Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

National Recruitment ST3 up to 15

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Applicant Guide

NHS England (South West) co-ordinates the national selection process for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Level Three (ST3).  All the interviews will be held online using the Qpercom Virtual Interview System for posts across the UK.  The posts will commence from August 2024 onwards.

When applying you will not need to select particular posts, regions, rotations, etc.; just complete and submit the application.  You will have the opportunity to rank all the posts available nationally at a later stage in the selection process.

Below are all the details you need to know when submitting an application for specialty training.  Please read the whole guide before starting your application, paying particular attention to the additional evidence section.

Details of the posts and training locations available can be viewed under the job description tab.

Recruitment Timetable

The selection process is run inline with the national recruitment timetable but there are aspects of the recruitment process that are specific for this specialty.  Please view the recruitment timetable for key dates in this selection process.  

Eligibility

When submitting an application, you will need to make sure that you meet all the eligibility criteria by the application closing date (or date of appointment if specifically stated). Eligibility requirements are those requirements listed as “Essential” in the person specification.   

In order to assess if you have the required competences please refer to the Person Specification.  Further details about eligibility can also be found on the Specialty Training.

Applying Online through the Oriel Recruitment System

All specialty training applications will be managed through a national online application system called “Oriel”.

You will need to create an account (account registration) before you can apply to a vacancy. After registration, you will be able to apply and track the progress of your application.

Account registration is available from the home page of Oriel.  An applicant user guide that will assist you in using the system at each stage of the recruitment process is available from the resource bank within Oriel.  You do not have to be registered to access the guide just select 'Medical and Public Health Specialties' and then click on the resource bank at the top of the page.

Our primary method of communication during the recruitment process we will be to message candidates via Oriel and the messages will appear on your applicant dashboard.  We will also send the correspondence via email, however, delivery of emails cannot be guaranteed as they are being sent externally to Oriel and should not be relied upon.  At key points in the selection process we will also send a text message.  We strongly recommend that you do not opt out of receiving text messages.

To access Oriel to register and apply, please visit: https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/

Completing an Application

Applications open on the 25th October 2023 and can be completed and submitted from this date.

The specialty of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery can be selected from the vacancy list within Oriel.  The vacancy contains information which will assist you with your application.

To access Oriel directly you can select the “apply here” button within the vacancy.

Please complete the application fully as incomplete applications will not be accepted.  There are no white space questions within the application form but new for OMFS a self-assessment scoring system has been introduced as part of the application form. 

When completing your application, we recommend that you do not opt out of receiving text messages as we will send a text message at key stages in the recruitment process.

Self Assessment

To improve the portfolio assessment for OMFS National Selection, a self-assessment and evidence verification scoring process has been introduced.

At time of application, all candidates will be required to complete a self-assessment score based on their own achievements in various domains. This self-assessment will be within the application form and is mandatory.  Candidates will be unable to submit their application without completing this section. Please ensure that you answer each question correctly to the best of your knowledge. You must ensure that all questions answered within the ‘self-assessment’ are accurate at the time of submission.  Before completing the self-assessment please refer to the scoring guidance.

Supporting Evidence to your Application

You may also need to complete and submit additional evidence as part of your application form.  Please refer to sections 1 – 6 below to check if you need to submit additional evidence at time of application.

1. Evidence of Core Competence

For entry to ST3 specialty training all applicants are required to provide evidence of achievement of core competences. This is essential to the progression of your application and the evidence should be uploaded to Oriel as part of your online application form.

  • If you are currently undertaking the Core Surgical Training Programme you are not required to provide any further evidence at the time of application.  You will be required to provide an ARCP Outcome 6 prior to commencing in the post. 
  • If you have successfully completed a Core Surgical Training Programme please upload a scanned copy of your ARCP Outcome 6 to Oriel, at the time of application.
  • If you are currently undertaking a specialty training programme in OMFS and hold a National Training Number (NTN)/Deanery Reference Number (DRN) it will be considered that you have demonstrated core competences and you do not need to provide any further evidence at the time of application.  Applicants in this category who relinquish their NTN/DRN between the time of application and commencement date will need to submit a Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Specialty Training.

2. Re-application to Specialty Training in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

This only applies to applicants reapplying for specialty training in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery that have previously resigned or been removed from training. 

Applicants reapplying will need the support of their previous Head of School/Training Programme Director and Postgraduate Dean in order to reapply.

Applicants must ask their previous LETB/Deanery, Head of School/Training Programme Director and Postgraduate Dean to complete a “Support for Reapplication to Specialty Training Form”. This form is available to download from the specialty training website.

Applicants requiring this support are advised to start the process early as applications will not be considered without a fully completed and signed form.

The completed form should be emailed to England.confidential.SW@nhs.net before the closing date of applications.

3.  Re-application to Switch Deanery/LETB

Trainees currently working in the specialty, applying to continue their training in another region, without a break in service will be required to submit a "Reapplication to Specialty Training in a Different Region Form".  This form is available to download from the specialty training website.

The completed form should be emailed to England.confidential.SW@nhs.net before the closing date of applications.

4. Fitness to Practice

Applicants that have answered ‘yes’ to one or more of the questions in the fitness to practice section of the application form will need to submit a "Fitness to Practice Declaration Form" clearly defining the declaration.  The completed form should be emailed to England.confidential.SW@nhs.net at time of application.

5. Adjustments under the Equality Act 2010

As a national recruiter we are aware of the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate requests provided these are made known in advance. Adjustments cannot be guaranteed if contact is made late and no adjustments can be made on the day of the assessment.  If you require specific arrangements or adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 please outline the adjustment on page 8 of the application form.

To corroborate your request, you MUST attach independent evidence of your condition and support needs (e.g. an Educational Psychologist report for Dyslexia, correspondence from a medical professional managing your condition) to your application form by time of submission. Please use the ‘Document Upload’ area in your Oriel portal to upload the information.

Nursing mothers are advised to contact us directly via England.sevrecruitment.sw@nhs.net for further advice regarding this requirement.

6. Special Circumstances

A national process has been introduced to assist applicants who need to remain in a specific region for well-founded personal reasons allowing them to be offered a particular region, should they be successful at interview.

Applicants with either a personal medical condition or disability that requires them to remain in a particular region for ongoing care and treatment or applicants who have primary caring responsibilities for someone with a disability are eligible. 

Eligibility will be considered at the time of application and therefore applicants must ensure that they declare this on their application form and submit supporting evidence by email. 

Applicants should follow the process that is published on the special circumstances page of the specialty recruitment website.

Submitting an Application

Applications can be submitted from the 26th October 2023 10:00am until the 23rd November 2023 at 4:00 pm (UK time).  Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Only one application can be accepted and where multiple applications are submitted, only the first application submitted will be included in the process.

If you fail to provide the appropriate documentation your application will be longlisted out and not progress through the process.

Please note that alterations cannot be made to an application once it has been submitted.

Tip:  Remember to save and check your application and only press the submit button when you have carried out this process. This will ensure you are submitting the correct version of your application.

Longlisting

All applications will be checked for evidence of the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. Applications that do not demonstrate the criteria or fail to include additional evidence will not continue through the process.  Those applicants that will not be progressing through the process, as they have not demonstrated the essential criteria, will be informed via email of the decision.

Shortlisting

There will be no shortlisting within the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery selection process for 2024.  All candidates that meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to attend the interviews.

Invitation to book an interview slot

Candidates will be invited to undertake an online interview via a message through Oriel and also a text message on the 9th January 2024.  A start time will be available to book through Oriel and are booked on a first come first served basis.

When you have reserved an interview slot you will be sent further details including a personal link to the virtual interviews.  The interview process for each candidate from the initial identity checks to the completion of the interview will take approximately one hour. 

The interview/selection process 

The actual selection process will have two components:

Evidence Folder

As part of the application candidates will have completed a self-assessment. A little later in the process candidates will be asked to provide evidence to support their self-assessment. Candidates will be asked to upload the documentation against each domain heading within a specifically designed on-line portal and will have from the 9th to the 16th of January 2024 to upload the documents. When the portal opens on the 16th January 2024 candidates will be emailed their log-in details for the system and from that point onwards you will have access to upload your documentation. Although the portal does not open until the 16th January 2024 we recommend collating the information as early as possible.

Prior to the interviews the self-assessment scores along with the uploaded evidence will be reviewed by a panel of experienced recruiters. The score from the evidence review will contribute towards the overall interview score but will not demine suitability/appointability.

The interview - 7th February 2024

The interview itself will include 5 individual interview stations and all candidates will rotate through each of the stations.

Each station will be 10 minutes with a break between each station.

This is only an indication of the topics within the interview stations and the specific details will be confirmed nearer the actual interviews:-

Panel 1: Training Pathway in OMFS

Panel 2: QIP/Audit/Research

Panel 3: Clinical scenario/Situational Judgement

Panel 4: Communication (with an actor)

When candidates enter the interview room there will be:

  • Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons who will be asking questions and listening to the answer
  • There may also a lay representative/quality assurance who will be moving through the panels during the day who will have their camera turned off.
  • A member of the recruitment team administering the interview

On completion of the interview, we will ask candidates to end the call and select an additional link to the debrief.

Interview Results/Feedback

When the processes are complete the scores achieved from the evidence folder and the interview will be combined for an overall score and rank.  All candidates will provided with feedback following the interviews.

References

As part of the national application process candidates will be asked to provide the names of three referees.  References will only be requested once applicants have accepted the offer of a training post.  The purpose of the reference is to confirm employment history and to highlight any concerns.

If no offer is made, or an offer is not accepted, referees will not be contacted.

Note: References will not be required at the interview.

Training Posts and Locations

Each Deanery/HEE local office has submitted their number of vacancies with a brief outline of the programme.  This information can be found under the heading of Job Description.  Also contained within this information is a local contact and a link to more detailed information.  The vacancies are indicative at the point of advertisement and will be subject to change. All alterations to the vacancies will be published on the national recruitment website.

Expressing a preference - ‘where do you want to train?’

Candidates will be asked to rank the training locations in order of preference.  This process will be carried out within Oriel.  An automated message, containing instructions, will be sent to candidates when preferences open.

It is intended that the offers will be sent no later than the 29th of February 2024 and from 10:00 am the option to selection preferences will be temporarily suspended.  Following this, a matching process will take place and successful candidates will receive their highest ranked preference available.  Candidates whose preferences have been exhausted before their name is reached will not receive an offer and will be notified of this.

Candidates that are deemed not to have demonstrated suitability for training within this specialty will not be included within the matching.

Further details about preferencing and the offer process is available within the Specialty Training Website.

Complaints Policy

If you wish to raise concerns about any part of the recruitment process, please refer to the national complaints policy for guidance.

Questions still remaining

If after reading this guide your question is not answered you can contact the national recruiter for questions regarding the recruitment process.

For questions regarding vacancy numbers and rotation details please contact the relevant Deanery/LETB.  The contact details are available in the Job Description section on the national recruitment website.