2025 Clinical Radiology ST1 Self-assessment Guidance

As part of your application for Clinical Radiology ST1, you will be required to complete a self-assessment along with submitting supporting evidence to justify the score you choose.

There are 7 domains, with descriptors of typical levels of experience which have been assigned scores. You should use your discretion to align your experience and achievements compared to these descriptors and choose a score which best reflects your situation. Include documentation to support your decision.

All achievements should be dated after the commencement of your first relevant undergraduate degree, and in any case, within the last 10 years prior to 21 November 2024.

If you are applying from the UK

For UK applicants - national refers to activity within the England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the UK as a whole.

Local would mean at the level of a hospital single Trust or University.

Roles outside healthcare include voluntary activity, arts, and other sciences, but not paid employment.

Scoring

For each domain, please select the descriptor and score which most truly reflects your experience. When more than one descriptor is appropriate for you for a particular domain, choose only the one which results in the higher score. Include evidence which supports your score.

If an achievement legitimately fits under multiple domains, it is valid to claim in both categories (for example, academic work which was presented orally then subsequently published).

Please note scores are finalised when the form is submitted. This means they cannot be edited in the event of a mistake, or an additional achievement completed after the deadline.

Completed achievements only

Only include achievements which are fully completed at the time of submission. Do not include anything which is still in progress. For example:

  • Do not include qualifications if you have not yet been awarded an outcome
  • Do not include articles submitted for publication if they have not been accepted
  • Do not include a presentation if you have not yet presented it

Over-claiming

You should be honest with your evaluation and not attempt to gain unfair advantage by exaggerating or misrepresenting achievements. If this is identified, it could be considered a probity matter which could lead to outright rejection of your application, and in extreme cases, fitness to practice proceedings.

Your scores will be reviewed by trained assessors and based on your evidence can be revised up or down.

Self-assessment domains

Domain 1: Commitment to Specialty
Descriptor Score
Multiple significant exposures to the work of a clinical radiology department 10
One significant exposure to the work of a radiology department 6
Attended a radiology-based course or conference of at least 1 day in length 2
None of the above 0

A significant exposure means a period of at least 3 whole day equivalent time attached to a clinical radiology department. Examples are listed below.

  • A taster week/observership placement
  • A student-selected component, elective, or similar part of a degree course
  • A radiology based clinical (not lab) research project involving presence in a department/working with a radiologist

Multiple exposures must be meaningfully different; for example, more than one of the above types. Two taster weeks in different settings would qualify for the highest descriptor and score 10 points, but 2 taster weeks offering the same experience would not and would score 6.

Evidence for this section could include the following.

  • Letter confirming placement from your clinical supervisor/education lead
  • Official university documents confirming radiology-based placement/component
  • Details of a radiology-based project with evidence of your involvement from your supervising consultant
  • Course/conference certificate
Domain 2: Leadership and Management
Descriptor Score Examples
Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role involving radiology. 7 National role, for example, within specialist society, royal 
college, nationally held fellowship position, relevant to radiology.
Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role not involving radiology, but relating to healthcare or hold/have held a local/regional level leadership or managerial role involving radiology. 5 National non-radiology healthcare role, for example, within British Medical Association (BMA), royal college.
Local role, for example, committee member of 
undergraduate radiology society.
Hold/have held a national level leadership or managerial role outside healthcare or hold/have held a local/regional leadership or management role not involving radiology but relevant to healthcare. 3 National roles outside healthcare may include charity work, sports, creative arts. 
Local role relevant to healthcare but not radiology, for example, Junior Doctors Forum or Mess committee, Foundation programme representative.
Hold/have held a local/regional leadership or management role outside healthcare. 2 As above, at a local level.
None of the above. 0 Not applicable

Any roles claimed above must have been for a minimum period of 6 months. 

For UK applicants - national refers to activity within the England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the UK as a whole. Local would mean at the level of a hospital single Trust or University. Roles outside healthcare include voluntary activity, arts, and other sciences, but not paid employment.

Appropriate evidence would include confirmation of election/appointment, evidence of attendance at committee meetings, letters from chair or senior figure within relevant organisation. Evidence should specify the applicant by name, the role, and major responsibilities thereof.

Domain 3: Teaching and Training
Descriptor Score
Have made a major contribution to a national or international teaching programme. 5
Have made a major contribution to a local or regional teaching programme. 4
Have evidence of providing organised teaching or training.  2 
None of the above. 0

For the purposes of this section a formal teaching programme should have a duration of at least 3 months in total.

 A major contribution means a leading or organising role, such as a formal teaching fellowship or personally organising a formal, multi-session teaching course. National or international programmes should be open to all relevant learners in that discipline and would usually form part of a formal qualification, such as Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree, specialty diploma etc.

Local or regional programmes would be organised at the level of, for example, a single hospital Trust, and could include Foundation Programme teaching or similar activities. Formal teaching outside medicine, for example, to school students or in the community can also be included.

One-off, small group teaching would qualify in the third descriptor, as would evidence of solely delivering a single session to a larger local or national programme.

Appropriate evidence would include the following.

  • Official documentation indicating your role as an organiser or deliverer of teaching.
  • Contemporaneous feedback collated or countersigned by a 3rd party.
Domain 4: Formal Teaching Qualifications
Descriptor Score
Hold a formal masters level teaching qualification or above. 5
Hold a formal teaching qualification awarded at postgraduate level (such as CILT, PGCert, PGDip) or FHEA. 4
Evidence of other training in teaching methods after study of at least 2 days (such as Train the Trainers). 2 
No formal qualification in teaching/education. 0

Evidence should be in the form of either an official degree certificate or attendance certificate or transcript clearly stating the qualification and indicating the level of study.

For this section only, formal teaching qualifications obtained prior studying medicine can be scored (for example, if you completed a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) before your medical degree).

Domain 5: Audit and Quality Improvement
Descriptor Score
I have led 2 or more audits or quality improvement project relating to radiology which can be shown to have resulted in changed practice. 7
I have led an audit or quality improvement project relating to radiology which can be shown to have resulted in changed practice. 5
I have led an audit or quality improvement project but not meeting all criteria above. 3
I have contributed to, but not led, an audit or quality improvement project. 2
None of the above. 0

Leading an audit/Quality Improvement (QI) project would usually include a major role in conception, data collection, analysis, and presentation. If your evidence does not demonstrate this, please select a different descriptor appropriately.

Evidence required:

  • A letter from supervising consultant or QI/audit project stating level of involvement to satisfy the requirements described in the table above. The letter must be signed (can be digital signature to reproduce a physical signature) and include:
    • consultant name and GMC number (or corresponding national medical registration equivalent)
    • date

and

  • Copy of audit project presentation outlining scope and impact (findings and improvements achieved) of project or, a summary of the project detailing scope and impact of the project

Demonstration of changed practice could be via a closed-loop second audit cycle showing better compliance to gold standard, or by improvement in a quality metric etc.

Relating to radiology means that diagnostic imaging formed a major part of the project.

Domain 6: Academic Achievements
Descriptor Score

I hold a postgraduate research degree (PhD, MD, MDRes)

Or,

A research Masters

 5

I have at least one peer-reviewed publication relating to radiology as first author

Or,

A postgraduate qualification with no substantial research component

 4

I have at least one peer-reviewed publication, not relating to radiology, as first author

Or,

A case report related to radiology

Or,

At least one oral or poster presentation relating to radiology at national or international level, as first author

 3

At least one peer-reviewed publication, not as first author

Or,

A case report not related to radiology

Or,

At least one oral or poster presentation at national or international level, as first author

 2

At least one oral or poster presentation, at any level

Or,

Involvement in a research team as part of an elective, intercalated degree, extended student research and enterprise project, academic foundation programme, academic summer school or other research taster

 1
None of the above. 0

Please note, as mentioned above, intercalated and additional undergraduate degrees have been removed from scoring according to national specialty recruitment policy. (Points scored in this section are only for postgraduate achievements).

All activity in this section should be scientific relating to radiology means the project should involve diagnostic imaging. This does not preclude papers in other fields such as surgery, oncology and so forth if they have a significant imaging focus. Publications and presentations can relate to audit/QI activity.

Presentations should be proffered papers which have been through a process of peer-review and:

Copy of letter of acceptance of oral/poster presentation or copy of event programme citing presentation to include:

  • The name of presenter or first author
  • The institution convening meeting
  • The date of the meeting/presentation

Evidence could include:

  • degree certificate
  • your Open Researcher and Contributor IDentifier (ORCID) summary
  • citation including DOI/indexing service identifier (for example, PMID)
  • conference catalogue 
Domain 7: Prizes and Awards
Descriptor Score
Prize awarded by a recognised radiology institution/specialist society or at national/international level meeting 6
Prize awarded by a recognised regional level institution or meeting. 3
More than one prize awarded by a local organisation or meeting. 2
One prize awarded by a local organisation or meeting. 1
None of the above. 0

To be eligible, a prize must have been open to all peers at that level of training and geographic region, so to all medical undergraduates and/or postgraduates within a nation, region, or specific locality. A single hospital Trust, University or similar would constitute a “local” organisation.

Page last reviewed: 30 October 2024
Next review due: 30 October 2026