Selection process

We advise applicants to read all 2027 guidance documents carefully to ensure they are aware of all changes to the criteria that have been made.

One national application and single transferable score

The selection process allows applicants to demonstrate their abilities and suitability for CT1 Anaesthetics/ACCS Anaesthetics Training - applications are assessed by the demonstration of competences outlined in the person specification.

Anaesthetics and ACCS Anaesthetics applicants are recruited in one process and therefore require only one application. Applicants wishing to apply for one of the other ACCS specialty streams (Acute Medicine or Emergency Medicine) should visit the specialty training website to find out how to apply for these.

For an Anaesthetics training post, an applicant makes one application for all participating NHS England Local Offices, Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland), Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) and Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW).

At the time of application, applicants will be required to choose one 'cluster' they want to be considered for in respect of posts in England and Wales or Northern Ireland or Scotland.

Each cluster requires invited applicants to attend an online interview, and they will need to book onto a preferred slot for that cluster. They will only be considered for appointment to posts in the cluster they apply to.

The method used in England and Wales is known as a Single Transferable Score (STS) as applicants are not restricted to only being offered a post in the area in which they attended an online interview. The system is designed to maximise the numbers of applicants and opportunities for successful appointment.

The Anaesthetics recruitment process is as follows:

1. A standard application and longlisting process
2. Longlisted applicants sit the MSRA exam
3. Online interviews are conducted and applicants are invited based on achieving the required MSRA scores AND agreed interview slot capacity
4. Offers are made based on applicants’ unique rank and preferences
5. Any available offers are recycled until there are no further eligible applicants*

*After recycling concludes, if there are posts available, a clearing round will be conducted. Applicants who have preferenced the England and Wales and Northern Ireland clusters will be able to rank posts outside of their initial cluster.