Application portal, important documents and useful hints and tips
Application portal
Applications for ST1 Clinical Radiology training in England, Scotland and Wales are submitted through the ORIEL recruitment system. This is a single online application for all training posts in England, Scotland and Wales, meaning you do not have to submit multiple applications to each area of the country individually. Applications can only be accessed during the job application period, typically around November each year.
What is ORIEL?
- Website: oriel.nhs.uk
The overall selection process and timeline can be found at the bottom of the ST1 Clinical Radiology interview & application advice page on this website.
Important points:
- You will need 3 consultant referees
- You will not be asked to rank training schemes at this stage (this comes later in the application process)
- You will need to self-score your portfolio as part of the application which will include uploading evidence. This will be validated later on in the application process.
- You can apply to more than one specialty training programme at this point (e.g. Clinical Radiology and Anaesthetics)
Important documents
Below are two essential documents to read before making an application:
Medical Applicant Guidance
- 2021 Medical Applicant Handbook is available to view for the medical recruitment round. The guide is here to assist you in making the best possible applications throughout the full application process. Please read the full guide book to ensure that you are fully equipped before placing an application.
Person specification 2022 for ST1 Clinical Radiology
- This is essentially the eligibility criteria for applying, and probably the most important document to read if applying for ST1 Clinical Raidology. Make sure you meet the person specification for the relevant parts of the application form. Some parts of the person specification are not covered in the ORIEL application and may be assessed during the interview.
- Importantly, applicants must:
- Be eligible for full GMC registration and hold a licence to practice at the intended start date for training.
- Have evidence of achievement of foundation competancies in the three and a half years preceeding the advertised post start date via one of the following:
- Current employment in a UKFPO-affiliated foundation programme OR
- Awarded an FPCC (or FACD 5.2) from a UK affiliated foundation programme within the 3.5 years of the start date OR
- 12 months medical experience after full GMC registration (or equivalent), and evidence to commence specialty training in the form of a Certificate of Readiness to Enter Specialty Training
- Be eligible to work in the UK.
Scoring your portfolio
Self-scoring your portfolio is an early part of the application process and makes up 1/3rd of your total application score so it is vital you try to do well here. A portfolio is a record of all of your achievements to date.
The scoring system may change year to year, however the 2023 system is presented below: There are 8 domains, with various points to be scored from each:
- Commitment to Specialty
- Leadership and Management
- Teaching & Training
- Formal Teaching Qualifications
- Audit & Quality Improvement
- Academic Achievements
- Prizes & Awards
Points can be scored from a variety of achievements within each domain, however the scoring system is strict. If you meet the requirements of more than one score, select the single highest which applies. Once submitted, the scores cannot be edited if there is a mistake, so be very careful!
You will likely be asked to subsequently upload proof of your achievements for review so it is really important you keep a good record of these during your training. Keep any certificates, awards or letters. If you do not have evidence of an achievement then you will be unable to gain points for it and all achievements must be fully completed (i.e. you cannot claim for a degree not yet awarded). You may include publications if they have been ‘accepted’ by a journal and passed peer review, but remain “in press” or “pre-print”. The evidence uploaded in this case should include the acceptance letter from the editor. Presentations are only valid once they have actually been delivered.
All achievements should be dated after the commencement of your first relevent undergraduate degree, and in any case, within the last 10 years. If an achievement legitimately fits under multiple domains (e.g. academic work which was presented orally then subsequently published), then it is ok to claim in both categories.
Here is the scoring system from previous years:
Commitment to Specialty
| Description | Points |
| Multiple significant exposures to the work of a clinical radiology department | 10 |
| One significant exposure to the work of a radiology department | 6 |
| Exposure to the work of a clinical radiology department, not meeting the above | 3 |
| None of the above | 0 |
A significant exposure means a period of at least 3 whole day equivalent time attached to a clinical radiology department. For example:
- A taster week/observership placement.
- A student-selected component, elective, or similar part of a degree course.
- A radiology based clinical (not lab) research project involving presence in a department/working with a radiologist.
Multiple exposures must be meaningfully different; for example, more than one of the above types. A taster week in both a district general hospital and a tertiary referral centre would qualify for the highest descriptor, but not two taster weeks in the same type of setting. Evidence for this section could include:
- Letter confirming placement from clinical supervisor/education lead.
- Official university documents confirming radiology based placement/component.
- Details of a radiology based project with evidence of your involvement.
Leadership and Management
| Description | Points | Examples |
| Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role involving radiology | 7 | National role e.g. within specialist society, royal college, nationally held fellowship position, relevant to radiology. |
| Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role not involving radiology, but relating to healthcare OR Hold/have held a local/regional level leadership or managerial role involving radiology | 5 | National non-radiology healthcare role e.g. within BMA, royal college, etc. Local role e.g. committee member of undergraduate radiology society |
| Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role outside healthcare OR Hold/have held a local/regional leadership or management role not involving radiology but relevant to healthcare | 3 | National roles outside healthcare may include charity work, sports, creative arts. Local role relevant to healthcare but not radiology e.g. Junior Doctors Forum or Mess committee, Foundation programme rep. |
| Hold/have held a local/regional leadership or management role outside healthcare | 2 | As above, at a local level. |
| None of the above | 0 |
Any roles claimed above must have been for a minimum period of 6 months. Local would mean at the level of a hospital single Trust, University etc. Roles outside healthcare include voluntary activity, arts, and other sciences, but not paid employment.
Appropriate evidence would include confirmation of election/appointment, evidence of attendance at committee meetings, letters from chair or senior figure within relevant organization. Evidence should specify the applicant by name, the role, and major responsibilities thereof.
Teaching & Training
| Description | Points |
| Made a major contribution to a national or international teaching programme | 5 |
| Made a major contribution to a local or regional teaching programme | 4 |
| Have evidence of providing organised teaching or training | 2 |
| None of the above | 0 |
A major contribution means a leading or organising role, such as a formal teaching fellowship or personally organising a formal, multi-session teaching course. National or international programmes should be open to all relevant learners in that discipline and would usually form part of a formal qualification e.g. MBBS degree, speciality diploma, etc.
Local or regional programmes would be organised at the level of, for example, a single hospital Trust, and could include Foundation Programme teaching or similar activities. Formal teaching outside medicine e.g. to school students or in the community can also be included.
One-off, small group teaching would qualify in the 3rd descriptor, as would evidence of solely delivering a single session to a larger local or national programme.
For the purposes of this section a formal teaching programme should have a duration of at least 3 months in total. Appropriate evidence would include:
- Official documentation indicating your role as an organiser or deliverer of teaching
- Contemporaneous feedback collated or countersigned by a 3rd party
Formal Teaching Qualifications
| Description | Points |
| Hold a formal masters level teaching qualification or above | 5 |
| Hold a formal teaching qualification awarded at postgraduate level (e.g. CILT, PGCert, PGDip) | 4 |
| Evidence of other training in teaching methods after study of at least 2 days (e.g. Train the Trainers) | 2 |
| No formal qualification in teaching/education | 0 |
Evidence should be in the form of an official degree certificate or transcript clearly stating the qualification and indicating the level of study.
For this section only, formal teaching qualifications obtained prior studying medicine can be scored (e.g., if you completed a PGCE before your medical degree).
Audit & Quality Improvement
| Description | Points |
| I have led 2 or more audits or quality improvement project relating to radiology which can be shown to have resulted in changed practice | 7 |
| I have led an audit or quality improvement project relating to radiology which can be shown to have resulted in changed practice | 5 |
| I have led an audit or quality improvement project but not meeting all criteria above | 3 |
| I have contributed to, but not led, an audit or quality improvement project | 2 |
| None of the above | 0 |
Leading an audit/QI project would usually include a major role in conception, data collection, analysis, and presentation. If your evidence does not demonstrate this, please select a different descriptor appropriately. Evidence could include slides from audit presentations, a formal portfolio assessment from a supervisor confirming your role.
Demonstration of changed practice could be via a closed-loop second audit cycle showing better compliance to gold standard, or by improvement in a quality metric, etc.
Relating to radiology means that diagnostic imaging formed a major part of the project
Academic Achievements
| Description | Points |
| I hold a postgraduate research degree (PhD, MD, MDRes, etc) | 5 |
| At least one peer-reviewed publication relating to radiology as first author | 4 |
| At least one peer-reviewed publication, not relating to radiology, as first author OR At least one oral or poster presentation relating to radiology at national or international level, as first author | 3 |
| At least one peer-reviewed publication, not as first author OR At least one oral or poster presentation at national or international level, as first author | 2 |
| At least one oral or poster presentation, at any level | 1 |
| Involvement in a research team as part of an elective, intercalated degree, extended student research and enterprise project, academic foundation programme, academic summer school or other research taster | 1 |
| None of the above | 0 |
Please note, as mentioned above, intercalated and additional undergraduate degrees have been removed from scoring according to national speciality recruitment policy. (Points scored in this section are only for postgraduate research degrees).
All activity in this section should be scientific. Relating to radiology means the project should involve diagnostic imaging. This does not preclude papers in other fields e.g. surgery, oncology, etc, if they have a significant imaging focus. Publications and presentations can relate to audit/QI activity.
Presentations should be proffered papers which have been through a process of peer-review (i.e. not invited oral or poster presentations). Evidence could include:
- Degree certificate
- Your ORCID summary
- Citation including DOI/indexing service identifier (e.g. PMID)
- Conference catalogues
Prizes & Awards
| Description | Points |
| Prize awarded by a recognised radiology institution/specialist society or at national/international level meeting OR Distinction award of final year primary medical qualification (or equivalent) | 6 |
| Prize awarded by a recognised regional level institution or meeting | 3 |
| More than one prize awarded by a local organisation or meeting | 2 |
| One prize awarded by a local organisation or meeting | 1 |
| None of the above | 0 |
To be eligible, a prize must have been open to all peers at that level of training and geographic region. I.e. all medical undergraduates and/or postgraduates within a nation, region, or specific locality. A single hospital Trust, University or similar would constitute a “local” organisation.
Useful hints and tips
Prepare for the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA)
- The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) test was introduced into the recruitment process in 2016. All applicants will be required to sit this test early in the new year. Full details of the test and the available test venues in the UK and overseas will be posted on the ORIEL recruitment system. The MSRA will be used to shortlist-out only the lowest scoring applicants, with interview places allocated to the top scoring applicants according to the number of interview slots available. Click for more detailed information on the MSRA.
Fill out the application with care
- Although you are only giving basic information and there are no specialty specific questions, please don’t treat it as a ‘box-ticking exercise’. Every year candidates fail to be ‘longlisted’ because they have filled out the application incorrectly or missed the application deadline. Common reasons are not having the correct visa or not meeting the eligibility criteria, usually by having more than 18 months experience in radiology (not including foundation programme training placements).
Don’t leave applying until the last minute
- The application is an online web based form and can take quite a while to complete so don’t leave applying until the last minute! There are many sections of the application to complete, but you have the ability to save and go back to it at a later time to finish it off. Remember many candidates failed to get an interview because they missed the application deadline.
