Self assessment

Ophthalmology ST1

As part of the selection process candidates will be asked to provide documentation to form an evidence folder.

Important: Important

The current information on this page is from 2026 and will be updated by the 30 of September with the information for 2027.

  • Below are the domains, marking range and points available in the self-assessment and evidence verification required for the Ophthalmology national recruitment process
  • Where possible examples of evidence you could upload to confirm your score is indicated. Please note that the lists of evidence are not exhaustive and are only for illustrative purposes. It is not possible to be prescriptive about what evidence will be acceptable to justify your selection; the key is that it is sufficient for the assessors reviewing your folder to be confident that you have claimed correctly. A certified, authenticated translation should be provided for any documentation which is not written in English
  • All candidates will be required to complete a self-assessment based on their own achievements in various domains. This is mandatory and candidates will be unable to progress within the application process without completing this
  • Please note that it is the candidate’s sole discretion as to which score they award in the self-assessment. Under no circumstances will the National Recruitment Office will be able to advise you which option to choose
  • When determining which score to select you should not include qualifications not yet given, courses not yet taken etc. All achievements should be completed at time of submission unless the specific scoring section below indicates otherwise
  • The self-assessment score cannot be changed once submitted, therefore, you should check it thoroughly before you submitting your self-score and supporting evidence
  • Candidates will be required to provide evidence via the evidence upload portal for each domain scored. This must be uploaded during the upload timeframe specified. Further guidance on how to upload your evidence will follow in due course. Evidence provided by any other means will not be accepted
  • Evidence cannot normally be used in two different domains, for example, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education should not be cited in both Education and Teaching and Qualifications. Multiple experiences in similar areas (for example, multiple teaching courses designed and delivered) will only be given points if additional attainment is described
  • All evidence stated to be peer-reviewed must be peer-reviewed and open to amendment before publication, cited in PubMed and a PubMed reference should be included
  • If evidence for a domain is not uploaded to the portal before the deadline, then the evidence verification panel will award a score of zero for that domain
  • If the verifiers feel that there is insufficient evidence for the number of points you have claimed in your self-assessment, they will reduce your score in that section to a number that they feel is appropriate
  • Any instance of candidates trying to gain an unfair advantage by over-claiming scores for and/or exaggerating their achievements will be taken extremely seriously. This could lead to an application either being marked down, removed from the recruitment process, or, in more serious cases, could be reported as a probity matter to the GMC
  • Please bear in mind the GMC's Good Medical Practice guidelines on probity including "You must always be honest about your experience, qualifications and position, particularly when applying for posts." (GMC Good Practice)
  • You are advised to upload information to evidence the points you think your achievements merit but once you have uploaded sufficient evidence to do so avoid adding further information on that domain/question
  • Verification of candidates' self-assessment scores will be done by a panel of assessors prior to the interview date. Candidate’s will be notified of any changes to their self-assessment score
  • Please ensure there is no patient identifiable documentation included within the evidence

Self assessment scoring domains

List of previous posts
Guidance Please include a list of all your previous posts (your most recent post first). If you are not currently working within a clinical post please specify.

This is to give context to your achievements and is not scored.
Qualifications with certificates or letter of proof
Guidance Cumulative scoring - maximum 5 points

Please note that a cross-specialty requirement that intercalated one-year degrees taken during a primary medical degree are not scored has been imposed.

Please state explicitly if any additional degrees to your primary degree are intercalated or not intercalated.

Any degree designations not mentioned below must have supporting evidence signed by a senior administrator or supervisor stating that degree’s equivalence to one of the categories below.

1 point - per qualification taken as a course separate from the primary degree for at least 8 months full-time or equivalent - MSc, BSc, PG Cert (including Optometry degrees but NOT intercalated degrees).

3 points - for an MD or MPhil degree taken as a separate course before or after the primary degree. If you gained your medical qualification in a country where all students are automatically awarded an MD without additional study you cannot claim points for that MD. You may only claim points for an MD/ MPhil where you have undertaken a period of at least 2 years' full time additional study and research to your primary medical degree and you must present a supervisor’s letter confirming this.

4 points - for a completed PhD or DPhil. You must have undertaken full-time research involving original work, usually of at least three years' duration. You must present a supervisor’s letter confirming this.

MRCP and MRCS are not scored.
Prizes/Awards with proof
Guidance Cumulative scoring - maximum 5 points

3 points – for Crombie Medal (1st place in FRCOphth part 1 exam).

2 points each - First in any year (not module or other part of a year) of an undergraduate degree or equivalent, for example, Honours or Distinction where <15% of the students in that year achieve this. Evidence explicitly demonstrating this must be presented. Degrees other than a primary medical degree (but not intercalated degrees) can be scored on this basis where evidence explicitly demonstrates <15% of the year achieve this.

National Undergraduate prize through competitive examination (in any specialty, for example, The Duke-Elder prize): 3 points for coming first, 2 points for coming in top 10% of entrants, 1 point for being in the top 20% of entrants. For any other prize please demonstrate that the examination is national, the number of entrants (must be over 400) and your position.

1 point each - for each successful research grant application where the candidate was lead author and the application led to substantial peer-reviewed published research. Travel and other bursaries will not be scored unless there are exceptional circumstances/ achievement demonstrated.

1 point each - for Best presentation or poster at a national or international meeting where you are first author (may also be used in evidence for Presentations section or QI/ Audit section) (Maximum 2 points this section). Being highly commended or any other designation will not be scored.
Multi-Source Feedback (MSF)
Guidance Maximum 2 points

The MSF must have been taken place within 18 months of the interview date if the candidate has been in clinical posts for this period.

Candidates not currently within a clinical post who do not have an MSF within the timeframe (for example, undertaking a longer period of research or an extended period of leave) should include the MSF from their most recent clinical post.

The MSF should include feedback from a minimum of 5 respondents if in a general practice post or 7 respondents if in a hospital post. Your documents should include the period the MSF covered.

The report must be signed by the educational supervisor or department lead and stamped with a departmental stamp unless including a standard Team Assessment Behaviour Form (TAB) printed from e-portfolio which does not require a signature or departmental stamp.

For candidates without access to an online portfolio or unfamiliar with the MSF process information can be accessed from the Multi-Source Feedback Guidance page.

Points will be awarded as follows:

0 points – for no information presented, negative comments or non-satisfactory scores.

2 points – satisfactory scores with appropriate good comments.
Quality improvement (QI) / Audit projects
Guidance Maximum 5 points

A copy of your best QI project or audit, performed within the last 3 years of the interview date, must be uploaded with either presentation slides or a text document showing standards, methods, outcomes and recommendations.

An additional covering letter signed by the supervising consultant explicitly confirming your specific role in the project / audit must be uploaded. This is especially important to confirm the points to be awarded as below.

Points will be awarded as follows:

0 points – if no evidence of QI / audit work in portfolio.

1 point – for participation but no specific roles documented or specific format followed.

2 points – for initiation and design of the QIP / audit and some evidence of specific format.

3 points – for initiation, design and writing up the QIP / audit and specific format followed.

4 points – as above and was personally involved in implementing the QI strategy / completing the audit loop and implementing change.

5 points – for published audit (not to be added to Publications or Presentations sections) or QI guidelines implemented supra-regionally.

Note: Some modification of these marks may be made dependent on quality of project and impact of the work. If you are not clearly lead on the project then the maximum score is 1 point (as stated by the supervisor, being first listed in authors on documents is not proof of being lead on a project).
Presentations
Presentations Cumulative scoring - maximum score 6 points

List of presentations and copies of abstracts or posters, stating whether it is a poster presentation or oral presentation.

Proof must be uploaded through an abstract book or signed letter from a supervisor.

Presentations must be of original work and not didactic lectures. Presentations duplicating work will not be scored. Explicit evidence detailing that all the preparatory work was completed for presentations cancelled due to COVID will be accepted.

1 Point each - Regional presentations (for example regional ophthalmology society meetings or other specialty equivalents in the UK or regional ophthalmology meetings of other countries or equivalent non-ophthalmology meetings. Regional designation includes specifically English, Scottish, Welsh meetings). Local hospital or university-specific meetings are not scored.

2 Points each - National presentations (for example, RCOphth Congress, British Oculoplastic Surgery Society, or other specialty equivalents in the UK or national ophthalmology meetings of other countries or equivalent non-ophthalmology meetings)

3 Points each - International meetings - (for some examples, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Academy of Ophthalmology, or equivalent international non-ophthalmology meetings).

Meetings in non-UK countries where explicit evidence is not presented as to the international nature of the meeting are scored as national or regional meetings.

NB: The same paper presented at different meetings will only be counted once. Also:

- Accepted presentations, but not yet presented, will be awarded points

- Oral presentations score points as shown above, for example, 2 points at a national meeting

- Poster or video presentations score half points shown above, for example, 1 point at a national meeting

- Second author or lower scores a half of the oral presentation. Points will only be given if the candidate presents evidence they gave the presentation in lieu of the first author. Second author or lower does not score for posters

- Abstract will only receive points if the abstract links to a full article that can be reviewed

Candidates cannot place the same work in the presentations, QI/ Audit and/or publications domains. Meetings included in this section must not be included in Ophthalmology Specialty Links section. Please choose which domain to include the work in.
Publications
Guidance Maximum score 6 points

Candidates cannot place the same work in presentations, QI/Audit and/or publications domains. Please choose which domain to include the work in. Duplicate work in different publications will not be scored.

List peer-reviewed original research publications or high-quality systematic review articles (not letters to a journal or case reports, this evidence can be included in "Ophthalmology specialty links and commitment to date as a career" if the work is in Ophthalmology).

Please provide the pro forma information detailed below and then after each pro forma information in turn, upload a photocopy of the first page of each paper. No marks will be given without a copy of the first page of either a published or "in press" paper and in the latter case evidence of final acceptance for publication must be presented.

On the pro forma list each piece of evidence including the citation of the journal (author's name(s), article title, journal name/title, volume of journal, issue number of journal, page or range of pages, year of publication and DOI or URL) and indicate whether you were first, second, third or fourth author.

3 points for each publication where you are first author or joint first author and 1 point for any other publications up to fourth author (unless >8 authors in total for article when first author only counted).

If you are one of three or more joint first authors then you will be scored as a second author. If there are more than 6 joint first authors then no score will be given.

No points will be awarded in this section if you are fifth author or lower in the citation.

Quality of the work presented and impact of the journal may be considered when scoring.
Education and Teaching
Guidance Cumulative scoring - maximum score 5 points

0.5 points each (2 points maximum) - for helping with an educational course (more than one session), for helping with mock OSCEs (more than one session), designing an e-learning tool, writing an e-book, completing a "teaching the teachers" course and/or undertaking a formal role in examining undergraduates. Duplicate experiences will not be scored.

1 points (each and maximum) – for delivering at least three formal teaching sessions (not ward-based or small group) on different subject areas over a period of at least 3 months with formal feedback uploaded. Supervisor support in a letter stating these were formal teaching sessions must be provided.

2 points (each and maximum) - for a Higher teaching qualification for example, a Diploma, Certificate in Medical education (taken as a course separate from the primary degree, equalling 60 credits or for at least 8 months full-time or equivalent, specific evidence of this must be uploaded). Not to be included in Qualifications section.

2 points (each and maximum) - for writing a chapter in a postgraduate-level academic book (not an e-book or self-published book). Specific evidence of the publisher and impact of the book must be shown.

3 points (each and maximum) - for writing a postgraduate-level academic book (not an e-book or self-published book). Specific evidence of the publisher and impact of the book must be shown.

All evidence must come with either details of a chapter index, attendance certificate or a signed letter from a supervisory Consultant/ Educator as supporting evidence. Specific evidence demonstrating impact of e-learning projects or other teaching achievements must be presented. Specific evidence of impact of e-books in numbers downloaded or otherwise accessed must be presented.

No points will be awarded solely for being a teaching fellow or anatomy demonstrator. Any educational activities as above undertaken in those roles will be scored.
Ophthalmology specialty links and commitment to date as a career
Guidance Cumulative scoring - maximum score 13 points

Refraction Certificate (or exemption as fully-qualified post-registration optometrist): 1 point

FRCOphth part 1: 3 points for a pass, or 1 point for attempting the part 1 FRCOphth on at least one occasion.

Non-peer reviewed publications and case reports or 'letters to the journal' in ophthalmology (0.5 points each) or other peer-reviewed (Pubmed-cited) research publications in ophthalmology not included in other sections (1 point each if peer-reviewed): 2 points max within this section (points only awarded if candidate is first author). Please indicate clearly impact of non-peer-reviewed publications.

Ophthalmic elective and/or separate undergraduate project: 2 points max, 1 point per achievement. Please provide evidence of reflection on achievements. If electives were cancelled due to COVID and evidence is provided that an elective was planned then this can be scored. Undergraduate projects must have supervisor support explicitly stating the project was equivalent to 2 weeks' full-time work.

Taster week: 1 point max (or evidence presented of a Foundation year attachment in Ophthalmology).

Attending ophthalmology clinics and theatre sessions outside of a formal taster week or Foundation/ tenured post and spaced out over more than 3 months (minimum 10 sessions with dates and supervisor-signed evidence): 1 point max.

Evidence of ophthalmology simulation training (including EyeSi experience): 1 point for each activity of at least 4 hours or whole-day course, max 2 points

Meetings attended: 3 points maximum, from which 3 points max for National / International Ophthalmology educational meetings attended (1 point per meeting) and 1 point max for Regional Ophthalmology meetings (including Royal Society of Medicine Ophthalmology section evening meetings) attended (0.5 points per meeting). Meetings included in this section must not be included in the Presentations section. Online meetings attended may not score depending on the details supporting presented, including scope of meeting and reflections on learning.

Evidence not included above - discretionary: 1 point per piece of evidence- 2 points max (not including taking Duke-Elder, logbook of surgical cases or WBAs).
Overall portfolio layout and quality
Guidance Maximum score 3 points

How the portfolio is presented in layout and organisation will be assessed.

Page last reviewed: 3 September 2026
Next review due: 3 September 2028