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Written by Website Administrator
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Saturday, 24 March 2007 |
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ASiT are asking for your opinion about where to go next in the selection of surgical trainees. Please reply and have your say!!
Given the recent announcement form the Department of Health, and statements from the Royal College of Surgeons, we have made efforts to try and clarify some of the details of what this proposal may mean in Surgery.
An option for the 'Rescue Package', as I was informed during a telephone discussion I had today, would be to have the following described situation:
1. Every trainee applying for MTAS would be able to re-visit their application/specialty preference order with knowledge of the competition ratios for posts.
2. Every trainee would then have the ability to amend their first preference regardless of whether the interview has already taken place. This new/altered first choice would automatically lead to an interview for this choice, and the 3 other choices would then be disregarded.
3. Applicants would then be invited to this new/amended first choice interview. Where the candidate has already undertaken an interview in the same specialty/UoA, they would have the opportunity to either let their first interview stand or be re-interviewed in that specialty/UoA.
4. In order to allow sufficient time for interviews and robust selection to occur, current appointments/job contracts would be extended until 1/10/07. People due to enter into foundation training in August would be employed in a 'shadow' capacity on full pay until 1/10/07, and at the time of appointment and changeover on 1/10/07 the F1 doctors would provide continuity within the units.
5. In order to address the issues surrounding ST3 appointment, there would be a concerted effort to create FTSTAs at ST3 level.
6. Work would immediately occur to try and improve selection
methodology for surgery for use in 2008.
Points to consider:
1. Scrapping of the MTAS/MMC system leaves the realistic option for a large number of trainees to be unemployed as the current reconfiguration of training posts means that many previous SHO posts were converted last year to F2 posts. Current SHOs would need to apply for SHO jobs (same number as currently exist), whilst the doctors exiting foundation would have to also apply for this same pool of SHO jobs. What happens to the surplus of doctors?
2. The expansion of training numbers must also be balanced with output at the end of training (according to review of workforce planning that all have been calling for).
3. Number of entry points, and number of posts available for 2008 are as yet unpublished, but we are led to believe that some opportunities will exist.
4. Interviews would need to be reconvened in areas that have already interviewed.
5. Trainees with more than one interview already will be forced to choose which application they would wish to continue to purse, and drop the others from consideration at all.
6. Those currently with no interviews would be offered an interview in their first choice (either new first choice or existing first choice) specialty within their preferred UoA.
7. Some regions have in excess of 600 applicants. Applicants can receive a 30 minute structured interview at a rate of 6 people per hour.
Having considered these points we would like you to answer your preferred choice out of the following statements (Please send reply to
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and indicate the preferred single option in the 'subject' or 'title' of the e-mail eg. Option 1, Option 2, Option 3 etc.)
1. Accept the proposal from the DoH and the 'Rescue Package' for Surgery as outlined above?
2. Accept the proposals from the DoH and the 'Rescue Package' for Surgery as outlined above ONLY ON CONDITION that there are significant published numbers of posts available for those outside the Specialty Training Posts for application into in 2008?
3. Reject the proposals from the Department of Health and 'Rescue Package' for Surgery and continue to require a halt in the MTAS process, and abandon selection the the speciality training grade for
2007 in order to allow surgical specific selection methods to be established?
4. Call for all applicants to receive interviews in each of their 4 choices?
5. Other - please indicate in the text of your e-mail what the other is
We require all answers to be submitted by 8pm on Sunday 25th March in order that we can accurately represent the views of trainees on the current options and proposals before essential meetings on Monday 26th March.
**PLEASE NOTE WE ARE NOT AGREEING TO ANY OF THESE PROPOSALS MERELY CANVASSING OPINION***
EDIT 25/03/07: Please go to to http://www.asit.org/news/MTAS_quick_questionnaire.php instead to fill out the questionnaire.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 25 March 2007 )
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