding. If you have been awarded a higher degree as a result of research, this must be detailed additionally in the appropriate section above. Detail your academic career plans, if applicable. (Words allowed: 300)

Please describe in more detail one of the research projects above. (Words allowed: 300)

7. 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 the Supporting Information section above.

For course enter:

  • Name
  • Course Title
  • Date Attended
  • Course Provider
  • Duration
  • Course Content


8. 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 you like to receive an invitation to NIMDTA’s New to Northern Ireland Welcome Event (Yes | No)

9. Transportation

You will be expected to be able to attend emergencies and provide domiciliary care which may include out of hours visits if you are based in a post which works mainly in the community rather than a hospital base at any time during your training programme. If you are not a car driver, you are expected to provide a car and driver at your own expense in order to meet this requirement. Relying on public transport, bicycles and taxis is not normally acceptable. If you do not hold a UK/EEA driving licence but plan to drive on an existing overseas licence, you must ensure that this is valid. The DVLA web site has more information regarding overseas driver licences.

Please select the appropriate statement and then indicate your agreement to the statement of intent that follows:

  • I hold a full, current UK/EEA drivers licence – I have access to a vehicle for work purposes and am able to provide emergency and domiciliary care at any time during my training programme. If, for any reason, my licence ceases to be valid or I no longer have access to a vehicle, I agree to provide a vehicle or vehicle and driver at my own expense so that I may continue to fulfill this requirement.
  • I hold a full, current UK/EEA drivers licence but do NOT have access to a vehicle for work purposes – should it be necessary in the course of my training programme to provide emergency / domiciliary care, I agree to provide a vehicle or vehicle and driver at my own expense so that I may fulfill this requirement.
  • I do not drive – Should it be necessary in the course of my training programme to provide emergency and domiciliary care and I have not yet obtained a full valid UK drivers licence, I agree to provide a vehicle and driver at my own expense so that I may fulfil this requirement.
  • I do not drive due to medical reasons – Should it be necessary in the course of my training programme to provide emergency and domiciliary care, I agree to provide a vehicle and driver at my own expense so that I may fulfil this requirement unless my employer is able to make other reasonable adjustments to the job or to this requirement.
  • I hold an overseas drivers licence that allows me to drive legally in the UK – I understand that an overseas drivers licence is valid for 12 months from date of residence in the UK and that in order to continue driving in the UK after this date, I am required to obtain a UK drivers.[sic]

Self-assessment

1. ST4 Psychiatry Self-Assessment (Northern Ireland)

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.  Similarly, if your score depends on a publication having a PubMed reference, please ensure this is clearly visible within your evidence submission.)
  8. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure uploaded documents are CORRECTLY ORIENTATED AND LEGIBLE. Failure to do so may result 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.


Please note
: Unless stated otherwise, all domains are measured as at the time of application. Please do not award yourself points for the same example in more than one domain

1. Undergraduate Training – Additional Degrees and Qualifications

  • Intercalated BSc (or BA or similar/higher degree) OR First-class BSc (or similar/higher) prior to starting medicine and relevant to medicine/ Psychiatry : 2
  • BSc / BA (or similar/higher) prior to starting medicine and not relevant to medicine/Psychiatry : 1
  • MD linked to Primary Medical qualification : 1
  • None of the above : 0


2. Undergraduate Training – Prizes and Awards

  • Distinction (or equivalent) for my Primary Undergraduate Medical Degree (i.e. exceptional standard/performance for overall degree) : 2
  • Prize, Merit or Distinction during my undergraduate medical training (i.e. award for high performance in module or part of degree course OR the award of Merit for overall degree) : 1
  • I was not awarded a Prize, Merit or Distinction during my undergraduate medical training : 0


3. Postgraduate Medical Qualifications –
(Do not score the same qualifications in more than one domain)

  • Masters qualification in relevant field e.g. Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, Leadership, Management : 5
  • Postgraduate diploma in relevant field e.g Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, Leadership, Management : 4
  • UK primary postgraduate qualification e.g. MRCP Part 1, MCEM A (excluding MRCPsych) OR Postgraduate certificate in relevant field e.g. Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, Leadership, Management. : 3
  • None of the above : 0


4. Postgraduate Training – Prizes and Awards

  • Personal award or recognition from national body, such as RCPsych, GMC or British Medical Association, e.g. trainee of the year : 3
  • An award at Deanery level, or from regional body or regional level of national body (e.g.RCPsych NI Divison Research prize, VALUED Award) : 2
  • None of the above : 0


5.
Postgraduate Training in other Specialties in the past 5 working years – including research posts but excluding Foundation or Psychiatry

  • More than 12 months in another specialty by the time of appointment, with achievement of expected outcomes, anywhere in the world : 2
  • 5 to 12 months experience in another specialty by the time of appointment, with achievement of expected outcomes, anywhere in the world : 1
  • No experience in another specialty by the time of appointment : 0

 

6. Clinical Governance, Audit and Quality Improvement as a Postgraduate in the last three working years (pro rata)

  • Have led postgraduate audit projects or Quality Improvement work (e.g. managed an audit OR quality improvement project OR made recommendations for changes to practice based on audit findings OR closed the audit loop OR led a trainee collaborative multicentre audit regionally) – at least 1 presented at a Regional, National or International meeting : 6
  • Have made a significant contribution to designing / managing postgraduate audit projects or Quality Improvement work (e.g. managed an audit OR quality improvement project OR made recommendations for changes to practice based on audit findings OR closed the audit loop) OR led a trainee collaborative multicentre audit at my hospital)- at least 1 presented at a Regional, National or International meeting : 4
  • Have made a significant contribution to designing / managing postgraduate audit projects or Quality Improvement work (e.g. managed an audit OR quality improvement project OR made recommendations for changes to practice based on audit findings OR closed the audit loop OR led a trainee collaborative multicentre audit at my hospital ) – presented at a local meeting : 3
  • Have taken part in other people\u0027s postgraduate audits or Quality Improvement projects, (i.e. data collection or made other minor contributions, but not led or designed the project) : 2
  • I have not participated in an audit or Quality Improvement project : 0


7. Research

  • I have had ongoing commitment and direct involvement in a research project : 2
  • I have been involved with recruitment of participants to research projects or assisted with data collection : 1
  • I have not participated in research : 0


8. Teaching
– (Do not score the same qualifications in more than one domain)

  • I have undertaken a major dissertation and been awarded a Masters in Medical / Clinical Education : 6
  • I have made a major contribution to a teaching programme including organising a programme : 5
  • I have obtained a Postgraduate Diploma or Certificate in Education / Teaching : 4
  • I have some experience in formal teaching Health Professionals or health related topics to a non-medical audience (e.g. lectures) : 3
  • I have carried out informal teaching of colleagues (including nurses and medical students) : 1
  • I have not contributed to teaching : 0


9. Academic Publications –
(undergraduate or postgraduate including publications written on behalf of a trainee led collaborative)

  • I am first author in one or more peer-reviewed publication as a postgraduate, OR sole author of at least one  book chapter : 5
  • I am co-author in one or more peer-reviewed publication as a postgraduate, OR co-author of a book chapter : 3
  • I am an author of an undergraduate publication : 2
  • I have published one or more abstracts or articles (including e-publications) OR I have published a letter : 1
  • I have not published anything : 0


10. Presentations and Poster Presentations in last five working years (Pro Rata)

  • I have presented at a Regional, National or International meeting : 5
  • I have presented at Trust level, not on the Academic Programme  : 3
  • I have made no presentations nor shown any posters : 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’.