Applying

Before you apply for Specialty Training you should check that you're eligible.

All applications must be submitted via Oriel, we are unable to accept any applications outside of this system. Please ensure you are only logged into Oriel in one browser window, on one device, as having multiple windows open may impact updates you make.

Please check your application thoroughly before submitting as no one is able to change information after submission, including the administrative team. Please ensure you submit your application before the 4pm deadline on Thursday 11 December 2025.

Before you apply for Specialty Training you should check that you're eligible against the Vascular Surgery ST3 Person specification.

Summary of changes for 2026 recruitment

GMC registration

As per the person specification all candidates must have GMC registration at the point of application and licence to practice by the start date.

Shortlisting

When applications close we will remove any candidate who has self scored 0 on all domains.

If we have a higher number of applications than we have capacity to interview we may employ a second shortlisting process, where we will use an unverified score cut off and withdraw any candidates below this score. This score will be determined via a criteria based scoring once applications have closed.

Alternative Certificate of Eligibility to Enter Higher Surgical Training

For this recruitment round we will only accept the 2021 CRESHT if it meets the requirements. Otherwise we will accept only the Alternative Certificate of Eligibility to Enter Higher Surgical Training (CREHST).

Self assessment

Domains 1 and 3 have been removed.

Details of other changes are below, please note the domain number will change from last year and we are referring to the current Domain number in the below:

• Domain 1 - there is a new scoring criteria with changes on the time categories and scores aligned to them
• Domain 2 - no changes to appendectomy, Femoral artery exploration is now Femoral artery dissections and there are changes to the number of dissesctions per category and scores
• Domain 6 - the number of audits to be submitted is 2 and the marking scheme has changed
• Domain 7 - there has been a change to the criteria to score each category
• Domain 9 - we have merged the responses from the old domain 8 into this domain and updated the criteria

There has been some adjustments to the wording and scoring for domains 2, 4, 7, 8 and 10 (following the removal of domains 1 and 3, these are now domains 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8).

Evidence upload

Evidence upload will take place on Qpercom Recruit and guidance will be shared with candidates on how to upload to this once applications close.

Please note once you have submitted your evidence on Qpercom recruit and pressed finished and submit you cannot edit the documents you have uploaded. The administrative team are unable to assist with amendments to any evidence. Failure to press finished and submit will result in your application being withdrawn and the evidence will not be available to the panel to review.

Invigilation

In the 2026 vascular interviews, all interviews will have invigilation by an administrator. Further guidance will be provided to candidates who are invited to book an interview.

Please note you will need a second camera via a tablet or smartphone and there will be a system test to complete prior to the interview.

How to apply

Vascular Surgery recruitment to programmes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is managed via a nationally coordinated process hosted by the recruitment office on behalf of the Vascular Surgery Specialty Advisory Committees (SAC).

Further programme and rotation information will be available at the point of preferencing at a later date in the process. Information will be sent to your Oriel account and copied to your registered email inbox with instructions on how to complete preferencing. In addition, indicative post numbers for each NHSE local office/deanery will be made available on the Medical Specialty Recruitment pages.

Applications will only be accepted through Oriel between 10am Thursday 20 November and 4pm Thursday 11 December 2025. Please be aware applications received after this time will not be accepted and there will be no exceptions to this.

To register on Oriel, you must ensure you have a valid email address. Communication between the recruitment office and applicants will be primarily via Oriel.

Recruitment process

Reasonable adjustments and Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

We will ensure, where possible, that reasonable adjustments are made at interview to meet the needs of applicants with disabilities.

You must ensure that you include this on the application form.

Failure to provide the requested information and documentation by the stated deadline will result in adjustments and/or Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) status not being met.

For more information regarding reasonable adjustments and the Disability Confident Scheme, visit the support page via the Applicant Support Portal.

Fitness to Practise

Please refer to the Medical Specialty Recruitment pages for guidance on special circumstances.

Any candidate who answers yes to one or more of the questions in the Fitness to Practise section of the application form, must complete the Fitness to Practise (FTP) declaration form providing further details regarding your affirmative/positive answer. 

Please refer to the guidance and relevant forms which can be found within our Applicant Support Portal.

Eligibility

You must meet the entry criteria in order to be considered for specialty training. It is important to note that your application is likely to be rejected prior to the interview stage should you fail a criterion assessed at longlisting. Please refer to the Vascular Surgery ST3 person specification for full details of entry criteria.

Longlisting

Your application will be longlisted against the entry criteria as outlined on the person specification. Please be aware that you may still be withdrawn from the application process at any stage if found to be ineligible to apply even if you have been made an offer.

At the longlisting stage your application will be reviewed in line with the entry criteria set out in the nationally agreed Vascular Surgery ST3 person specification.

It is essential that you provide the evidence below in your application form. If you fail to follow these instructions, it is highly likely that your application will be withdrawn from the recruitment process.

The following criteria will be assessed at longlisting stage.

Important information on Certificate of Readiness to Enter Higher Surgical Training (CREHST)

The 2021 CRESHT or 2026 Alternative Certificate of Eligibility to Enter Higher Surgical Training are the only acceptable evidence of achievement of all requisite core surgical competences, for all applicants to Vascular Surgery ST3 who will not have completed a recognised UK Core Surgical Training Programme by the post start date.

All competences must be signed off in order for a relevant certificate to be accepted.

If necessary, competences can be signed off by multiple supervisors where a single supervisor feels unable to sign off the totality of competences.

The 2026 Alternative Certificate of Eligibility to Enter Higher Surgical Training can either be downloaded from the Oriel resource bank or from the Alternative Certificate of Eligibility to Enter Higher Surgical Training (CREHST) page.

Shortlisting

The self-assessment will be completed online as part of the Oriel application. 

You will be provided with further instructions about how to upload evidence to the evidence portal in due course. You should ensure that you present the evidence in the requested format.

Failure to do so could result in your evidence being rejected. 

Failure to submit all evidence by the stated deadline will result in your application form being withdrawn by the recruitment team. The upload window is from Friday 12 December to Friday 19 December 2025.

Recruitment administrators will not be able to upload evidence on your behalf and once the deadline for submission has passed, your access will be withdrawn. 

Submitted evidence will be verified against the self-assessment criteria for all applicants. Where the evidence submitted does not match the score awarded, the score will be adjusted accordingly. 

On completion of the verification process, you will be sent your verified score. Where you disagree with the score awarded, you can lodge an appeal. The verified scores will be used to shortlist candidates for interview.

Appeals received after the 72-hour deadline will not be considered. The outcome of the appeal is final and there is no further recourse if you are dissatisfied. Disagreements over self-assessment scores fall out of scope of the MDRS Complaints Policy.