Selection process

NHS England (South West) co-ordinates the national selection process for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 recruitment.

The posts will commence from August 2027 onwards.

When applying, you will not need to make selections for specific points such as, posts, regions or rotations, just complete and submit the application.

You will have the opportunity to rank all the posts available nationally at a later stage in the selection process.

Training posts and locations

Each Deanery/local office submits its indicative number of vacancies with a brief outline of the programme, see the Posts page for more information including local contact details.

The vacancies are correct at the point of advertisement but may be subject to change.

Eligibility checks

All applications will be longlisted against the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) ST1 Person specification.

This includes GMC registration, evidence of achievement of foundation competencies or equivalent, and requisite length of time in training as per the national person specification.

This list is not exhaustive and is applicable to all eligibility criteria.

You may still be withdrawn from the application process at any stage, including after the interviews have taken place, if the evidence pertaining to an eligibility criterion is found to be unsatisfactory.

It is possible that during the longlisting process you will be asked to provide further information on any aspects of your application to confirm your eligibility or to clear up any anomalies.

If this happens, you will need to provide the required information within the time frame given for your application to be considered.

If your application does not meet the entry criteria, you will be informed by email, and your application will not progress any further.

Selection process

The selection process for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) ST1 training has 3 stages.

Self assessment

At time of application, all candidates will be required to complete a self-assessment based on their own achievements in various domains. This self-assessment will be within the application form and is mandatory.

Candidates will be unable to submit their application without completing this section.

Please ensure that you answer each question correctly to the best of your knowledge. You must ensure that all questions answered within the 'self-assessment' are accurate at the time of submission. Before completing the self-assessment please refer to the scoring guidance.

Evidence folder

As part of the selection process all candidates will be asked to provide documentation to form an evidence folder and support the scores awarded as part of the self-assessment. Candidates will be asked to upload the documentation to an online portal.

Further information about the online evidence portal will be sent prior to the portal opening.

It is important to refer to the scoring guidance and the advised list of contents and follow this as precisely as possible as marks may be deducted for including unnecessary information.

Each evidence folder will be reviewed by a representative from the specialty. The self-scoring will be verified against the evidence uploaded and scored in line with scoring guidance that has been published.

The score from the evidence review will contribute towards the overall interview score but will not demine suitability/appointability.

The scores and the comments recorded as part of the review will be released to candidates as feedback.

Interviews

The interview process for each candidate from the initial identity checks to the completion of the interview will take approximately one hour.

The interviews will include 4 individual interview stations and all candidates will rotate through each of the stations.

Each station will be 7 minutes with a break between each station.

This is only an indication of the topics within the interview stations and the specific details will be confirmed nearer the actual interviews:

• Panel 1: Training Pathway in OMFS
• Panel 2: QIP/Audit/Research
• Panel 3: Clinical scenario/Situational Judgement
• Panel 4: Communication (with an actor)

When candidates enter the interview room there will be:

• Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons who will be asking questions and listening to the answer
• There may also a lay representative/clinical quality assurance who will be moving through the panels during the day who will have their camera turned off
• A member of the recruitment team administering the interview

Interview results and feedback

To progress to the offer stage it is a requirement to achieve a minimum of 60% of the total interview score and no less than than 40% within each station.

Candidates progressing to the offer stage will have their score from the interview and evidence folder combined for an overall score and rank.

All candidates will be provided with feedback following the interviews.

Expressing a preference - where you want to train

Candidates that have progressed to the offer stage will be asked to rank the training locations in order of preference.

This process will be carried out within Oriel.

An automated message, containing instructions, will be sent to candidates when the preferences open.

It is intended that the offers process will commence towards the end of March.

At the point of making offers, the preferences will be temporarily suspended.

Following this a matching process will take place and successful candidates will receive their highest ranked preference available.

Candidates whose preferences have been exhausted before their name is reached will not receive an offer and will be notified of this.

Further details about preferencing are available within the Specialty Training Website.

Offers

All offers will be made through Oriel. The posts will be offered in rank order.

Posts can be added at anytime until the next advertisement is placed later in the year.

Further details about the offers process are available within the Specialty Training Website.

References

As part of the national application process candidates will be asked to provide the names of 3 referees.

References will only be requested once applicants have accepted the offer of a training post.

The purpose of the reference is to confirm employment history and to highlight any concerns.

If no offer is made, or an offer is not accepted, referees will not be contacted. Please note references will not be required at the interview.