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The GP Assessment and Selection Process Explained

The National Recruitment Office co-ordinates the nationally agreed and quality assured process for recruitment to GP Specialty Training Programmes.

All submitted applications for GP specialty training will be assessed using a standard, national and consistent staged process outlined below. This is an established and well-researched selection process using modern methodologies that we are confident are fair, robust and fit for purpose. The competency based selection process allows applicants to demonstrate their abilities and suitability for GP training - applications are assessed by the demonstration of competencies as outlined in the National Person Specification. Applicants are, however, reminded that entry to GP specialty training is highly competitive.

See Calendar for key dates relating to current recruitment activity.
 

STAGE 1 - Determination of eligibility

Once your application has been submitted, your application will be manually reviewed and provided it meets essential eligibility criteria your application will be accepted. It is important to note that you will be required to produce evidence of having achieved the competencies of the UK Foundation Training Programme before you can proceed further at this stage. See Entry Requirements for more information.
 

STAGE 2 - Assessment 1 (MMT)

Once your application is accepted you will be asked to attend an initial assessment which forms our short-listing process. This assessment is conducted under examination conditions and you will be asked to agree to a set of rules before you can proceed. This first assessment is conducted on one day in deaneries across the UK and you will be able to attend at the closest available centre to where you are currently living.

The assessment consists of two papers to be completed under invigilated conditions. The papers are designed to assess the essential competencies in the National Person Specification and are based around clinical scenarios.

Professional Dilemmas
The paper focuses on your approach to practicing medicine. The paper lasts 120 minutes. You are presented with scenarios you might meet when practicing as a doctor. Each scenario encapsulates a professional dilemma and you are asked about dealing with it. The paper is designed to assess your understanding of appropriate behaviour for a doctor in difficult situations and allow you to demonstrate the application of competencies such as professional integrity, coping with pressure, and empathy and sensitivity. It does not require specific knowledge of general practice but does assume general familiarity with typical primary and secondary care procedures.

Your responses should represent appropriate behaviour for a second year Foundation doctor. Scoring is based on how close your responses are to the most appropriate response for the item. The most appropriate response is determined by a panel of expert GPs. We only include questions that have been tested and where there is a consensus among our expert panel regarding the most appropriate response to the situation. Applicants can score highly in these questions by providing an answer that is close to, but not identical to that from the expert group. The closer your answer is to our experts responses the more points you will gain for the question.

Clinical Problem Solving
This paper lasts 90 minutes. The questions present clinical scenarios and require you to exercise judgement and problem solving skills to determine appropriate diagnosis and management of patients. This is not a test of your knowledge, but rather your ability to apply it appropriately. The topics will be taken from areas with which a Foundation Programme Year 2 doctor could be expected to be familiar. There are no questions requiring a specific knowledge of general practice.

Questions may be presented in a variety of formats and you will have to choose your answer from the given responses according to your clinical judgement. The examples available for download illustrate some of the question formats that may be used and the type of topics to be covered. Other question formats may be used when appropriate. You will be asked to mark your answers on a separate sheet by filling in lozenges.

You can download example Clinical Problem Solving and Professional Dilemma’s questions from our Download section – there are some practice questions included too!

Preparation hints:

  • Papers are NOT negatively marked so make sure you answer all the questions.
  • Read instructions and questions carefully. You may invalidate your answer by responding inappropriately e.g. marking more options than were asked for.
  • There may be times when you would like more information to answer questions. Just give your best answer given the information provided.
  • Read the example questions carefully. If you feel you would benefit from revisiting some areas of knowledge or practice in order to be better able to show your capability then you should do this before the assessment.
  • We will provide a glossary where questions use terms or abbreviations which are not in universal use or may be misunderstood by some candidates.

The Scoring and Psychometric properties of the paper used in February 2008 and February 2009 are available in our Download section.
 

STAGE 3 - ASSESSMENT 2 (SAC)

Having successfully achieved the standard required at the first assessment you will be invited to a Selection Assessment Centre, (SAC) usually at your first choice Deanery although this will be dependant on the availability of places. You will only be invited to attend at one deanery and you will be expected to attend. Your application will be considered for a training programme at the deanery where you attend the selection centre. Deaneries will request references from all applicants who are invited to attend this second assessment and you will be required to bring those references with you. You can download a Structured Reference Form from our Download section.

You will also be asked to provide photographic proof of identity such as a passport or driving licence. You will be asked to provide documentation relating to your right to work in the UK. You must bring your original GMC certificate and your original medical qualification certificate as well as photocopies of these for us to keep. If you do not currently hold a driving licence, you will be asked to confirm that you have suitable arrangements for attending emergencies and providing domiciliary care. You will also need to bring originals of the evidence you submitted to demonstrate achievement of foundation competency for verification.

Once you have registered and had your documentation collected and/or checked, you will have your photograph taken. This is simply to ensure that the assessors can identify you during the selection process.

You will be asked to indicate your preferred geographical areas or programmes within the deanery from those available and this will be explained when you attend.

Each UK SAC will involve candidates completing 3 exercises which are observed and assessed by trained assessors. The exercises will consist of a patient simulation exercise, a group exercise and a written exercise. There are no interviews and assessors do not have access to your application form, your CV or any other biographical information. Assessors will look for the demonstration of evidence in the competency areas as described in the person specification and each candidate has a number of opportunities to demonstrate these. None of the GP assessors take part in or endorse any preparation courses or books. All the information you need to prepare for and participate in the GP Selection Centre is available here.

  • Patient Simulation Exercise
    This will involve a simulator and a situation which you should be able to deal with as a doctor with at least 18 months postgraduate experience. It will not involve a physical examination and clinical expertise is not specifically assessed. Please refer back to the National Person Specification to consider how this exercise may relate to the competencies required.
  • Written Exercise
    You will have to complete an exercise in which there are no absolutely correct answers. Again we expect you to demonstrate your abilities against the competency areas identified in the Person Specification and this should be your reference.
  • Group Exercise
    You will be randomly allocated to a group to carry out an exercise which will involve a group discussion; this will obviously involve interaction with colleagues and candidates going through the same selection process for a GP Specialty Training programme. The group dynamics will not be assessed. The Person Specification will again be the reference for assessment in this exercise.

You can download an example scenario for each of these exercises from our Download section.

All exercises will have specific and individual written instructions, with advice to spend time reading and being familiar with the requirements of the exercise. The group and written exercises also include time at the end of each exercise to reflect on your performance.

There will be a briefing session at the start of your SAC session and an opportunity for questions at the end of it; this is NOT a feedback session. Feedback on your performance will be given later and will be after the offers have been made.

Preparation hints

  • Be yourself and act naturally.
  • Listen and read carefully all instructions given on the day about the exercises.
  • Be honest.
  • Trust the process which has always had excellent candidate evaluation; specifically the evaluation says the process is fair, even from those who are not successful first time.
  • Practice the example scenarios with your colleagues by all means but we do not recommend that you to book commercial courses or purchase advice and guidance books specifically aimed at doctors undertaking the GP SAC.


STAGE 4 - ALLOCATION AND OFFER

Programmes will be allocated to successful candidates depending upon performance at the SAC, the training programme required and availability of a suitable vacancy. It is expected that deaneries will be unable to offer all successful candidates a training programme. The NRO will attempt to ensure that any remaining vacancies are offered to suitable candidates from other deaneries where appropriate according to their performance ranking at the SAC and their original deanery preferences. Candidates are reminded that if they accept an offer of a training programme, they must not subsequently decline without giving adequate notice.
 

COMPLAINTS and APPEALS

The National GP Recruitment process is carried out jointly by all Deaneries acting within an agreed framework, and supported by the National GP Recruitment Office.
There is an agreed process for dealing with queries and complaints to which principles all Deaneries adhere.

Applicants to GP training and candidates who have any concerns about the process of administration of their application at any stage should seek to contact the Deanery dealing with their application. If this involves a problem relating to the Stage 2 (the written stage) they should contact the Deanery responsible for running the centre that they have attended.

Deaneries will endeavour to clarify and resolve any concerns or queries as soon as possible and this process of clarification will be the first part of any complaint process for all applicants. Please note that Deaneries will try to resolve any errors of process or administration under their control, unless this relates to errors that are the responsibility of individual applicants. Feedback will be given to all candidates about the outcome of their assessment at Stage 3, but it is not possible to address any complaints about the confirmed outcome of an assessment in the GP Recruitment Selection process.

For further information, candidates should obtain details of the Recruitment and Selection complaints process from the Deanery responsible for the processing of their application.

 

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Page last updated: 05-02-2010
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