Supplementary Applicant

Handbook
2022 Plastic Surgery ST3

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Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3
2022 recruitment ................................................................................................................... 3
Timeline and Key Dates ........................................................................................................ 4
How to apply ......................................................................................................................... 5
Eligibility and Longlisting ....................................................................................................... 6
Fitness to Practise ................................................................................................................ 6
Competence assessment ...................................................................................................... 6
Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Surgical Training...................................................... 8
October rotations .................................................................................................................. 8
Shortlisting ............................................................................................................................ 8
Submitting Supporting Evidence ........................................................................................... 9
Evidence Verification............................................................................................................. 9
Scoring Information ............................................................................................................... 9
Interview Booking and Interview Process ............................................................................ 11
Interviews............................................................................................................................ 11
Interview format .................................................................................................................. 12
Scoring ............................................................................................................................... 13
Ranking, Outcomes & Sub-Preferencing ............................................................................. 14
Offers, References and Scoresheet .................................................................................... 14
Allocation ............................................................................................................................ 14
Enquiries & FAQs ............................................................................................................... 15
Useful links ......................................................................................................................... 15
Glossary and Definitions ..................................................................................................... 15

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Introduction

The National Recruitment Office for Plastic Surgery ST3 is Health Education England –
London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

This guide aims to provide applicants with information regarding all aspects of the nationally
coordinated Plastic Surgery recruitment in England, Scotland, and Wales. General information
regarding recruitment to all specialty training posts is available on the Specialty Training
website and in the 2022 Medical and Dental Recruitment Applicant Handbook available to
download from the Resource bank.

Please note that all communication with applicants will be via Oriel, or via the contact
details you provide as part of your Oriel application. You must ensure that your
contact details are correct and kept up to date throughout the recruitment process.

2022 recruitment

Details of the 2022 recruitment process are provided throughout this handbook in conjunction
with central guidance issued by the national recruitment team that applies across
specialties. You can find the central guidance in the resource bank of the HEE specialty
training website https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Resources-Bank.You must read both
this Supplementary Handbook and the Medical Specialty Applicant Guide before
beginning your application.

Plastic Surgery recruitment will involve the following stages (which are outlined in more
detail in the relevant sections of this handbook):
1. As part of the Oriel application form you will be asked to provide a self-assessment
score depending on your personal achievements.
2. You will then be invited to upload evidence of their achievements to the Evidence
Upload Portal.
3. The evidence you upload will be reviewed by Plastic Surgery consultants. They will
verify that you have claimed the correct number of points and can change your score
if they feel your evidence merits a different score from your self-assessment. This
produces your verified evidence score.
4. After the evidence verification process is complete, the highest scoring applicants will
be invited to attend a remote interview.
5. A combination of your verified evidence score and scores at interview will be used to
determine your final total score and ranking.

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 Timeline and Key Dates

Activity Date(s)
Advert appears Tuesday 10 November 2021
Applications open At 10am on Thursday 18 November 2021
At 4pm on Thursday 09 December 2021
Applications close
Evidence Upload Portal opens Friday 17 December 2021
Evidence Upload Portal closes Tuesday 04 January 2022
Results of evidence verification Monday 31 January 2022
released to applicants and appeals
window opens
Appeal window closes Thursday 03 February 2022
Invites to interview sent Thursday 24 February 2022
Interview dates Monday 21 March and Tuesday 22 March 2022
Interview venue Virtual Interviews – Microsoft Teams
Preferencing open date Monday 04 April 2022
Preferences close date Monday 18 April 2022
Initial offers released By 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2022
Hold deadline
At 1pm on Tuesday 03 May 2022
Upgrading deadline
At 1pm on Wednesday 04 May 2022
Scoresheet release
By 5pm on Thursday 05 May 2022

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How to apply

Plastic Surgery ST3 recruitment to programmes in England, Scotland, Wales is managed via
a nationally coordinated process hosted by London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

The vacancy will be advertised on Oriel - www.oriel.nhs.uk . All relevant information is provided
in the 2022 Plastic Surgery ST3 advertisement.

Further programme and rotation information will be available at the point of preferencing at a
later date in the process (see timeline for key dates). Information will be sent to applicants’
Oriel account and copied to their registered email inbox with instructions on how to complete
preferencing. In addition, indicative post numbers for each HEE local office/nations and
indicative dates for interviews will be made available when the application window opens.

Applications will only be accepted through Oriel between 10am on Thursday 18 November
2021 and 4pm on Thursday 9 December 2021. Please be aware applications received after
this time will not be accepted and there will be no exceptions to this. The recruitment timeline
is available on Oriel and the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex website.

To register on Oriel, you must ensure you have a valid email address. Communication
between the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex Recruitment Office and applicants will be
primarily via Oriel. Applicants should check their Oriel and personal email account at
least once every 24 hours.

Disability Confidence Scheme

We are committed to supporting applicants who require additional support due to disability or
health conditions, you can apply for adjustments via Oriel, please note the Disability
Confidence Scheme (henceforth referred to as DCS) has replaced the previous Guaranteed
Interview Scheme. Please refer to the MDRS Applicant 2022 Guide via the link below for
more information:

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/portals/1/Content/Resource%20Bank/Recruitment%20Do
cuments/Medical%20Specialty%20Recruitment%20Applicant%20Handbook%202022%20v1
.2.pdf

Reasonable adjustments

The process for 2022 is to request all Reasonable adjustments requests at the time of your
application and on Oriel. All evidence will be uploaded at the time you are submitting your
application. For further guidance on the details of evidence required please refer to the
MDRS Applicant 2022 Guide via the link below for more information:

https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/portals/1/Content/Resource%20Bank/Recruitment%20Do
cuments/Medical%20Specialty%20Recruitment%20Applicant%20Handbook%202022%20v1
.2.pdf

Applications for any adjustments at interview will be made via Oriel. Please follow the
guidance in Oriel and the Medical Recruitment Applicant Guide 2022 for this process. All
evidence must be uploaded with your Oriel application. You will be notified of the outcome of
your application prior to interview.
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If you have a situation that has occurred post the application window closing, please contact
us via the Applicant Support Portal to receive further
guidance: https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/tickets/new?form_15=true

Eligibility and Longlisting

Applicants must meet the entry criteria in order to be considered for specialty training. It is
important to note that your application is likely to be rejected prior to the interview stage should
you fail an eligibility criterion assessed at longlisting. Please refer to the person specification
for full details of entry criteria.

Your application will be longlisted against the entry criteria as outlined on the person
specification. Please be aware that applicants may still be withdrawn from the application
process at any stage if found to be ineligible to apply even if an offer has been made.

All applicants applying to specialty training are required to have essential competences or
equivalent depending on the level they are applying for. For more information on competences
please refer to the national ST3 person specification can be downloaded via the National
Specialty Training Website: https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Recruitment/Person-
specifications

Please be aware that applicants may still be withdrawn from the application process at any
stage if found to be ineligible to apply even if you have been made an offer.

Fitness to Practise

Any candidate who answers 'yes' to one or more of the questions in the Fitness to Practise
section of the application form, must complete the HEE London & KSS Recruitment Office
Fitness to Practise (FTP) declaration form providing further details regarding their
affirmative/positive answer.

Please refer to the guidance and relevant forms which can be found within our applicant
support portal: https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/tickets/new?form_19=true
Further information on how to request a deferred start date or training less than full time
(LTFT) can be found in the 2022 Applicant Handbook on Oriel.

PLEASE NOTE: By processing your application beyond the longlisting stage London and
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Recruitment Office is not confirming that you have satisfied all entry
criteria. If it is subsequently discovered that you fail to meet any of the requirements outlined
in the 2022 Plastic Surgery person specification, then your application will be withdrawn from
the process irrespective of the stage the process has reached.

Competence assessment

You will be required to indicate evidence of completion, or prospective completion, of all

requisite core surgical competences by post start date as per the person specification.
Candidates fall in to the following three groups:

Group A:
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If you are currently on a recognised 2-year UK Core Surgical Training Programme, have
achieved the requisite CT1 competences, and expect to achieve CT2 competences by the
post start date, then you will not be required to submit evidence in support of your achievement
of core surgical training competences at time of application.
Group B:
If you have successfully completed a recognised 2 year UK Core Surgical Training Programme
you will be required to upload your ARCP 6 outcome form for CT2.
Group C:
If (a) or (b) does not apply to you then you must submit a completed Certificate of Readiness
to Enter Higher Surgical Training (CREHST) at the point of application. Submission of a
completed CREHST is the only acceptable evidence of achievement of equivalence of core
surgical training for your application to Plastic Surgery ST3. If you fail to submit this, then it is
highly likely that you will be withdrawn from the recruitment process at the Longlisting stage.
Important information on CREHST
The Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Surgical Training is the only acceptable evidence
of achievement of all requisite core surgical competences for your application to Plastic
Surgery ST3 for applicants who have not completed a recognised UK Core Surgical Training
Programme or will have completed a UK Core Surgical Training Programme by the post start
date. All competences must be signed off in order for a CREHST to be accepted. If necessary,
competences can be signed off by multiple supervisors where a single supervisor feels unable
to sign off the totality of competences. The CREHST must be submitted by all applicants who
are not on, or have not completed a UK Core Surgical Training programme.
The CREHST can be downloaded from the Oriel resource bank.
The following questions will be asked on the application form and must be answered by all
applicants:

Other Entry Criteria:

MBBS (or equivalent)
You must list your primary medical qualification in the Entry Qualifications section of the
application form. Failure to do this will lead to your application being withdrawn from the
process.
Full MRCS by time results are released after May 2022 diet
You must indicate whether you have full MRCS or, if not, that you expect to receive results by
day after results of May 2022 diet. If you do not indicate either of these, then your application
will be withdrawn from the process.
Achievement of Core Surgical Competences
Competence Assessment in this guide for further details. If you do not provide appropriate
evidence of core surgical competences, then your application will be withdrawn from the
process.
Complete employment history
You must include details of all employments undertaken since the award of your primary
medical qualification inclusive of foundation posts, and employment undertaken overseas. If
employment was undertaken as part of a rotation, then each post on the rotation should be
detailed separately. When detailing information relating to Core Surgical Training, you should
indicate the specific surgical specialty undertaken on each rotation. Failure to provide a
complete employment history, inclusive of satisfactory explanations for any gaps in
employment, will lead to your application being withdrawn from the process.

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You must ensure that your employment history is clearly presented and that experience in
surgery is clearly indicated. Assumptions about experience will not be made where information
is inadequately presented. Failure to indicate this clearly will lead to your application being
withdrawn from the process.
PLEASE NOTE: By processing your application beyond the longlisting stage London and
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Recruitment Office is not confirming that you have satisfied all entry
criteria. If it is subsequently discovered that you fail to meet any of the requirements outlined
in the 2022 Plastic Surgery person specification then your application will be withdrawn from
the process irrespective of the stage the process has reached.
Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Surgical Training

The 2021 Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Surgical Training may be required
to confirm the competences expected at completion of Core Surgical Training.

It is NOT required if:

(1) You are currently a Core Surgical Trainee as evidenced by a satisfactory ARCP
outcome after Core Training Year 1 and are on track to achieve a satisfactory ARCP
outcome at the end of Core Training Year 2. OR
(2) You have already completed an approved Core Surgical Training programme as
evidenced by written confirmation from the relevant programme and written
confirmation of a satisfactory ARCP outcome at the end of the programme
ALL other applicants should have this certificate completed. Failure to do so will
result in exclusion from the application process.

The certificate is available for download from Oriel Resource Bank -

https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank

October rotations

Candidates currently in core surgical training posts who are expected to complete core
surgical training in October 2022 rather than August 2022 are eligible to apply for the 2022
round of Plastic Surgery ST3 recruitment.
Shortlisting

Applicants will be invited to upload evidence for their claimed score to the evidence upload
portal between 17 December 2021 and 4 January 2022.
Therefore, it crucial that you complete your self-assessment honestly and accurately
at the time of application. It is not possible to change your self-assessment score after
you have submitted your application under any circumstances.
Any instances where applicants are found to have deliberately over-scored their self-
assessment may be treated as probity concerns. This may lead to being removed from
the recruitment process or a referral to the GMC.

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Submitting Supporting Evidence

Applicants will be provided with further instructions about how to upload evidence to the portal
in due course. Applicants should ensure that they present the evidence in the requested
format. Failure to do so could result in your evidence being rejected and/or the self-
assessment score being revised downwards.
Failure to submit all evidence by the stated deadline will result in your application form being
withdrawn by the recruitment team. Please ensure all your evidence is uploaded in advance
of the deadline.
Recruitment administrators will not be able to upload evidence on behalf of applicants and
once the deadline for submission has passed, applicant access will be withdrawn.
Please be aware, particularly if you have applied before, there have been subtle
changes to the portfolio to reduce subjectivity and ease a distanced validation. Please
read the section headings carefully when completing self-assessment and evidence
submission.

Evidence Verification

Submitted evidence will be reviewed by consultant plastic surgeons and verified against the
self-assessment scoring criteria. Where the evidence submitted does not match the self-
assessment score awarded, the verified score will be adjusted accordingly.
On completion of the verification process applicants will be sent their verified score together
with the verification panel’s feedback explaining any changes to score. Where the applicant
disagrees with the verified score awarded, they can lodge an appeal.
If the applicant self-assessment score differs significantly from the assessor score,
then applicants should expect to be contacted by an assessor as part of a probity
process. Please ensure that your contact details on Oriel are correct and kept up to
date as these are the details that will be used to contact you.
Appeals against verified scores must be lodged within 72 hours of the scores being sent to
applicants. No additional evidence can be submitted but you can request a review of the
evidence already submitted via the portal. Your appeal request should clearly explain why you
feel that the score should be adjusted, based on the evidence that was initially submitted and
verified. Appeals received after the 72-hour deadline will not be considered.
Appeals will be reviewed by the National Selection Lead and the Plastic Surgery Specialty
Advisory Committee (SAC) Chair who will decide whether verified scores should be changed
or not and you will be informed of the outcome. The outcome of the appeal is final and there
is no further recourse for dissatisfied applicants. Disagreements over self-assessment scores
fall out of scope of the MDRS Complaints Policy.
Once the evidence verification and appeals processes have been completed then the
applicants with the highest verified scores will be invited to book an interview slot via Oriel.

Scoring Information

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Please see the below shortlisting scoring information. The domains are strictly mapped on to
the questions from ‘Self-Assessment’ section of the application form. The weighting column
details how much your raw score will be multiplied by. These are applied after the evidence
verification. Please note that a maximum score of 4 can only be awarded following the panel
review of declarations of achievements provided on the application form and reviewed on the
self-assessment portal.
Domain Maximum Score Weighting Total maximum
(points) points awarded
for section
1. Clinical Knowledge and Experience
Surgical Competence – Hand Trauma 3 sub sections of x(2/3) 8
4 points each
Surgical Competence – Burns 2 sub sections of x1 8
4 points
Surgical Competence – Skin Cancer 4 x1.5 6

2. Academic/ Management/Teaching
Achievements
Management and Leadership Experience 4 x1 4
Higher Qualifications Directly Related to Medicine 4 x2 8
Higher Qualifications Not Directly Related to 4 x1 4
Medicine
Academic Prizes and Awards 4 x1 4
Teaching and Training 4 x2 8

3. Research/Audit
Audit 4 x2 8
Publications (1st Author/Author/Principal Author) 4 x2 8
Publications NOT (1st Author/Principal Author) 4 x1 4
Case Reports/Letters (Principal Author) 4 x1 4
Presentations and Posters (National and 4 x2 8
International Principal Author)
Presentations and Posters (National and 4 x1 4
International NOT Principal Author)
Other Posters and Presentations (1st 4 x2 4
Author/Author/Principal Author)
Other Posters and Presentations (NOT 1st 4 x1 4
Author/Author/Principal Author)
 There is a typo on Section 41 National and International Presentations 1st Author/Principal Author on Oriel. Applicants
are asked to list the number of presentations where you are a 1st or principal author and NOT posters.

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Interview Booking and Interview Process

Applicants will need to book an interview slot using their Oriel account. Slots are offered on a
first come first served basis and will need to be booked by the deadline stated in the
invitation to interview. Further information on how to book an interview slot can be found in
Oriel Applicant User Guide: https://new.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank
All interviews will be undertaken online using Microsoft Teams between Monday 21st March
and Tuesday 22nd March 2022.
At the time of application submission, you will have agreed to complying with the 2022
Applicant declaration. You can review the document here. The Declaration also contains a
list of vital steps you must undertake before the day of interview. You can find a copy of the
2022 Applicant Declaration here:
https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/portals/1/Content/Resource%20Bank/Recruitment%20Do
cuments/2022%20Recruitment%20Applicant%20Declaration.pdf
As soon as the link to join the online interview has been received, applicants should ensure
that they test this from the device they plan to use for their interview as you may need to
source an alternative device to ensure connectivity. Any applicants unable to connect should
contact the recruitment team at the earliest opportunity. When testing the link, applicants
should reach a screen that states that the host will commence the meeting shortly or similar
wording. If you are unable to connect directly from the link, try pasting the URL link into the
browser, or try using an incognito browser.
On the day of the interview, each applicant should click on the link and join the call 5 minutes
prior to their allocated time. Before the interview commences, applicants will be briefed on the
interview process and will be required to confirm their identity with the interview administrator.
It is therefore important that applicants have suitable photographic ID available (passport or
UK photo driving license). In addition, applicants will be required to move their camera to
show the entire room where they are undertaking the interview, to confirm that nobody else is
present. Once identity has been confirmed, the administrator will advise the interview panel
that the interview process can commence.
Applicants should ensure that their camera and microphone are turned on and working
correctly prior to joining the call. Interviews will be terminated where the panel cannot see the
applicant.
The interview must not be recorded by either the applicant, the administrator or the panel
members.
On completion of the interview, the applicant should terminate their connection to the call
and the interview process is complete.

Interviews

Eligible applicants will be invited to book an interview slot via their Oriel account following
shortlisting. Interview slots are offered on a first come first served basis and will need to be
booked by the deadline stated in the invitation to interview. Upon logging in to your Oriel
account you will be able to access the remaining vacant slots to make your choice.

Further information on how to book an interview slot can be found in Oriel Applicant User
Guide. Applicants can book a slot subject to availability. Interview centre dates and venue
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information are available on the timeline above. Once you book a slot, you will receive an
email confirming your booking and will be able to see details of this in your Oriel account.

If you encounter any difficulty booking your interview slot, please contact us via applicant
support portal: https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home as soon as possible and
before the deadline.

In the event you are not able to attend your interview at the scheduled date/time, you should
cancel the booking via Oriel as soon as possible. If you no longer wish your application to be
considered, you should also withdraw your application on Oriel. This may allow your interview
place to be offered to another candidate.

Interview format

The interview will consist of one 30-minute interview station with 4/5 panel members and
possibly a lay representative with 3 sections completed in the following order:
1. OSCE and Communication lasting for 10 minutes
2. Clinical Scenarios lasting for 10 minutes
3. Structured Interview lasting for 10 minutes
There is no break in between the questions, and they are asked by the panel members
conducting the interview. The three sections contain the following components:

OSCE Structured Clinical

Interview Scenarios
(10 minutes)
(10 minutes) (10 minutes)

OSCE – Consent
(5 minutes) Within the station
Four of the following
areas will be you will be made
OSCE – aware of two clinical
covered in this
Communication scenarios for
station –
(5 minutes) discussion.
- Audit
- Research
- Teaching
- Risk/Safety
- Management
- Consent
- Ethics

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Scoring

Structured Interview:

Any four of the following areas may

be asked in the structured interview Scoring range:
station:

- Audit 0 – None
- Research 1 – Poor
- Teaching
- Risk/Safety 2 – Average
- Management 3 – Good
- Consent 4 – Outstanding
- Ethics

OCSE – Consent:

Criterion Scoring range:

Operative environment and anaesthesia

0 – None
Operative technique 1 – Poor
2 – Average
Postoperative regime
3 – Good
Risks and complications 4 – Outstanding

Overall communication

OCSE – Communication:

Criterion Scoring range:

Introduction
0 – None
History 1 – Poor
Examination 2 – Average
3 – Good
Investigations planned

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 4 – Outstanding
Management plan

Clinical Scenario:

Two cases will be discussed in this station, the following criteria will be used to score:

0 – None
1 – Poor
2 – Average
3 – Good
4 – Outstanding

Ranking, Outcomes & Sub-Preferencing

Eligible applicants will be invited to preference available posts on Oriel prior to offers being
made. The preferencing window will be confirmed in an email from the recruitment team. For
guidance on how to rank/submit your preferences please refer to the Oriel Applicant User
Guide.

Your ranking will be based on your overall interview score and the individual station scores.
Scores will be collated from the interviews to generate one national ranking from which offers
will be made to all available posts. Following interview and ranking, applicants will either be
deemed successful or unsuccessful and will be informed of this via Oriel.

Offers, References and Scoresheet

Offers will be made to successful candidates based on their interview scores/rank and
availability of programme preferences selected. The first ranked candidate will be offered their
first preference. Following initial offers being released, further offers will be made in
subsequent iterations until there are no appointable candidates to offer to. Applicants have 48
hours from the time of offer (excluding weekends) to confirm via Oriel whether they wish to
accept, reject or hold their offer.

References
Reference reports are not used at eligibility checking or at the selection centre but will be
reviewed by the perspective employing Trust after offers have been made and prior to
confirmation of appointment for successful applicants. This will only be requested
electronically via Oriel when an offer has been accepted. Guidance on completing references
is available via the Oriel resource bank.

Scoresheets will be released to ALL applicants on 5 May 2022 by 5pm. Therefore you do not
need to request your scoresheets after interview.

Allocation

Once offers has been accepted, appointee’s details will be passed on to the local training
boards/programme director around 14 weeks prior to your start date and to the first Trust you

14
have been appointed to 12 weeks prior to your start date. Therefore, you should not expect to
receive any communication prior to this time.

Further information on how to request a deferred start date or training less than full time (LTFT)
can be found in the 2022 Applicant Handbook.

Enquiries & FAQs

Should you have any queries relating to the recruitment process for Plastic Surgery you can
contact the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex recruitment team via our online enquiries
portal - https://hee.freshdesk.com/support/home

Useful links

Applicant enquiries - https://hee.freshdesk.com/support/home

Recruitment portal - https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/web

Person Specifications - https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Recruitment/Person-

specifications

UK Border Agency website - https://www.gov.uk/government/uk-visas-and-immigration

Glossary and Definitions

Please find below definitions for the terms described in the self-assessment guidance. The
aim of the interview is to award the highest points to the worthiest candidates. Certain
definitions have been used to ease the process of distanced validation of the portfolio
International, National and Regional
For the purposes of this interview “international or national” relates to a poster or
presentation presented to a formal UK wide or international body such as BAPRAS, BSSH,
BAHNO, ASGBI and FESSH for example.
There are a number of meetings and organisations that badge themselves as national or
international but are not considered to be equivalent to level required to gain recognition in
the academic, management or awards sections of the portfolio, and each will be compared
to the examples as stated above.
For the purposes of the interview, “National” relates to UK wide bodies, or bodies relating to
other sovereign states.

Where there is a UK equivalent, bodies or organisations from Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland will be considered as “Regional”.

For example: A paper accepted for presentation at the “Celtic BAPRAS meeting” should be
congratulated but will be classed as “Regional” whereas a paper accepted at the national
BAPRAS meeting will be considered as “National”.

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Principal Author
In the academic section of the portfolio a “Principal” author is classified as the first author or
last if you are the senior author. In work where you consider yourself a principal author but
your name is second on the list of authors then the candidate will need to provide clear
evidence of their role. No author below second will be considered a “principal” author.

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