Applying

Applications for Inter-Deanery Transfers (IDT) are made on the Post Graduate Medical and Dental (PGMDE) Support Portal. Applications received outside of this process will not be accepted.

Before applying

You must discuss alternative support arrangements with your Educational or Academic Supervisor, Training Programme Director (TPD), and if appropriate, your Postgraduate Dean (PGD) before applying for an IDT. Having fully considered all alternatives, you will be able to apply. You should inform your TPD if you decide to apply as your details will be shared with your current region during the vacancy declaration process.

Considering location

You are able to request transfers to another region.

If you are not willing to be offered a post anywhere within your chosen region, you can also specify where within that region you wished to be placed at the IDT application stage.  

If you choose a specific desired location/hospital, local teams will only look at suitable vacancies based on this information you provide. However, while this will be honoured for any offers that come in during the IDT application process, regions cannot guarantee that future rotations will continue within these specified desired locations 

If you state that you are willing to be considered for a vacancy anywhere within your chosen region, the local teams will look for suitable positions across the entire region/deanery. It is important that you look at regional websites so you know the area in which you would like to be transferred and its precise locations. 

If you choose a specific desired location/hospital within your chosen region/s at the time of application, while this will be honoured for any offers that come in, regions cannot guarantee that future rotations will continue within these specified desired locations. 

Cross regional borders

You should ensure the region which you are requesting a transfer manages a training programme for the specialty you wish to join. Some training programmes cross regional borders and may have their administrative base in a different region to where you wish to train, or of which training takes place across 2 or more regions.  

Training programmes in some training regions are offered as run-through, while in other training regions the same specialty is offered as a core and higher programme. You need to be aware that your existing training arrangements may not be honoured on transferring to another training region. For example, where there are differences in programmes offerered, the local arrangements of your current region may not be manageable in the new region. 

Please review our local office and deanery information page for more details.

Region preferences

When considering the most suitable area for relocation, you may wish to rank regions adjacent to your first choice as second or third choices. It is possible to list up to 3 preferences of regions at the application stage, but this is not mandatory. You are not required to submit 3 preferences and you should only apply to transfer to a region in which you would wish to train, as there is a possibility that you could receive an offer from any of the regions you have preferenced in your application. You will only be able to select each region once. 

Applying

You may only submit one application per IDT window.

You will need to complete an online application form via the Post Graduate Medical and Dental Education (PGMDE) Support Portal. For criterion 1 to 4 you will need to state clearly the significant or unforeseen circumstances that have taken place since accepting an offer of a training post. You must:

• be explicit regarding your circumstances, including when and how they changed
• present a sequence of events in chronological order
• only provide relevant information relating to the criteria for which you are applying
• not miss out important information such as dates when a change in circumstances took place

All applications must come through the PGMDE Support Portal. Applications recieved outside of this process will not be accepted.

The application form is only open during the application window.

If you are currently Out of Programme (OOP) or on parental leave/pregnancy

OOP arrangements are at discretion of your current training region and prospective regions are not obliged to maintain these arrangements. For this reason, if you are currently on OOP you should not apply for a transfer which will take place before your return to the training programme as you will not be found eligible for an IDT.

You should instead apply during the application window that would allow for a transfer after your return to training date and within the national timetable for transfers during that window of IDT. 

Those who are out of programme will be required to submit additional ARCP outcome forms.

Those who are on parental leave should apply in the IDT window which would allow for a transfer nearest to their return to work date and within the national timetable of IDT transfers.

If you are an Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) or a Academic Clinical Lecturer (ACL)

If you are an Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) or a Academic Clinical Lecturer (ACL) you can apply to either transfer your academic training award following the process detailed below, or to relinquish your academic award upon successful transfer. If you do not wish to transfer your academic award, you should follow the IDT application process as would a clinical applicant.

Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) and Academic Clinical Lecturer (ACL) trainees in England wishing to transfer their award should first approach their Academic Supervisor to discuss their situation. You will need to obtain written agreement from both of your current academic provider (Medical School or Higher Education Institution holding the ACF or ACL award) and the academic provider you wish to move to. This written confirmation should state that the releasing institution agrees to the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funding being released, and that the receiving academic institutions is able to deliver the academic training.

Once agreed by both academic providers, you will need to get written agreement from the NIHR for the transfer of your funded award, or where the award has been locally funded the agreement of your funding body. You are required to supply evidence of these agreements at the time of offer.

The above guidance only applies to England. If you are an Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) or an Academic Clinical Lecturer (ACL) doctor in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you should approach your Academic Leads and Postgraduate Deans in order to have your individual circumstances considered.

This is contingent on the availability of a suitable clinical training post, which will need to be identified by local regions following the anonymous transfer of information by the National IDT team. You should not attempt to contact local regions, Supervisors or Training Programme Directors to determine whether a post is available. Confirmation by academic institutions that an academic award can be transferred does not guarantee that you will be able to IDT.

The National IDT team follow guidance provided by the NIHR. Please refer to the NIHR website for further information if you are an ACF or ACL doctor.

If you are undertaking Targeted General Practice Training (TGPT)

If you are undertaking Targeted General Practice Training (TGPT), please refer to the Gold Guide, any specialised guidance relating to your training programme, and also your Educational Supervisor/Training Programme Director regarding the training options that are available to you

If you are a Dual/Triple Accredited CCT Applicant

If you are a Dual/Triple Accredited CCT Applicant and wish to transfer a dual or triple accredited CCT programme you can do so, but the receiving training region must be able to accommodate you in both/all specialties if the transfer is to be successful after eligibility checking. You will need to enter information on both/all 3 specialties in your application form.

If you work Less than Full Time (LTFT)

Your continued LTFT status cannot be guaranteed by the national IDT team and a transfer into a LTFT post will depend upon capacity within the new region.

You will still be considered for a transfer into a full-time vacancy should a suitable one exist, but you will have to fulfil the local requirements of obtaining LTFT status within the new region. For those applying on a Skilled Worker (formerly Tier 2 Visa) please review point 53 regarding LTFT requirements.

You must have at least 12 calendar months left in training at the earliest point of transfer regardless of LTFT status. Your LTFT status must have been approved by your current region by the time of application.

If your Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) date is dependent on LTFT approval, then this must have been confirmed and finalised prior to applying. We will only accept the CCT date that you put on your application and this must match what is on your last clinical Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP). If there are any discrepancies, you must provide an official PDF letter which confirms your most up to date CCT from your current Deanery. This must be submitted at the time of your application. Failure to supply this may affect your application.

Technical information

You must complete the application in a single sitting as it is not possible to save and return to an incomplete application on the system. This applies to both new and reapplications.

It is essential that you have JavaScript enabled when completing and submitting an application.

Only the following browsers will be supported on the application portal.

• Microsoft Edge
• Latest versions of Chrome and Firefox

If you experience technical difficulties while completing your supporting documents or uploading them to the online application portal, please review the Operational and Technical Issue articles on the PGMDE Support Portal.

Withdrawing your application

Should you wish to withdraw your application at any stage, you must contact the National IDT team to confirm this by replying directly to your application ticket. After your application has been withdrawn, it will not be progressed any further. You will be unable to submit a new application within the same IDT window or reopen withdrawn applications.

If you choose to withdraw from the IDT process after finalising an offer directly with your transferring region, your original training post may no longer be available for you to return to.