Specialty Recruitment

Welcome to the Specialty Recruitment pages of the NIMDTA website.

Recruitment Opportunities

Commencing February 2020
Specialty Level Number of vacancies Lead Recruiter Interview Dates How to Apply
Anaesthetics ST3 2 West Mids 24th Sept 2019 Oriel
Clinical Oncology ST3 0-2 LaSE 1st Oct 2019 Oriel
Palliative Medicine ST3 1 ST3Recruitment.org.uk 10th Sept 2019 Oriel
Cardiology ST3  2 NIMDTA TBC  Oriel
Chemical Pathology ST3 2 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Clinical Genetics (Available from Oct 2019) LAT3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Combined Infection leading to a CCT in Medical Microbiology ST3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Combined Infection leading to a Dual CCT in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ST3 2 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
 Genitourinary Medicine LAT3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Haematology ST3 2 (& LAT x 3) NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Medical Oncology (No Guaranteed On-call) LAT3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Neurology ST3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Rehabilitation Medicine ST3 1 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Respiratory Medicine LAT3 3 NIMDTA TBC Oriel
Commencing August 2020

The timeline for August 2020 recruitment is available here

Details of the vacancies available will follow shortly.

Applicants Guide

The Applicant Handbook for Northern Ireland for posts commencing August 2019 is available below:

Please note this applies to Northern Ireland only.  It is important that all applicants read this guide as it contains all the information that applicants will require regarding this Recruitment process.

SPECIFIC ARRANGEMENTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND: Please note that Flexibility in Deployment of Trainees is applicable only to England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has separate arrangements for management of requests for Special Circumstances.  Further information is available via email to Recruitmentconfidential.NIMDTA@hscni.net Facilitated Placements will not take place in Northern Ireland for August 2018 in any specialty process.

Deferral of Posts: Deferral for non-statutory reasons within the GP Process will not be facilitated in Northern Ireland.

Single Transferable Score:  Please note, where a recruitment process is using Single Transferable Score, applicants should be reminded that offers should be accepted with upgrades.

Competition Ratios

Interview Formats
The format of interviews differs between specialties. Each interview process will generally include between 2 and 5 interview stations which may assess skills such as communication, clinical judgement, prescribing amongst others. During the interview process, candidates will encounter a lay representative who will be there to ensure the panel is conducting a fair and transparent process. Candidates should also note that they may encounter actors during some recruitment processes.

For information regarding National Recruitment Processes, please refer to the lead recruiters’ website.

ID Check Process

Below you will find a list of documents that you will be required for ID check process when attending interview in Northern Ireland.

Document Number of Copies Required Notes
Proof of identity 1 Original Passport
Right to Work 1 Evidence of visa status, including letter from the Home Office, Passport and Residence Permit.
Proof of address (x2) 1 Please refer to this link (http://www.nimdta.gov.uk/professional-support/human-resources/access-ni-checks/) for what are acceptable form of Proof of Address required for Access NI Checks.
GMC/GDC Certificate and License to Practice 1 GMC/GDC Certificate or valid registration certificate Candidates must bring a copy of both their original GMC certificate and their renewal letter which can be obtained from the online register.

PORTFOLIO Candidate portfolios may be examined by panel members and may be scored as part of the interview process.  Candidates are strongly advised to ensure that it contains all information detailed in their application form e.g. audits, publications, evidence of any specific competences required to enter the specialty. As candidates will be asked to refer to documents during the interview process it is important that these can be accessed quickly if required. Although many trainees now use e-portfolio, a hard copy portfolio is required at interview. Candidates should refer to the lead recruiter website for further guidance on how to prepare their portfolio, but please see below for a basic guide

Offers of Appointment
Information regarding the offers process can be found on pages 30 – 32 of the Medical Specialty Recruitment Applicant Handbook 2018.
Career Information
Candidate Feedback

Written feedback will, be made available to candidates on request.

The following information will be made available:

  • Your score per station
  • Your total score
  • Maximum score available
  • Your appointability and the minimum score required for appointability
  • Your rank and the rank needed to obtain a post

For National Recruitment processes using the digital scoring system, all candidates will receive feedback no later than 7 days after the nationally agreed offers deadline.

Candidates may request feedback by submitting this form. Written feedback, other than the information identified above, is not provided.  Verbal feedback is also not provided.

Requests for scoresheets / interview notes will be dealt with under the Subject Access Provisions of the Data Protection Act.  For details of how to make a request, please visit our Data Protection and Freedom of Information Page.

Pre-Placement Checks
References
Reference reports are not used for scoring purposes during shortlisting or interview but will be reviewed during the selection process and again prior to confirmation of appointment for successful applicants.  The reference process is designed to check the accuracy of your previous employment and training history and to provide assurance of your suitability for employment.You must provide contact details, including up-to-date e-mail addresses, of three referees who have supervised your clinical training within the past three years.  If you are applying to more than one specialty, you may opt to nominate different referees for each specialty.  If you have recently had a career break and can not nominate referees from the past three years, then your referees must include your two most recent supervisors.You should contact your clinical referees in advance to confirm that they are willing to provide a reference and are available and able to do so in the time period required for selection and appointment.If you are offered, and accept a training programme, your employer will not be able to issue a contract without references.It is important that applicants confirm referee email addresses prior to completing the application form. Once offers have been accepted, referees will be contacted by email with details of their referee account. It is therefore important that email addresses are and for email accounts that are regularly accessed. 2018 Reference Form
Access NI Checks (Criminal Records Checks)
From 1 April 2015 AccessNI checks will be completed online. Applicants for forthcoming interviews will no longer be required to bring a completed AccessNI form to interview with them; they will however still need to bring the required ID documents (see link for AccessNI page below). On acceptance of an offer, applicants will be emailed with instructions on how to apply for an AccessNI Certificate online.Please bring the original document and one photocopy of each piece of ID to your document check with you.Please visit the Access NI page for further information.
Fitness to Practise Declarations
As part of the application process to specialty training, applicants are required to declare any fitness to practise issues to recruitmentconfidential.nimdta@hscni.net.  These declarations are held confidentially by the Professional Support Department until the recruitment process is complete.  Declarations from successful applicants will be shared with the Trainee Review Group (TRG) to establish if the information provided warrants completion of an individual Transfer of Information (TOI) form.  The information will also be forwarded to the Medical Director, Director of Medical Education and Medical HR within each future employing Trust for the duration of the training programme.

Please complete and return this form to declare any Fitness to Practise issues

Pre-Placement Health Assessment

NIMDTA co-ordinates pre-placement health assessments on behalf of the employing Trusts.  Successful applicants will be unable to commence employment without having completed a satisfactory PPHA and may result in withdrawal of the offer of appointment.  It is vitally important that all appointed candidates comply with requests for information either by NIMDTA or the employing Trust. Further information on how this will be carried out will be provided on the NIMDTA website.

Evidence of Advanced Life Support (ALS)
All CT1/ST1 Person Specifications have as one of their eligibility criteria the possession of an ALS certificate.  This will be checked pre-employment, and any offer of a training programme will be conditional upon you presenting it to your first employer or the Deanery.
Right to work in the UK
UK and EEA nationals and doctors whose immigration status entitles them to work as a doctor in training in the UK are eligible to apply for specialty training. Evidence of immigration status would be a biometric residence card, date stamped passport and/or identity card. All of these documents need to be dated as at or prior to the application closing date.Other non-UK or non-EEA nationals with limited leave to remain in the UK, whose employment will require a Tier 2 visa, are subject to the resident labour market test. This would include, for example, doctors on student visas or Tier 1 of the Points-Based System who are restricted from taking employment as a doctor in training. The labour market test means that you would only be considered if there were no suitable UK or EEA national (settled status) candidates for the post.You will be asked to bring your passport and proof of your immigration status to any interviews or assessments you attend.***GP Specialty Only*** It is important to note that non-UK/EEA nationals with limited leave to remain in the UK, whose employment will require a Tier 2 visa and subject to the resident labour market test, are eligible in Round 1 and can be offered a training post after UK/EEA nationals (this is only applicable to GP).

Information for applicants from the EU

You will be aware that the UK is in the process of leaving the European Union.  This means freedom of movement will be affected.  However, the HSC will continue to welcome and value staff and trainees from Europe as it does the whole world.

From 30 March 2019 the UK will have left the European Union. If an agreement is reached with the EU, then EU citizens and their family members will be able to move to the UK until 2021 on the same basis as you could do today, with the same rights to work and study freely, as you currently do. For EU citizens who already live in the UK, you are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.  All EU citizens who have lived in the UK for more than five years continuously will be eligible for ‘settled status’ (equivalent to indefinite leave to remain).  If you have lived in the UK for less than five years you will be eligible for ‘pre-settled status’ and can upgrade this to ‘settled status’ when you have been here for five years.  As the Prime Minister announced on 21 January, this process will be free to all from 30 March 2019. Any payment made for an application before this date will be refunded. More information on the settlement scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

In the event that an agreement is not reached, there will be a transition period once free movement ends and before the UK’s new immigration system begins in 2021. During this transition period, newly arriving EU citizens will still be able to enter the UK as they do now for an initial stay of up to three months and will be able to visit, work or study without applying for a visa, but they will not be eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.  If you want to stay in the UK for longer than three months, you can apply from within the UK for ‘European Temporary Leave to Remain’, which will be granted for a further 36 months, subject to identity, criminality and security checks.

More information will be available soon on the process to register and how the UK’s Future Immigration System will work.  To keep up to date, please regularly visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-immigration-after-free-movement-ends-if-theres-no-deal.　

 

Disability Discrimination Act
You will be asked to identify on your application from if you consider yourself disabled as set out in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA.)  You will also be asked to give specific arrangements you require to attend interview if invited.  This information WILL NOT be available to short-listing or selection panels.For more information on the DDA please click here.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
You will be asked to show on your application form if you consider yourself disabled as set out in the Equality Act 2010 and whether you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.  This information will not be available to short-listing panels. For further information visit: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/index.htmWhere necessary and possible, reasonable adjustments will be made to facilitate attendance at interview to meet the needs of applicants with disabilities. Applicants will need to ensure that they enter into an early dialogue with the relevant recruiting organisation. Eg NIMDTA, College or other UK Deanery.
Travel Expenses
Please note candidates travel to attend interviews at their own cost.   Travel expenses will not be reimbursed by NIMDTA.
Allocation of Placements for Doctors in Training
When you submit an application for specialty training, you are applying for a place on an educational training programme.  You are not applying for a specific programme, rotation or post.If you are successful at interview, you will be allocated to the most appropriate programme based on your selection score and programme availability.  Your programme preferences will be taken into consideration wherever possible.  You will receive confirmation of your placement and a contract of employment will be issued by the employing organisation, subject to satisfactory pre-placement checks.
Deferral of Start Date
Applicants can only defer the start of their specialty training programmes on statutory grounds such as personal ill health or maternity leave. Commencement cannot be deferred for reasons such as research, except in the case of candidates who have accepted a GP Post (subject to approval). Applicants who have had a period of ill health or maternity during the training programme from which they are applying will be permitted to defer their entry to specialty training by the same period of time. Tier 2 visa applicants wishing to defer should also discuss this with the appropriate Tier 2 sponsor to ensure they are able to do so under current immigration rules. Applicants must complete this 2019 Application For Deferral Of Commencement Of Specialty Training form and forward it to gpspecialtytraining.nimdta@hscni.net or specialty.nimdta@hscni.net as soon as possible after acceptance of post. For Hospital Specialty Training applications, NIMDTA will seek support from the appropriate Head of School and Training Programme Director.  All applications will be considered by the relevant Head of Department and applicants will be advised by email of the outcome.
Special Circumstances
Allocation of placements will take place on completion of the recruitment process.  If you have special circumstances which need to be considered when allocating your placement, please complete the appropriate documentation in the ‘Special Circumstances – Guidance for Specialty Trainees’ which can be found here.
Complaints Process
It is inevitable that some applicants will be disappointed by the outcome for the recruitment process as it is a competitive one.  A complaints process is an essential safeguard against unfairness.  The complaints process for 2018 recruitment appears below:

If an applicant has concerns or complaints about their interview process, they should raise this immediately with the Recruitment Lead before leaving the interview venue. The Recruitment Lead will then complete this form.

Trust Information
Information regarding working patterns, detailed job descriptions, salary scales and Terms and Conditions of Employment for Specialty Training Doctors will be available on the Trust websites.  Our Trust HR Information page contains details of forms which must be downloaded and completed for commencement of your placement, and also details the documentation you are required to supply on our first day.
Code of Practice - Provision of Information for Postgraduate Medical Training
Doctors in training require details about the programmes and posts they are applying for, where they will be working and their conditions of employment.  This Code of Practice lays out the agreed set of information that Deaneries and employing Trusts should provide to doctors in training at each stage of the recruitment process.

View Information for Newly Appointed Doctors in Training.If you have any questions regarding the information above, please contact specialty.nimdta@hscni.net.