RCoA Statement 23 March 07

From Mmc

Statement re MTAS: Friday 23 March 2007

The statement below was placed on the MMC and Department of Health web-sites last evening. Operational details will be available on the MMC web-site during the week commencing 2 April 2007. By noon today every applicant should have been sent an e mail via MTAS giving them further details of the plans.

I will clarify one or two points below the statement but first I want to thank all Fellows and Members for their support and forbearance over the last three weeks. Although the process undertaken by the working review team, of which I have been part, has been far slower than I would have wished, we have had to cover an enormous amount of ground to reach this point. Agreement has had to be reached with all Colleges, the BMA, Deans, Department of Health, Ministers and employers, across all four nations.

STATEMENT BY THE REVIEW OF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION FOR SPECIALTY AND GP TRAINING – THURSDAY 22 MARCH 2007

1. Building on last week’s announcement, at a minimum, every long listable applicant who applied through MTAS and meets the eligibility criteria for their relevant specialty will be invited for an interview. Under this guaranteed interview scheme, candidates will be able to choose which of their preferences to be interviewed for in light of geographic specialty-specific and ST level-specific competition ratios which will be available on the MTAS website. We are in discussion about the implications of this for the timetable.

2. The recruitment system has worked satisfactorily for General Practice and this will continue. In other specialities, there is evidence that the short listing process was weak and we will therefore eliminate this part of the process immediately. In contrast, the interview process has been working and therefore the revised approach will ensure that all long listable candidates will be interviewed. The Review Group believes that this new approach is the most equitable and practical solution available. The Group also recognises the enormous effort by the consultants, service and deans that has already taken place to ensure that the interview process has worked. The time and effort required for further interviews is recognised by the service and the time required will be made available. Therefore first choice interviews that have already taken place should not need to be repeated.

3. In accordance with the advice already issued, we reiterate that all interviews will be informed by the use of CVs and portfolios and probing questions.

4. In broad terms, this means that all eligible applicants at every stage of their training, whether or not they have already had interviews or interview offers, will be able to review their stated first choice preference and have the opportunity to select the one for which they want to be interviewed. We will be discussing operational details over the next week and these may differ between specialties and between different parts of the UK dependent on local circumstances. We will also consult widely. Exact details for how applicants will be able to do this will be available week commencing 2 April on the MMC website at www.mmc.nhs.uk. In the meantime, interviews will continue and applicants should attend unless they are confident that this will not be their preferred choice.

5. No job offers will be made until all these interviews have taken place. Discussions are taking place on the implications of this for the filling of General Practice training places. We expect that the majority of training places will be filled through these interviews. Unfilled vacancies will be filled through further interviews.

6. The Review Group has recommended the development of a programme of career support for applicants at all stages of the process. Further details to support applicants, deans and selectors through this process will be available next week on the MMC website. Future work will explore what the possibilities might be for doctors to change specialties.

Professor Neil Douglas Review Group

I want to clarify some points:

  • Geographic, specialty specific and ST level specific competition ratios will soon be available on the MTAS web-site.
  • Applicants who have already been interviewed;
    • May re-state their order of choice in light of the above statement.
    • If not already interviewed for their stated first choice they may now ask for an interview for their first choice.
    • If already interviewed for their stated first choice, that interview may stand.
  • We are awaiting clarification on the exact implications of paragraph 4 for applicants who have already been interviewed for their first choice but may want to change the priority order when the competition ratios become known.
  • No applicant is entitled to change their four units of application, other than the order of priority.
  • Clearly the proposals outlined in the statement will result in many more weeks of concerted effort by all those participating in the selection process. If there is an advantage it might be that interviewers will now be more likely to interview applicants who wish to take up posts with them.
  • We recognise the special problems facing Academic Medicine and steps are being taken to develop the best methodology for dealing with applications for Academic Posts. These will be published separately.

I have listened to the concerns expressed by all of you over the last weeks and am very grateful for the measured, detailed and well evidenced documentation provided by many. It has been possible to use much of this in our discussions at the Department of Health and with evidence from other specialties has undoubtedly enabled us to make the progress that we have. I am also aware that the proposals will not meet with approval of some. I regret that but we have to move forward from the current situation for the sake the applicants, assessors and the service. Questions of operational strategy must be discussed with Deans.

I am well aware that this is not a situation in which you wish to find yourselves, nor is it the wish or making of any of the Colleges. Many of the considered views of the Colleges with regard to the principles, methodology and timing of the selection process were not heeded. I believe that at the end of the selection process there must be a professionally led independent review with full involvement of the Colleges that will examine the role of PMETB, Colleges, Deans and MMC in MTAS and the selection process and the introduction of MMC. I will continue to work towards this.

The contribution of Professor Neil Douglas as chairman of the review has been immense, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Thank you all for your unstinting hard work and support.

Judith Hulf, President 23 March 2007

23 Mar 2007

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