Portfolio Pathway FAQs
This page answers common questions about applying to the General Medical Council (GMC) for specialist registration via the Portfolio Pathway. For specific queries please contact the GMC.
As set by the GMC the eligibility criteria clarified is:
To apply you must have either 1) a specialist qualification in the specialty (for example, MRCPsych, FRANZCP Australia, MSc Psychiatry Egypt) you’re applying in OR 2) at least six months continuous specialist training in the specialty you’re applying in.
If you have not achieved 1) or 2) above, however are working as an SAS doctor you would not meet the eligibility criteria.
Please see individual Specialty Specific Guidance for more information.
Six months continuous training in the specialty has to be undertaken in an approved training post recognised in the UK and same applies for overseas applicants.
The eligibility criteria as set by the GMC is:
To apply you must have either 1) a specialist qualification in the specialty (for example, MRCPsych, FRANZCP Australia, MSc Psychiatry Egypt) you’re applying in OR 2) at least six months continuous specialist training in the specialty you’re applying in.
You should provide at least three referees who are able to comment on your current suitability for specialist registration; they should be a consultant in your specialty or similar, or someone who is in a clinical supervisory position such as an Educational or Clinical supervisor. It is preferable that your referees have witnessed some of your clinical activity or signed off some of your evidence. We strongly recommend that all your referees should be fully conversant with the current curriculum and able to provide detailed support for your competence across all or most areas.
Yes the GMC Frequently Asked questions Pages have a section and template for reference format.
Any programme of learning, theory and practical, that is followed by exams would generally be seen as equivalent to MRCPsych. Full details are explained in the specialty specific guidance (SSG).
The GMC website details Specialty Specific Guidance (SSG) and the evidence requirements for each specialty.
Yes you can go back further than 10 years to demonstrate the learning outcomes. However, this must be relevant information to support your application ie, a PhD.
Yes if you wish but this is not a requirement.
Yes you can demonstrate your competence with examples from private and NHS practice.
The Portfolio Pathway enables doctors to achieve Specialist Registration through their Knowledge Skills and Experience (KSE). Therefore, once you have achieved CESR in one specialty of psychiatry it may be possible to achieve the same in another.
Currently we are not offering dual accreditation. Therefore applications must be submitted for a single specialty.
To register your interest to join our ‘CESR Applicant Network Database’ for updates and guidance sessions, please email your contact details to the Specialist Registration Team.
Due to the data retention policy of organisations some evidence older than 7 years may have been destroyed or archived.
If you are not able to produce historic evidence you may have to look at your eligibility for the Cohort you are applying for via our webpage.
If you are happy with your chosen Cohort and still are not able to evidence older data due to retention policies, please provide as much information as you can to substantiate this period, plus add a comment as to why this is not evidenced in your portfolio.
We are developing our resources and have a ‘CESR Applicant Network’. Please register to receive updates and details of guidance sessions by emailing the Specialist Registration Team.
Additionally, please approach your area’s Trust or Health Board who should be able to give you details of their SAS lead and further mentor network/support groups.
These vary within each Cohort and will depend on the evidence you are providing for your Knowledge Skills and Experience (KSE). Please check the Cohort criteria selection questions, using button above, to ensure you are compiling evidence in line with the correct Cohort.
If you have chosen the correct cohort please see the Specialty Specific Guidance (SSG) Section on the BMA webpage and chose your desired specialty. This will detail evidence required for your portfolio.
To register your interest to join our ‘CESR Applicant Network Database’ for updates and guidance sessions, please email your contact details to the Specialist Registration Team
For local support please approach your area’s Trust or Health Board who should be able to give you details of their SAS lead and mentor network.
Each cohort has different audit requirements. ALL cohorts require one quality improvement activity to be evidenced.
You would need to detail all your job history including locum posts (you would not have to provide actual contracts).
Full physical examinations would involve covering all systems eg: respiratory, cardiology, renal, neurology etc
You need to evidence your experience working for a period of time in an inpatient setting. If you are currently not working in an inpatient setting you would have to gain experience in this setting to provide as part of your evidence. period of on call on inpatient wards, would not be sufficient time spent in an inpatient setting.
If you have achieved a full MRCPsych qualification it is deemed that you have completed core training competencies as per the curriculum and therefore yes you are able to apply for the Portfolio Pathway.
Please see our KSE Selection Tool and go straight to Question 2)
Please see the GMC information pages for Acceptable overseas qualifications for doctors.
The GMC have some guidance and links in their Online Portfolio Application – User Guide.
For HLO 2.2with regards to core-psychiatry curriculum, the expectation is to demonstrate experience in at least 2 modalities over ‘short and long’ durations: This would be a short case such as CBT and a long case – psychodynamic individual or group therapy for example, or CAT which needs to be between 20-40 sessions under supervision
We understand the GMC do not allow blank pages on the uploads. To overcome this we suggest clearly labelling or colour coding groupings of cases in order for our evaluators to see these more clearly.
The GMC provide guidance on verifying evidence.
The GMC provide guidance on how to organise and name evidence.
Read more
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