Following discussions with the Joint Royal Colleges of Physician Training Board (JRCPTB), the Physician Specialty Recruitment Office (PSRO) and the MRCP(UK) office, a decision has been taken to review the requirements for entry into training in Clinical Oncology in 2022.
Full MRCP(UK) by time of appointment is an essential criterion for entry listed in the person specification for 2022. This criterion had previously been removed via a derogation approved by the GMC in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic affecting access to MRCP(UK) exam sittings. It had been reinstated in 2022 for both clinical oncology and all physician specialties.
Due to the backlog of candidates for the MRCP PACES exam caused by the pandemic it has become clear that not all applicants for ST3 posts, in either the physician specialties or clinical oncology, will have the opportunity to sit the exam before August. Therefore, the previous derogation has been reinstated for 2022. This means that trainees who have not yet obtained this diploma will still be eligible for appointment in 2022 to an ST3 post in Clinical Oncology. It is expected however that trainees who are accepted will have been successful in the part 1 and written part 2 examinations of the MRCP(UK) before they can be appointed.
Trainees entering Clinical Oncology at ST3 without MRCP(UK) will have to achieve this diploma before progressing into the ST4 year of training.
For more information, please view JRCPTB’s full statement.
For further information and support please contact training@rcr.ac.uk