Entering higher surgical training in the UK
Please note that the appointments for Type 1 and Type 2 training programmes in the United Kingdom ceased on 31 December 2006; the following information is for reference only for those in the UK. The Republic of Ireland is still recruiting according to the below regulations.
Type 1 and LAT training programmes, prior to 1 August 2007
The minimum entry requirement for appointment to LAT posts (prior to 1 August 2007 only) and Type 1 HST programmes leading to the award of a CCT is the Certificate of Completion of Basic Surgical Training (CCBST), issued by the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Training (ICBST). Recruitment to Type 1 training programmes ceased in January 2007 in the UK, but continues in the Republic of Ireland. Therefore, The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland now issues the CCBST and further information and applications are available at www.rcsi.ie
Trainees with the Collegiate FRCS/MRCS who started in post prior to 8 June 2006 do not need the CCBST certificate but will need to have completed at least 24 months of BST in a rotation of at least three specialties, including the one they are currently in. However, all trainees with the Intercollegiate MRCS need the CCBST regardless of start date.
Type 2 training programmes
The criteria for entry to the grade and the arrangements for making an appointment to a Type 2 training programme or fixed-term training appointment (FTTA) can be more flexible. However, the appointment procedures must assure the standard required for patient safety. In addition, whether appointed from within or outside the UK, doctors must:
- be judged by the appointments committee to have attained a standard ‘similar’, although not ‘equivalent’, to that required for entry to the CCT training programme; and
- demonstrate that they have the experience and qualifications to benefit from the training offered.
The suggested criteria for defining ‘similarity’ is two years spent in training in the generality of surgery, including at least six months in each of three SAC-defined specialties, a significant proportion of which must be spent working with surgical emergencies and/or care of the critically ill.
Entry to Type 2 programmes in oral and maxillofacial surgery requires individuals to be in possession of both a medical and dental qualification. However, flexibility may still be required in the interpretation of ‘similar qualifications’ relating to the MRCS or MFDS examinations.
Type 2 trainees who have been successful in obtaining a Type 1 training number must have the CCBST.
Page last updated: 28 May 2008
