Guidance for colleagues

Doctors must be registered on the GMC’s Specialist Register to take up a substantive (permanent), fixed-term or honorary NHS consultant post. If a doctor hasn’t completed training in the UK and received their CCT or doesn’t have an acceptable EEA or Swiss qualification, they should make a Portfolio Pathway application in order to be added to the GMC Specialist Register.

• Have a specialist qualification in Clinical Radiology from outside the UK or at least six months’ continuous specialist training in Clinical Radiology
• Have substantial experience working as a specialist in Clinical Radiology (even if trained in the UK but not through an approved training pathway)
• Meet the GMC’s requirements for evidence of knowledge, skills and experience, outlined in the high-level learning outcomes in the curriculum for Clinical Radiology

Applicants must demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills and experience (KSE) of a day-one consultant who has received the CCT. These KSEs and the evidence required are specified in the Specialty Specific Guidance for each specialty and doctors are advised to read this carefully in conjunction with the current curriculum.  The RCR provides extensive support for applicants applying through the Portfolio Pathway.  Our webpages include a wide range of guidance and resources designed to help applicants understand the requirements and prepare their portfolios.  The webinar recordings are particularly valuable, as they allow applicants to revisit key information and gain insights into what assessors are looking for. 

Doctors make their application through the GMC and are assigned an adviser who can help with verification issues as well as guiding candidates in the process. Once the evidence bundle is completed, it is sent to the RCR for evaluation by the GMC. It is assessed by at least two members of the Portfolio Pathway Committee and then returned to the GMC with a recommendation to grant or not grant specialist registration. The GMC then notifies the candidate of its decision.

Doctors need to make their Portfolio Pathway application to the GMC, using the dedicated online application process. When collating their evidence, they will need to refer to the Specialty Specific Guidance to ensure they collect all the relevant documents for a successful application. 

Once a GMC adviser has reviewed and accepted their evidence, the application is sent to the RCR for evaluation.  We make a recommendation to the GMC as to whether the application should be approved, but the GMC makes the final decision. 

The application form, fees, guidance, criteria and general process are subject to change, further details can be found on the GMC’s website.

In the UK, Clinical radiology trainees complete about five years of specialty training, according to the current training curriculum.  When they successfully complete training, they are awarded a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in the specialty of Clinical radiology.  The CCT allows the doctor entry onto the GMC specialist register. 
To be awarded this via the Portfolio Pathway, doctors need to submit a range of evidence to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and experience (KSE).

To be eligible to apply under this route, doctors must have either a specialist qualification in the specialty they apply in or at least six months of continuous specialist training in the specialty they apply in. 

Some doctors may be eligible to apply for a Portfolio Pathway in a non-CCT specialty, which, if successful, leads to specialist registration in that specialty.  A non-CCT specialty is a narrower medical specialty than clinical radiology – for example, breast radiology, neuroradiology, paediatric radiology, interventional radiology and so on.  It must be a speciality consistent with NHS consultant practice. 
To be eligible to apply, doctors must have either a specialist medical qualification from outside the UK in any non-CCT speciality, or at least six months of continuous specialist training outside the UK in any non-CCT specialty. 

Their application must demonstrate that their qualification and/or training, along with their subsequent experience, gives a level of knowledge and skill consistent with practice as an NHS consultant

Doctors must have completed a dedicated period of training outside the UK (such as a Fellowship; rotations in your general radiology training are unlikely to count) or obtained an overseas specialist qualification in a non-CCT specialty.  A successful applicant is likely to be practising independently in their field at NHS consultant level, so doctors should consider any potential differences in their practice and what is expected of an NHS consultant in the UK. 

Once the doctor opens a GMC application they will have 24 months to submit their evidence.  Preparing and collating their evidence for the Portfolio Pathway is a huge undertaking so it is important that this is planned and they are supported by their colleagues.

It's important doctors read the SSG in full. There is lots of helpful information in the introductory parts of the SSG, which give an indication of any types of evidence relevant to different learning outcomes in the curriculum and how to cross reference these, how much evidence is enough to meet the learning outcomes, and how to organise their evidence so it’s clear.

Evidence of your competence should be recent as the focus is the doctors CiPs. In general, evidence of their skills or experience should be from the last five years of their clinical practise WTE (whole time equivalent) and does not need to be consecutive. It is considered that evidence from the last five years of clinical practise (WTE) typically demonstrates competencies have been recently maintained.  

Doctors must nominate a minimum of four referees. One of which should be the clinical lead or clinical director from their current post.  All referees should be able to comment on your practice and provide assurance around your knowledge, skills and experience.

• Providing evidence
• Hints and tips
• Webinars - we have some previously recorded webinars hosted by clinical radiology consultant committee members on how to make a successful application  

• Shortfall in consultants
• Growing demand on services
• Impact on patients
• Benefits to your own department
• Locum staff generally do not remain in an individual site for very long; this means that sites more heavily reliant on locums can experience disruption, with more frequent staffing changes

• Giving SPA/dedicated time for preparation
• Making working on/completing application part of PDP in appraisal
• Offer/organise training opportunities to ensure applicants get exposure to required competencies and, if needed, arrange secondments
• Offer/organise opportunities to get experience in such things as department meetings, REALM meetings, teaching, audit/QIP, research, management and leadership (rota management, budget management, amending protocols, new service), on-call
• Facilitate mentorship and peer learning
• Allow study leave for CPD
• Include attendance and presenting at MDT in job plan

• Help them connect with colleagues who have undertaken the process
• Encourage successful applicants to share their knowledge and experience with new candidates
• Keep a shared departmental resource, such as an example evidence bundle
• Encourage candidates to read the Specialty Specific Guidance and to keep referring back to it
• Encourage candidates to visit the RCR website where there is lots of help and advice and to attend the free drop-in clinics and webinars (past webinars are available on the website)
• Encourage early planning so candidates can start gathering their evidence and get help as early as possible
• Encourage resilience, as it can be a long process
• Provide structured feedback on their evidence portfolio
• Offer guidance on next steps if the application is deferred or rejected. On applications that are not granted, the recommendations will detail the further evidence that is required and the Operations Officers are happy to offer advice or clarification

• There is a range of resources on the RCR website for both Clinical radiology and Clinical oncology, including advice on evidence types, hints and tips and a copy of the SSG
• There are free drop-in clinics every month – no registration required. Attendees can ask questions or just come and listen to the advice given. Links can be found on the RCR’s events pages
• There are regular free webinars – information and registration can be found on the RCR’s events pages. Past webinars are made available on the website shortly after the event
• The Workforce Development and Training Operations Officers are also happy to answer questions by email at [email protected]