National Neurosurgery ST1 & ST2 Recruitment.
2024
There will be no face to face interviews in 2023, all interviews will be carried out remotely (dependant on future COVID developments/restrictions).
National Neurosurgery will be recruiting to ST1 and ST2 level only in 2023. We are no longer recruiting to ST3 level. For eligibility please refer to the 2023 person specifications which can be found on the Specialty Training website.
The national Recruitment Office for Neurosurgery is NHS England - Yorkshire. We are recruiting to posts across the UK. All posts have the required educational and Dean's approval.
Further sources of information:
New Immigration Ruling:
With effect from 6 October 2019, all medical practitioners are on the Shortage Occupation List. This means that with the exception of all applicants to Public Health, all specialty recruitment applicants will be exempt from the RLMT; there will be no restriction on their appointment.
Important Information
For information and FAQ’s about how COVID-19 is affecting Medical and Dental recruitment, please see the information available on the specialty training website.
https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment
Once confirmed the number of vacancies for each Local Office/Deanery will be listed below. For information about the posts in each region please follow the links below to view the individual Local Office websites.
NB Neurosurgery has a vacancy cap with 24 posts available in total, the number of clinical posts offered will partly depend on the number of Neurosurgery ACF posts accepted.
Local Office/Deanery | ST1 |
ST2 |
LAT |
East Midlands | TBC | TBC | N/A |
East of England | TBC | TBC | N/A |
London & South East/KSS | TBC | TBC | N/A |
North West | TBC | TBC | N/A |
North East | TBC | TBC | N/A |
Thames Valley | TBC | TBC | N/A |
Scotland | TBC | TBC | TBC |
South West | TBC | TBC | N/A |
Wales | TBC | TBC | TBC |
Wessex | TBC | TBC | N/A |
West Midlands | TBC | TBC | N/A |
Yorkshire & the Humber | TBC | TBC | N/A |
Northern Ireland | TBC | TBC | TBC |
All vacancy information is indicative and subject to change.
The recruitment process for Neurosurgery will follow the timeline below:
Activity |
Date(s) |
Applications Open |
Thursday 26th October 2023 at 10am |
Application Deadline |
Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 4pm |
Shortlisting |
TBC |
MSRA Window |
Thursday 4th January 2024 - Sunday 14th January 2024 |
Interview Invites Released |
TBC |
Interviews |
TBC |
Nationally R1 Initial Offers Released by |
Tuesday 26th March 2024 by 5pm |
Holding Deadline |
Thursday 4th April 2024 at 1pm |
Upgrade Deadline |
Tuesday 9th April 2024 at 4pm |
Hierarchal Deadline |
Wednesday 10th April 2024 at 4pm |
*All dates and times are indicative and subject to change.
Applications will only be accepted through the Oriel Online Recruitment system. For further guidance on creating an account, registering and submitting your application using the system please refer to the Oriel Applicant User Guide.
Creating an account
You will need to create an account on the Oriel Online Recruitment system before you can start your application. On the homepage, click “Register Here” and complete the short applicant registration form.
Completing your application
The application forms will open at 10am on 26th October 2023. Use the Vacancy Search tool to navigate to the application form and click “Apply”.
There are a number of sections within the application form:
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Personal Details
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Eligibility
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Fitness to Practise
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References
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Evidence of Competences and Experience
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Employment History
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Evidence of Selection Criteria
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Supporting Information
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Equality & Diversity
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Monitoring Form
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Declarations
Please complete all sections in full before submitting your application. Once you have submitted your application, the only sections you will be able to change are your personal details and your references.
Application Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications is 4pm on 23rd November 2023. After this time no applications will be accepted. There will be no exceptions to this deadline. You are advised to complete and submit your application ahead of the deadline to allow for any unforeseen problems.
Application Status
You can track the progress of your application by checking the Application Status through your Oriel account. When your application status changes you should receive an email informing you of the change.
The eligibility criteria for Neurosurgery are listed in the 2023 Person Specifications. PLEASE NOTE - 2024 Person Specifications are under review and subject to change.
Experience
ST1
24 months’ or less clinical experience, of which no more than 12 months (maximum) experience in any combination of the following specialties; Neurosurgery, Neurology, Neuro-radiology, Neuropathology, and Neuro-intensive care. (All experience above is by time of intended start date and excluding 24 months of foundation modules)
Please note all experience (after 24 months Foundation Modules) is counted, this is regardless of the post level, locum or permanent posts or country the experience was gained in.
ST2
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Current employment in a UK Neurosurgery training programme at the time of application and ST1 competences will be achieved in a UK Neurosurgery training programme by the time of appointment.
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ALL other applicants should have the alternative certificate of competence completed. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the application process.
(All experience above is by time of intended start date and excluding foundation modules)
It is an applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria.
All applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria during longlisting. Any applications which do not meet the eligibility criteria will be longlisted out of the process and will not progress to the next stage.
“By allowing applicants to progress to the interview stage, Health Education England working across Yorkshire and the Humber HAS NOT accepted or confirmed that applicants meet all eligibility requirements. This includes immigration status, evidence of achievement of Foundation competencies or equivalent, and requisite length of time in training as per the relevant national person specification. This list is not exhaustive, and is applicable to all eligibility criteria. Applicants may still be withdrawn from the application process at any stage, including after the interviews have taken place, if the evidence pertaining to an eligibility criterion is found to be unsatisfactory by Health Education Yorkshire and the Humber.”
Immigration
With effect from 6 October 2019, all medical practitioners are on the Shortage Occupation List. This means that with the exception of all applicants to Public Health, all specialty recruitment applicants will be exempt from the RLMT; there will be no restriction on their appointment.
Shortlisting - date TBC
MSRA
All applicants will be required to sit the MSRA, ST1 & ST2.
The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) is a computer-based assessment, delivered in partnership with Work Psychology Group and Pearson VUE, has been designed to assess some of the essential competences outlined in the ST1 Person Specifications and is based around clinical scenarios.
The purpose of the MRSA in the neurosurgery shortlisting process is to give applicants the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that they have acquired during foundation training and medical school. It also tests professional capabilities and decision making which are key components of neurosurgical practice and complements the selection centre. It will account for 40% of the total shortlisting score. Further details about the MRSA is to be found in the MRSA Applicant Guide and MRSA Test Blueprint Information that is available on the Neurosurgery page of our website.
All neurosurgery applicants are required to sit the MSRA in the first recruitment round of any given recruitment year. There are no exceptions or exemptions to this requirement.
The MSRA is delivered on a number of consecutive days throughout the whole of the UK in a large number of Pearson VUE Computer Testing Centres.
All applicants who reside in or, are in employment in the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) during the assessment window are expected to attend a UK test centre.
Interview Dates
The interviews for Neurosurgery will take place on:
TBC
Interview Format - TBC
It will be an online interview in 3 sections exploring clinical scenarios, management and problem solving and candidates’ motivation and understanding of the specialty.
The interview format will be:
- TBC
By allowing applicants to progress to the interview stage, Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery HAS NOT accepted or confirmed that applicants meet all the eligibility requirements. This includes immigration status, evidence of achievement or Foundation competencies or equivalent, and requisite length of time in training as per the relevant national person specification. This list is not exhaustive, and is applicable to all eligibility criteria. Applicants may still be withdrawn from the application process at any stage, including after the interviews have taken place, if the evidence pertaining to an eligibility criterion is found by Yorkshire & the Humber Deanery to be unsatisfactory.
Travel and Subsistence Expenses
Not applicable, as there will be no necessity to travel for your interview.
Oriel Online Offers System
All recruitment offers will be using the Oriel Online Recruitment system to make offers to training posts in 2024.
Preferencing
You will be asked to rank your preferences using the Oriel Recruitment Portal. You will receive an email when preferencing is available.
Allocation to Posts
Successful candidates will be allocated to posts in rank order:
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The highest ranked candidate will be allocated to their first preferenced post.
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The second ranked candidate will be allocated to their first preferenced post unless it has already been allocated to the first ranked candidate in which case they will be allocated their second preferenced post.
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The third ranked candidate will be allocated to their first preferenced post unless it has already been allocated to the first or second ranked candidates. If it has, they will be allocated their second preferenced post unless this has been allocated to the first or second ranked candidates in which case they will be offered their third preference.
This process will continue until all posts are allocated or there are no more appointable candidates.
Any offer made through this recruitment process is an offer of an allocation to a training programme; it is not an offer of employment. Offers of employment can only be by an employing organisation following completion of satisfactory pre-employment checks.
Receiving and Responding to Offers
If you are offered a post you will have 48 hours from the time of your offer, excluding weekends but not bank holidays, to decide whether to accept, reject or hold it. You must respond to the offer through the Oriel Recruitment System. No other form of response will be accepted.
IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO YOUR OFFER WITHIN 48 HOURS, THE OFFER WILL EXPIRE AND THE POST WILL BE OFFERED TO ANOTHER APPLICANT. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY FURTHER OFFERS.
For more information about responding to offers, please see Oriel Applicant Guide which can be downloaded from the Oriel Resource Bank.
Feedback will be provided at three stages of the recruitment process:
Longlisting
If you are not longlisted you will be provided with the reasons for this. If you are longlisted you will receive an email inviting you to book an interview.
Interview Ranking
You will be able to view your total interview score and rank online through their Oriel account once offers are released. Please note that a thorough Quality Assurance and validation process is carried out on all applicants’ scores following the interviews. No scores will be released until this process is complete.
Interview Scores
Scoresheets, including panel member comments, will be emailed to you when the process is complete.
2022 Results
Level | Posts | Applications Submitted | Candidates Interviewed | Lowest Shortlisting Score to be invited to interview | Lowest Score to receive an offer (weighted score) |
ST1 | 16 | 255 | 56 | 90.82 | 422.43 |
ST2 | 1 | 53 | 8 | 92.86 | 429.1 |
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