Editor’s Choice: Making the grade

Moving from the foundation programme into specialty training can be an exciting and stressful time. The application process itself is multifaceted, and gathering evidence for the application form and portfolio can be the most time consuming part of the process.

However, as Nilofer Husnoo and M Shaan Goonoo explain this week, little guidance is available on this (http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/How_to_boost_your_specialty_training_application). They explain the key areas on which applicants will be assessed and how to meet the requirements.

Candidates can gain points through a number of routes, say Husnoo and Goonoo, such as undertaking relevant training and publishing research. Marks are also awarded to candidates who display leadership skills and to those who have designed or led teaching programmes.

And there are other ways of gaining experience ahead of applying for specialty training, as John Rocke explains this week (http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/South_Africa_offers_great_opportunities_for_trainees). When Rocke told senior clinicians in the United Kingdom that he was planning to take a year out of training to work in South Africa they discouraged him, warning that it would damage his career and be viewed negatively. “I still cannot understand why that would be the case,” Rocke says.

Instead, he had a really positive experience and gained a lot of skills. Coming back to the UK was a culture shock, Rocke says, as he realised how much waste exists in the NHS. “I have also had less responsibility,” he says, “which is largely due to the drive towards a consultant led service—but I worry that this is at the expense of training.”