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Hello everyone. Good evening. Um I just wanna check if everyone can hear me and everyone can see me if someone could just write in the chart, please, if you can hear and see me. Yes. Ok, perfect. Hi, everyone. Welcome to our talk today about GMC registration and the Fy two standalone program. Um We're just gonna wait for a few minutes to let people join and then. Ok, we will start. Hello, everyone and good evening, welcome to our webinar today this evening about GMC registration and the FY two standalone program. So our speaker today is Doctor Huma Mali. She graduated from Medical University, Sophia in um a few years ago and she's now working in the UK as an F two trauma and orthopedics doctor. Um Today she's gonna be talking about how to gain GMC registration, including the steps you need to take after your last exam and all the paperwork that's required. Um The second part of the talk is gonna be about applying for the F I two standalone program. She'll be running through the individual stages of the application and how to maximize your chances of a successful application. And also just a few words about the SSN. Um We are aiming to build a more connected community for our international students that are studying in Bulgaria. And we wanna make it more accessible for students to reach out and get help and support. Um We offer support to students, especially students who are wanting to integrate back into the NHS. Um We recognize the challenges uh that IM GS are facing in reintegrating when they go back to the UK after studying in Bulgaria, and we're really committed to simplifying that transition. So if you ever have any questions or any um any ideas or any suggestions for us, please feel free to reach out on our Instagram or any of our socials. Um And also please do follow our medal page so you can be updated about um all our events that are coming up. So I'm just gonna hand over to Doctor Mao. Thank you Jemima and um thank you for everyone for coming here this evening. I'll just jump straight into it. So I graduated from Sophia. So when it comes to GMC registration, I'll really mainly be talking about um everything to do with Sophia. Um But hopefully it should be similar to the other universities and the general application should be quite similar. So let's say you finish your final state exam and you ideally it's best to complete your ielts around before the state exams begin. It just means that you don't have to have this looming exam over you uh beforehand and it just means you have a bit more time. If you don't get the grade that you require and you can have time to repeat it, then you just register for your what we call a Prediploma. Go to your student office, fill out the forms, get two passport photos, you can get this anywhere across the city, any printing stores and then an odd one but do go to the Univ your library and just get a letter from them. And this basically states that you don't have any outstanding fees so that you're able to then give that as proof. Um So ideally the passport photos and the, you know, the library try and do that before you finish your last exam. It it just means you don't have anything extra that could delay anything. Then at the student office, you have to get something called a graduation certificate. So to get that, once you filled out the form you go to, there's a room next to the student office, you pay your 2011 fee and then you get a receipt and you can hand that back into the student office as proof that you've paid for it. And then once you finally receive it, they usually split it into groups. So you can come in at specific timings, depending on what group you're in and you can um go and collect it, then then you'll have to get it translated to English because for the GMC, um usually for us, there was a few things floating about about whether you have to legalize it and get it possible. Um go to the Ministry of Education, et cetera, et cetera, but you don't have to do that. That also takes very long. You just need to translate it into English. Um The wording is quite important to make sure it says things like you will receive or are set to receive the diploma and make sure it has a date on it. And yes, and then finally make an epic account. So Epic is your intermediary between GMC and your university. It verifies all your documents. It sort of, it sort of provides proof to the GMC that this is a legitimate degree at a legitimate university. It does all the background checks for the GMC S. So the you don't have to do it. So if you're Epic verified GMC will just trust that and then just go from there. So to be epic verified, make your account, download, upload your Ielts, upload your passport and now the translated graduation prediploma certificate that you have upload all of these things, you have to pay an epic fee. Um You also have to pay the university to tell Epic that you are in fact a student at the university. So I think that's about 100 and 20 left in cash. Um So yeah, they will do that. And they will contact Epic and confirm you are a student and that's the final stage and you should hopefully be Epic verified once you have that, then you can contact the GMC and fill out their application form. Um, again, everything, nothing's free these days, you'll have to pay the GMC fee on top of that. Usually they will call you after a few weeks to verify uh who you are and then you would pay the fee over the phone. Um, also, yes. And then you can book a date with the GMC online, um, to collect your, uh, to collect your GMC license really too. But sometimes, um, I think they've started to change it. It doesn't have to be in person anymore. Uh, you don't have to travel to London. So just, just check with you what, what they're doing then because sometimes you can, it can be virtual. Also, also just one more thing do go to the police station wherever you are, uh, wherever city you are in Bulgaria and get, um, just, um, a criminal. So it's almost like a DBS check just to ensure that you don't have a criminal history that in Bulgaria and likely that you won't be asked that in the UK. The GMC doesn't require it, but it's best just to have it in case on the off chance something, some workplace does require it and you don't want to not get a job because you could, you have to go back and forth to try and get a police certificate. So it's best that you just get that done and that's all really, um, it's not a complicated procedure. It's just, you can get a bit long winded and try and do it as early as possible. The earlier you do it the better. Really. This doesn't create a backlog of people. Um, yeah, just try and do it as early as possible. and it should be, yeah, it should be quite smooth. Um If you have any questions, do, do keep writing it in the chart and um we can, we can answer, we can answer those. M OK. Um So someone asked, I think Epi Epic is only to verify your diploma and your ID. Do we need to upload ielts? So uh uh we did have to, I believe um I mean, if uh I think you just need the, the verification code for it, uh you know your number for it and then they will then just verify it yourself. I don't think you have to physically upload the document but they might have changed it. Um But if they do it's, it's, it's a small procedure, you just upload it. And another one. No, there's a GMC users online verification through the identity app as well. That's good. That's good to know um that they're updating things because it felt very archaic um for us. Um Yeah. Uh and I think they've got a lot of IM GS coming through now and it just makes it a bit more smoother, especially traveling we had for me anyway, I did it quite early on. We didn't have a choice but to go to London and that's just a bit tedious, especially if you don't live close there, et cetera. So that would be, that's, that's great to know. Um Yeah. Ok. If there's no more, I can move on to the F two standalone. Uh So with this whole, once you've confirmed the GMC about registration, how long does it take to get a provisional license? Um It depends for me, it took around two weeks, but I know for some people it took maybe six weeks, eight weeks. Sometimes it's best to get all your paperwork in order because if there's something, one thing that's wrong, they will bring it back at you and you have to fix it and then you, you bring, you send it back and they have to, they take time to respond, et cetera. So don't be in a rush to just send it, just have a look going through what they want, et cetera. Do the, do the translation part properly because they have rejected a few things based on what the translation has said. So just make sure just to just to find tooth nail with that. Um But yeah, it can come around around two weeks, but the appointment itself so they can approve you but the appointment itself for me when I got mine, I had to, the earliest date was at least a month later to go and get my, to go and get my license. That's the only thing. So there's different factors at different points really. And I guess everyone's applying at the same time so it can take some time. So don't delay it. Don't um if you, even if you don't plan on working, say you want to get some clinical experience, work experience and attachment, etcetera still just get your GMC. Don't, don't delay it. You don't want that to be the reason you don't start your job. Um OK. Stand alone. Um I will just speak mainly according to my experience, I applied this year and generally it, it hasn't really changed for the past few years. It should hopefully stay the exact same. So we can, yeah, it's a training program. Let's, let's let's begin on that. So really you hear about it a lot but really what, what is it? Um So the UK Foundation program office, usually every year they recruit doctors all over the world, Im GS um who hold a GMC license or are eligible to have one. So you, if you don't have your GMC license immediately, you don't, you can still apply for it. Don't you just have to have it on your start date? It's a training program and it's part of the UK Foundation program. So it's exactly what the UK graduates do. So we're just skipping F one. So they go through F one and F two. We've just jumped that and we've just gone into F two. You can apply through all the four countries. Um, although for my one, there was nothing in Ireland, nothing in Wales. It's mainly just England and Scotland when I did it, you can have. So there's a series of three placements. You rotate four months of placement and it's for 12, it's 12 months long from August to August. That's a fixed date. But you do get the same educational resources, the same teaching opportunities as F two training doctors who are UK graduates. So everything is exact same. You are the same jobs, the same, everything. There's no differentiation. So these are just a quick diagram of what the process is. It's a bit longwinded. I, but I'm going to break it down for you in the next few slides. So firstly, you have your application stage. So the application starts and opens in January and it closes in January always. So it was coming up in January 2024 all training programs in the UK. Are you apply via something called oral? If you haven't heard of it, it's just um so you can do it for standalone, you can do it for F one if you're a British graduate or you don't have or you have a provisional license, you do it for your CT ST all special training, everything is on that you, so you upload general details who you are, passport, etcetera, then you upload your ielts. Also CV is optional. I don't think I did mine because the questions that I actually asks you, it's, it sort of goes in depth into your CV. Anyway, so II didn't really upload mine and it was fine. You will need three references um best at least one of them to be an NHS one if you can. So if you've organized a clinical attachment and work experience, do try and get a consultant's email and add them as your reference. Um any doctor in doctor professor, et cetera in Bulgaria also do get their email and you can put them down also as a referee, just make sure that it's a, a work email. They wouldn't accept anything Google or Yahoo gmail, hotmail, et cetera. Just make sure it's uh at nhs.net or at ABV dot BG, something like that. I'm not, I don't remember exactly the official um Sophia or Bulgarian email address, but just make sure it's a proper work email address. Then you have a section that's on teaching, auditing, presentation publications. This looks a bit intense and a lot of the time don't let that put you off, don't think because I don't have one of these things I cannot apply for it. And I know it's quite difficult when you study in Bulgaria, these opportunities aren't as widespread sometimes everything is in Bulgarian and that's not what, you know, it makes it quite difficult but it doesn't matter. I'll, I'll break it down individually. So, for example, anything, any teaching that you've done, it doesn't even have to be medical teaching. It can be. You've taught a language to someone you've, um, oh, you've taught kids something. Um, you can have medical based teaching also. Um, what I'm giving to you guys is a form of teaching. It's not, it's not really medical based. So just anything that you would deem as teaching to a group of people, you can just put that down. You can just, and if there's, let's say it got uploaded on website or social media, just attach the link as proof. OK? There's, you don't have to be going to a huge symposium and, and teaching medical students all around Bulgaria. It doesn't have to be a great fast thing. Audit wise, you can, you can try if you can, if you do work experience in your ho in your NHS, let's say trust that you do or even back in Bulgaria and ask if you can be part of an audit and upload that presentation wise. It doesn't have to be a huge again in a, in a huge symposium. It can just be a post presentation that you've made something, maybe a small presentation that you've given, you've given on um publication wise, I didn't have any publications and that didn't hold me back. So I just left that as blank. So if you don't have something, maybe you don't have, I think audit and publications are probably one of the hardest to get as a Bulgarian student. So uh yeah, I left the publications blank. So don't worry about that. I, as long as you fit the other criteria, don't stress yourself out about these kind of things. And then lastly life support. So I think after coming back to NN HSI, really realized that B LS basic life support really doesn't mean anything nobody ever asks for it. No, it's just, it's just a paper in a way. I mean, it's good for your own knowledge. You can figure out CPR, you should know that for your own knowledge. But I would recommend if you haven't done it yet. Don't stress that you have to do B LS to do I LS, you have to do I LS to do A LSI would honestly just say skip that and go straight to I LS. It's more you do the CPR but you learn more about intubation as well. And I think that's, that is quite handy. Um So when they ask for life support, it's ok if you haven't done it now, you don't have to have done the life support. When you're applying, you just have to have done it before your August date. So you have between January and August to figure out a life support. I did I LSI think if you haven't done A LS, do not spend that much to do an A S just to get this job. It doesn't matter. I applied without any life support and I did my A LS way down the line, um, months later. Um, yeah, just, just and also with a LS, it's quite pricey. So if you, I would recommend that you actually start do A LS and then when you actually start stand alone, the, your trust will pay for it um for you. So you don't have to. Yes, I do. Wouldn't really recommend if you haven't done A LS, don't have to do not have to stress about doing that intermediate life, always more than enough. So you send off the application and provided that you just fill the criteria, you fulfill the criteria, you will then move on to the next stage and you get sorry, long listed what it decides to load. Yes. So, so long list thing just means that you've fulfilled the criteria of an F two standard and this means that you haven't already started an F one or F two training program dropped out and then restarted this. If you, you, that means you're not eligible, you cannot have a certificate of completion. So let's say you've completed F two elsewhere. Even nontraining, you've complete, you've completely got your quest form signed, et cetera. You are not eligible to do the standalone program. Um So yeah, so a lot of, you know, British graduates or people in F one training, they drop out, they go to Australia or then, and then they come back and you try and do stand alone. It's, it's not possible. You have to, if you dropped out of a foundation training program, you cannot apply to stand alone, which we, I don't think have that much to worry about because we're not, we're not in a program like that. So that moves you on to the next stage, which is the lovely situational judgment test. So this, so you get long listed in around February time. And as soon as that happens, you get invited to book your S JT. The exam will happen around March time and you can book it in your nearest test center. There's no specific location. So if you're far up north or south, you can just book it wherever you want, wherever it's near to you. It will be a computer based assessment and it's just designed to just assess some of those essential competencies that are expected of an F two standalone person. So what's very important to know? It's not a medical based exam. You will not be asked about the patient coming in with crushing central chest pain radiating to the jaw. What do you do about it? Throw medicine in the bin for that moment. Even though you've done your state exams, you can just push that to the side. It's very much based on, it's a set of MC QS. Very much based on patient focus, your commitment to being professional, uh coping under pressure, how you communicate with your colleagues. Team working. It's just many work related situations that aren't medical based but things that arise with not just doctors on your ward, but colleagues, nurses, patients, physiotherapists, et cetera, everyone, even fellow F two and F ones because it does happen and you just have to respond in a way that you demonstrate appropriate professional behavior. So just having some integrity, have some honesty and respond in a way that you should, something's not always in the way that you want to. So in terms of resources, my personal experience, I don't think that you need to use such a wide range. I think the people sitting the exam are the UK FBO, the UK Foundation Program office and this is very much based on their interpretation of the answers of what they think is, right? So you have past medicine, they do S TMC QS. You have Oxford, uh the company who do subscriptions and, and talks and workshops that you pay for and they try and go through the questions with you and they break it down. But I do think that's there and it's not like a medical based question where there is just one answer. This is about interpretation of what is the best thing to do in a certain situation. So right now uh I think it, it's best to know what the UK FP OS interpretation is not anything else. And so if you use too many resources, you kind of lose that flow of what is the right thing. So you, yes, so I would recommend the UK FP O on their website. They have these past papers and just uh go through those past papers. A lot of them are for F one also for the British graduates who also do ST S but theirs will be, you are the F one on the board. Uh One will be, you are the F two on the board, but it doesn't matter because regardless you will not react in any way that's different to what's expected of an F one and F one should not react in any way that's different or expected of an F two. It's exactly the same. So don't worry about that. And slowly you'll start to understand the way that they think some questions might be super out of the blue. You don't understand why that's the answer, but the more you do them, you figure out their way of thinking and then you, it becomes your way of thinking and then it's, it's fine. So don't worry too much about that. So, uh here's a scenario actually now that we've talked so much about it, of what you could, you can expect, I'll just read it out. Uh, lo is observing a patient consultation in a primary care clinic, the patient has attended as he has a rash on his stomach that he has had for a long period of time and he's concerned about it. The patient removed his shirt to have the rash examined and makes a joke about his own weight. At the same time, Lola laughs at the patient's joke. However, the patient looks upset and offended by this. How desirable are each of the following responses in Lola situation? So now you have uh ranged from 1 to 5, from extremely desirable to extremely undesirable. You have to slot these numbers 1 to 5 for every single one of these questions. So for example, how desirable undesirable is it for Lola to make a joke about her own weight to the patient, for her to continue to laugh at other things during the consultation, for her to ask the patient if she has offended him, for her to apologize to the patient, for laughing, to ask the patient if there's a reason that he made a joke about his weight and ask the patient if he would be happy for her to remain in the room for the remainder of the consultation. So you would just write, let's say it's slightly desirable to apologize. Number two, if that's what you think you would put that and again and again and so on and so forth, usually they would use the same scenario as we have above but have multiple questions. So right now it's written all of it at once, but you'll just see it one at a time when you do yours. So annoyingly, I'm not gonna go through the answers because I feel like it's not, it's, it, it, sometimes it can just confuse you more if you just have one scenario. I think it's best to practice a little bit. Um, and sometimes there's a very, very thin wall between what's slightly desirable, neither desirable, nondesirable, slightly undesirable. It's all very kind of mushes into each other. But the more you do the past papers and the more you understand about what they expect you to do, so, don't worry about that. Just, just have a read and go through it, test yourself. It's, it's not, it's not as daunting or difficult as it seems, it's just different. We're just not ex you, we're just not used to it in Bulgaria to have something like this. But it really does help because you will find scenarios like this. I have found SJ T's scenarios in real life. So it, yeah, it will definitely help you. So say you've been, you've done your S ATS, you'll get your results back, you'll get a number. So the threshold for the number varies each year. So I think for my year, the year that had it before what, what you would have gotten the year before you wouldn't be able to pass through with this year. They did, uh increase the threshold a little bit, but it doesn't matter, don't let anything put you off, give it a go go to the past papers and when you do successfully complete it, you move on to the next stage, which is you'll get invited to have your interview. So now the interviews happen in April, you can book your time and your date and the times range from 8 a.m. in the morning to six pm in the evening. Just think about what's best for you. I thought, let me, let me do it in the afternoon. So I have time to study and maybe a little last minute in the morning. But it really, it just depends what's better for you. Some people just wanna get it over with a 9 a.m. in the morning and it lasts for around 20 minutes. It, you'll have an ID and a background check. They really stick to this minute, 20 minutes by the way. So don't, don't waste time by waffling just assuming because it will end. It's fine. I, you know, I don't, they only have a specific number of minutes really to understand you and what you're saying, they, they never met you before, they will never meet you probably. Um So don't assume that they know what you're implying. Just be blunt about it. Answer straightforwardly exactly, step by step, what you would do who you are and, and go from there and be clear. So the general structure we divide into 33 aspects. So the first five minutes, they'll just be like, so just tell me about yourself. So it will be where, where did you study? Uh why? Stand alone, some, some, maybe some presentations, some audits that you've done. Um, any work experience, any teaching again, everything that you asked in the application, you can expand on it. But assume that they haven't read your application go from there. Um Always assume that your in TV doesn't know much about you so that, you know, if they do, you can always fill in the gap. But it's, if they don't, you, it's better to assume that they don't. So you can sort of start from the beginning and be a bit, be a bit more clear about it. I know that they are interviewing many, many people on that day. So just, yeah, just give them all the basics, all the facts they might um uh respond and ask you a little more just to clarify things. And then the next one will be an ethical scenario. So this is based on. So for example, your fellow F two comes to the ward and he smells like he's been drinking and he's not paying attention, et cetera, et cetera. What would you do? And it's really affecting you on the ward? Do you feel like you have to compensate by picking up his jobs? What would you do? That's an ethical scenario. Mine one was a bit odd. It was disguised as a clinical scenario but it was an ethical scenario just on the basis of someone has come in with an ST, as a stemi. Um, they have refused some of the anticoagulant therapies because their brother passed away from it. So now they think, well, I don't want it but you really need them to have it. So, what would you do? Would you section them under the mental Health Act? Do they have capacity? What would you do in that sense? So it's not about, oh, what, what drugs are we going? What medications are we going to give them? What imaging or procedures are we going to do it? How do we tackle the patients? That's more of an ethical scenario, then you have your clinical scenarios. So this is the main part of it. Um, so I would really recommend I did not know this at the time, but in hindsight always just have a pen and paper on. You have it in front of you just tell them because when they, when they, you, you have a, when they do their background check, you can just tell them, I have a blank piece of paper, just show them. And I just want to jot some notes down and they, they'll be fine with them because when they read you the clinical scenario, it's just one large big chunk of a paragraph and it's, it's very hard to remember. They give you respirate, they give you BP, everything. So 27 year old female comes into here and here she, her respirate is this BP? Is this, um, her temperature is this? So it's a lot of information. It's quite hard to remember that to then answer it. So it's just good to jot things down. If you can just be precise about it, go step by step. Don't jump back and forth. Give two differentials, ask the history, do the diagnosis before the treatment symptoms, et cetera. Just answer the best way you can. And in, in it's more important that you're safe if anything and escalate when appropriate. So then after that 20 minutes, that seems like an hour, um you'll hopefully you'll get an email back and it will say, congratulations. You pass your interview, you can finally move on to the next stage, which is now preferencing. So you get a number for your S JT and you get ranked a number from your interview. So interviews ranked out of 100 you will get feedback from your interview and what you did. Well and not. Well, these two numbers are combined to give you an overall rank within the whole country. So for my year, there was about 222 people that got through. Um they passed their, their long listing s entry, et cetera, they passed everything. Um they were ranked. So then then you get ranked out of 222. So then you start to preference your trusts. So the difference between us and British Regiments is that we preference hospitals not denies. So dries, if you're not unfamiliar, it's for example, you have Northern Dery, which encompasses hospitals all around the north, the whole of the north, you have a Yorkshire, Dery, Yorkshire and Humber, which will be hospice all around Leeds, Sheffield Derby. I think it's separated north, south east West York hum et cetera. But it's, it's an assortment of hospitals. But for us, we are directly applying to the hospital itself. So for example, if you want to apply for Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, let's say um so that preference will come up and underneath it, it will write the three rotations that are available for Queen Elizabeth Hospital. So let's say the rotations are Peds GPS and I think I don't like those at all, but there's four other availabilities like QE that you do like a bit more. So you can, let's say Gastro Gen Gen Med and likely these looks a bit better, then you just rank that a little higher. So you also had two columns, so one to accept it and not accept. So even if you hate something and you just could not stand to go there at all, you can put it and will not accept. So whatever happens, you will never be given that hospital at all, whatever happens. But if you are willing last case scenario, worst case scenario to go somewhere, you can just put that in your will accept the right at the bottom. And again, you'll have all the three irritations listed. So there's multiple hospital or there's one hospital repeated many times. I have a few places available. Just look at the individual three rotations that they're giving you and go for that. Uh But some people choose location of the rotations. Um And that's fine also just, just rank the hospitals you really want to be in more. Um So, so the higher there are, aren't the greater the chance of success. So that's why don't just aim to pass the JT or pass the interview, you know, work hard study as much as you can and just try and do the best, do the best you can and get a high ranking. It just makes you more, more likely to get the ranking of your choice. So let's say you preferenced, you sent it off. Um Also one more thing. So let's say you rank 200 out of 222 let's say, but there's only 180 available hospitals. That means you need the 1st 180 people to either reject um to either reject their offer for them to pull out and just be like, you know what, um I don't like this location or, or for them to pass away basically. And so you need those 20 slots to open up for them for you to then get it. Um So yes, but if you know, if you ranked 160 out of 222 and you know, there are 180 hospitals available, you know, you can pretty much, well, you can guarantee you will get a place because there's frankly that you ran higher than the amount of hospices available. So you can, you can kind of do your math in that sense. So then you get an email back saying you have matched with this specific hospital and these are your three irritations. So you have a few options going from there. So they tell you that around late April early May around, let's say two weeks after your into let's go with that that day or maybe a week, week or two after your interview, you get your offers, there's a few options what you can do. So let's say you think you, you have an offer but you don't really, you don't really want it. Let's say you're not happy with it. Um There's an option where you automatically upgrade. So what happens is you have two cycles, two rounds of offers. So that's your first round where you've got it. If you choose to upgrade in the second round reshuffle, you will be guaranteed to be given something that's higher than what you were initially offered. So say, for example, you got offered your 50th rank, your 50th preference. If you reject that and automatically upgrade, you will get any offer, any preference that you got from number 49 or above. So you can get number 3531. Just the only thing is that you cannot change your mind about that. So let's say you got something that was number 35 it's higher in your preference, but you don't actually like the rotations and you kind of prefer the one that was 150 you can't go back. So just be aware of that when you um when you do that uh second option, if you don't like it, but you to reject it, you can have the option again to reshuffle the second round. This just means that you just won't upgrade higher to your preference. It could be anything. So if you've gotten your rank 50 you might be given something at 87 from the next round. Uh depending on availability. And lastly, if you reject it altogether, you don't like the location. The rotations are rubbish. You just reject it and then, and move on with something else, I guess. So when you do accept that, you're happy with it, you're like, you know what, let's just go for it, then you, that's officially congratulations. And you will officially begin your ft standard training program and you will be the class of the year of August 2024 to August 2025 and you can welcome your life into the NHS. So that's mainly, that's mainly a breakdown about what it is. Um Usually people do, there's a stigma I think against know that it's very difficult or it's very long winded. It's very, it's very complex as opposed to other uh ways of going in there. I know there's Gateway, there's trust grade which just seem, you know, trust grade, you apply in NHS Jobs or Scotland Jobs or wherever, wherever you want it, you fill in the application form, do the interview and it started. It's not a six month process that this is because it's January to August. So I've broken down the pros and cons for you just to help you sort of be able to visualize that a bit more clearly. So let's start with the cons. So a lot of the time, it's the fact that people think I, why would I just jump straight into F two? I don't feel comfortable with that. I've just graduated from Bulgaria. I'm not even familiar with the NHS. And it's one thing to do a clinical attachment. It's another thing to actually work there and be expected to know I will, by the way, I will counteract these cons in the next slide. But let's just be a bit more negative and focus on the cons right now. Again, trust grade less hoops as, as we said, uh interview the application interview, you start and you can start almost next week sometimes. Um Also the fact that a standalone can be quite alluring because you have rotations and it's great for people who don't just want one stress grade job to last a year on just gen search when you have no, when you don't, if you want to be a surgeon, great. That's amazing for you. But some people don't know what they want to do. They don't have any HS experience, they want a bit more exposure, they want to rotate. And so that's why trust grade doesn't always seem very appealing in that sense because you're kind of just stuck in one place. And yeah, you'll be great at that. But you know, it's not, it's not great if, if you wanna do peats and you're just stuck in Gen Z for a year. So this at least gives you a little bit of um a bit of exposure. Um But there are trust grade jobs that allow you to rotate also. So if you can find that, that's amazing. Also this. So usually trust grades, you have to get your crest form signed off to show that you have your F two competencies. You can apply for specialty training. F two stand line is no quest form. We have what we call a RCP annual review of competency. And that can only be signed off when you've completed the full one year of it cannot be before that you have to finish everything. So, but sometimes in some trust grade positions between 4 to 6 to 8 to 10 months, you can just get your, you find a nice consultant. You've been with them for long enough. They trust you, they deem you safe and competent. They will just sign off a quest form after six months. Let's say you can just apply straight away, especially to training. I will say about this though. You know, we are new to the NHS. There is no reason to rush things. I don't to just get into specialty training. You, you will become the consultant that you want to be in whatever specialty that you want you will get there. Don't, don't skip the rungs of the ladder just because you can um I think it experiences everything. We, there's textbook, you can regurgitate the textbook, but there's nothing like seeing things and you will never really do that. You have more, you have more of a protection with F one F two. Really? Because you're still foundational, you're still learning. There's less leeway when you're a specialty. So don't rush for that just because you have that option also geographically. So standalone may not always have the preference what the availabilities that you would like or where you live. Uh So where I live there was only maybe one place out of 100 and 80 that I could commute to. Otherwise in my head though, I'd already mentally accepted, I would have to leave. I'd have to move out. So that's some of the things that can put people off if they specifically either want to stay close to home or they specifically want to go to a specific area like London, let's say, because everyone wants to go down south. So in that sense, whereas if you apply for a trust grade job next to where you are, you can just start that trust grade job and that's, that's great for you. No rent payment, no tax, no council tax, all that adult stuff. Um Again, the application process a little longer and there's a set start and end date. It will start and end in August um and end in August. So after saying all those negative things, let's um counteract something and let's see why, why you would want to do it. So actually, just to talk about the set start and end date, if you feel that you're not ready for F two, you can always, we got, we finish officially in November. We don't need to have a full graduation diploma to be able to practice. You can apply for nontraining trust grade locum, et cetera between the months of December and July and get that exon exposure. Personally, I don't think you need a whole year in F one to really know what that's about. At six months, about six months. You can get a grasp on things so you can feel a bit more confident before you jump into F two A and then jump into a training program. So even if it's 16 month placement and one thing is like gen med or, you know, that still give you so much more experience and might make you feel a bit more better about F two stand alone. So don't let the not ready for F two part, you know, make you not do it because you have options, you'll always have options. Again, the rotations are great. If, if that's what you want, if you want a bit more exposure, you want to just experience different sides of different departments because each department is very different. You know, um, you realize that when you're actually on it also, it's much more structured. I would say I don't have a lot of experience in trust grade. I've never worked trust grade. So I couldn't, I couldn't, um, I couldn't tell you exactly, but I can speak for that. It's so I got my teaching rota right at the beginning before I even start. And that's the teaching ro for the whole year. That's mandatory. You can drop whatever you want in the ward for two hours every fortnight. And that's your special time, your allotted time that no one can tell you not to do and you can go and you can have a good learning session, a teaching session. Um You don't always have that freedom sometimes when it's not sort of the umbrella of a training program. That's so sometimes that's, um, what I've seen, of course, interest trust positions you have teaching, you have all of those things also. Um, it's just a bit more, it will happen. I've, I've seen it get canceled a bit sometimes or et cetera or, or this is, this is very, you know, you have people from different trusts come over and they give a proper teaching session. Um, again, so, yes, start f one grade till August do that. If that makes you feel a little bit more competent and a bit more confident, there's lots of, lots of teaching to be available. We have Ward based teaching, et cetera, aside from your core teaching that you have. So again, it's available in first grade. It is, uh it's just, it's just less, almost diy, you don't have to email people and find out what is happening. You can, you just have a structured program and I personally prefer that I it's already enough work than, and me not having to do the extra leg work just to find out things about teaching. You know, it's just sort of given to you also, you for me, I didn't do a si only did I LS. So my trust knew that before I even started, they just put me on to the A LS course and said, yeah, this is your date, go do it. They paid for it. And so that's pretty great. Um I know also in trust grade. You can also have the option of doing your A LS and then being asked to reimburse you. So you just apply for, I think there's a certain amount of that you have, but let's say pay for you in the trust and you can get that reimbursed. Some do some don't. Again, it's a gamble depending on what trust you're in. Um, you have what we call SIM sessions, all trainees in foundation you'll have this, I'm not aware of trustor to do that. I didn't actually know of it until I started but I know general UK trainees would have that. It's all, it's, it's like a simulation day where you have an excuse to leave the ward, go to another hospital and have just all day, just be with some, a few F twos and just go through sim simulated clinical sessions. We had VR actually. So we had the monitors on our head and we had so we, it was very futuristic for us and we were, yeah, there's a lot of videotape of cameras and everyone watches you and they dissect things. It's very, it's very hands on. It's quite, it's quite interesting. It's um it's a lot more thought. It's a thought out process. I think the stand online training program they do. There's, yeah, it's quite structured in that sense. So I would, I would say that you have your pros, you have your cons, you, but I hope that breaks it down before you act to, I'm not here to tell you do stand alone. I'm just here to give you a bit more information about it because II don't generally think that there is a lot of information about it, even when I was applying I II wasn't aware a lot of what was happening. Uh There wasn't a lot of people who applied for it in general, so I'm just here to give you the facts. I'm just here so you can then compare it to other things such as gateway, such as locum, such as trust grade. I'm just really just here to give you the knowledge about it really. And in saying that thank you very much for surviving through this uh presentation. I hope you learned something about it. And yeah, if you have any questions, just pop it in the chat box, thank you so much, Shima. Um OK, I'm just gonna read the questions cause we have some about um about the GMC. Um OK. Someone asked once you've confirmed to the GMC about registration. How OK, we've, we've done that one. OK. So that was a follow up question. So if I say um I inform them in June by the first of August, will I be able to attend the standalone program? I'm assuming you mean if you informed the GMC in June um to apply for your GMC registration, I would say, oh, June, July, August. Yeah, that's that should be fine. Um Actually, I would say this November to, to even February, it kind of because we're all graduating. It does create more of a backlog. And obviously you don't have just Bulgarian Im GS, you have IM GS from all over the world. Everyone's applying for, for um standalone program. It's for everyone. It's not, it's not just for eu graduates. So um sometimes that rush sort of, I know some people who had, who had their appointments a little more quicker when it came to post like March and onwards. Um It happened a lot more quicker for them. So you can. So June, I wouldn't say there's something wrong, I would say at least give it six weeks. Um Don't gamble with that, especially because there is a set date. I know some stand alone people who, you know, they're from Morocco, et cetera and they, they did have it delayed. Um So they did delay their start date because they didn't get that. The paperwork wasn't approved, et cetera. So it is possible to, I just, it again, it depends if the trust accepts you to do that just to be unsafe. I don't, don't do that try by June. It should be fine at least six weeks. Just you can get that done. Yeah. Ok. Um ok. And does the I LS uh uh need to be taken in the UK? So I did the B LS in Sophia when I studied it was accredited by the European Resuscitation Council and it was said to be applicable in the NHS. That's sort of how they advertised it and, and then you could go back to the NHS and they're like, no, I have to, they don't accept it because it's not UK training program. It's not from a UK credited source. Um So again, because the B LS doesn't really mean that much that I II felt like it was fine because I had to the A LS anyway. Um So I would recommend I know it's difficult if you don't live in the UK to be able to do that. I would say you can always contact them and ask for that. Um If there's any, but if there's any, but then that is from the B LS point of view, maybe that's just more stricter anyway, if you contact them and ask them about it, I'm sure they can get back to you and I'm sure they can probably make lenience for people who are abroad who can't, who can't come over for that. So, yeah, definitely contact them about it. Um Someone asked can we do I LS in Bulgaria, I'm not sure about that. I did B LS in Bulgaria and it wasn't accepted. So I wouldn't, if you're, if you're from the UK, let's say you're just studying in Bulgaria, I think. Just, just wait and I, with an I LS, there's no rush. It's not like the Ielts where you have to have it done before you finish your exam or before by the time the States end, if there's no rush, you have a good 67 months from January to do it. So come back to the UK and, and, and, and do it there just to be honest, if you have that option, do it, if you don't just email them about it and just ask about that. Ok. Um OK, so this is about the S JT someone said, will the exam always be in March? Are the applicants able uh applicants able to do it earlier or later? Like for example? Oh, So you have, there's a specific structure to the whole program and there are certain things that happen at certain points in time. So for example, if the interviews are in April, you can't do it in July, that's just when they do it. Um Sat wise they will give you your, the set dates, they have set dates for you and you then choose from those dates, what's best for you and then from the region, what's best for you. So if it's not within the options, I don't, I don't think you can, you can do it earlier or later, I'm afraid. Ok. Um Back to the I LS just because it's in, in tandem. Do we have, do we have to do B LS before we've done I LS or can we, I think I think you definitely skip it. It's, they go through B LS in I LS anyway, I don't see the point of you paying twice to, to hear the same thing. You just get extra added knowledge with I LS and it's just worth a bit more, it's more accredited. Yeah. Ok. Um Can you hear me? Can you hear me? I, can you, uh I feel it, I can feel it. Um ok. Um ok, it says, can you be forced to go somewhere you told you'll get no other job. Um, firstly, no one's gonna force you to do anything. You can decline anything. You can do the whole stage and get something in the rural fields of Scotland and thinking, I don't want this and reject it all in all the way down in Cornwall. I knew I knew I didn't want to go to Scotland. So I put that in my do not want. So it's beautiful but it's just a bit too far up north. So, and you're absolutely entitled to, to do that. Um, in terms of getting told you will get no other job. I, there are other jobs you can go through trust grade, you can go through Gateway. There's, there's no one can tell you that and you, there's so many other platforms to apply. One thing I will say, do not only apply for stand alone and that's it and put all your prayers and dreams and hopes of the future. Into just stand alone, you wouldn't do that with a lot of things. Put, don't put all the ads in one basket. Definitely apply for trust grade at the same time. Definitely apply for Gateway. If, if, if something opens up in the location that you want, apply for that, apply for, apply for everything and whatever happens that you feel good in the moment in that time, then just accept that, then, then, then go with that. Um, just don't rely solely on one thing, especially when it comes to getting a job in the NHS. Um Someone asked, when do you know the number of places and the number of appli I'm, I still don't even know the number of applicants. Um I, sometimes it can be in the thousands. It depends uh every year but the number of places also, you, you, you, you don't know, to be honest, there isn't a set number of places, there's a set number of programs available. So it's a set number of trusts that have a standalone program available within their trust that varies again every year, it depends on many things. They, they, these, the standing program on really only opens up because an F one training has either dropped out, gone on maternity leave, um, gone abroad to Australia, et cetera. So that's how these places are created and that of course, will vary every year. We don't know what the reasons of why they're dropping out. So it can vary every year. And the only thing you will know for, sir is how many people made it through. So, for my years, my ba she was 222. So that's what, you know, but we just don't know how much it was out of. Maybe you can find a news article or something and, and, and I'll figure it out. But yeah, it's a bit hard to know how many applicants. I'm not sure if they release the information. But yeah. Ok. Um Someone asked thank you for the presentation is a clinical, a absolutely necessary to stand. Uh No, not, no, they don't say it's not a criteria to be able to get it. It just helps if you want to get a consultant, um, email to ask you to be aee it, it helps to get a bit of exposure to the NHS also. But I wouldn't say it, it was never a or it's a way for you to get an audit publication, etcetera of what your team are doing there. But it's not, it would never came up as an essential criteria. You have to have to, to get in stand alone and, and your, um, your year that you have your state exam year that's almost sort of attributed as you as your f one year. So our state exam year is regarded as a FF one. So essentially that is enough experience. It's just for you yourself. If you want to get a bit more anxious exposure you can apply. But no, it's not compulsory. OK. Um Then you said you have, we have do we need to upload references from our professors? No, no. Just for um just for this application. Nothing. There's no references for Epic. No. Oh I can't hear you Jemima. Maybe I will just read. So you're welcome doctor. You're welcome. Um OK. Can you apply? So I'm glad you mentioned that. Ok, regarding Ielts, can you apply with writing score of 777.5? So this was something that um so for GMC registration, you must have seven in all four brackets, um writing, reading, et cetera, et cetera. Um That's a 6.5. If one thing, you cannot get your GMC license in terms of stand alone. So you for us, we always heard. Yeah, you need 57.5 and everything. But the standalone the UK FP O has a list of universities all around the world where there's a, there's a table where if you're on there, you will need to have 7.5 minimum and everything if you come through it. Um Medical University, Sophia is not in there. And so therefore you do not need to have 7.5. If you're from M us to do the standard, a minimum of seven is more than enough if I do recall correctly. The only ones in Bulgaria that was on there were plat ple as of my year, they might have updated it this year and added N us. Just check again. It's on the website. Just check just to be on the safe side and just, yeah, just best to just check now. Yeah, sorry, I'm back. Can you tell a little? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, cool. And um yeah, that was about all. Uh OK. So let me ask, do you have clinical attachments done or any back experience when you applied for a? Um when II did yes, actually I had a few rotations in the NHS. Um they were not compulsory at all. II mean you can talk about it within your application as to. So when I did the uh my rotations in the NHS this I learn this this test but I see no reason why you can't use your state exam rotations as evidence of you being in a clinical setting and what you've learned, the patients are still the same et cetera. So yeah, you can do it for your own knowledge. You can do it for a referee but it's not compulsory. No. OK. As going back to GMC registration you need to look at to get the criminal record. No, no, just your passport. Uh I believe we actually I think we had to show a Bulgarian ID. I believe it was just those two things. Um Yes, I believe it's just those two things. It was about a year ago. But yeah, it should be just those. Ok. Mm. Right. Are we eligible to apply for F I One program or po training posts? Non? No. So, well, from Sophia, when you graduate your state exam year, your internship here, let's call it, it's, it's classed as your internship here. If, if wherever you graduate across the world, you have something called an internship here where your normal number of years finish. So we actually have a six year degree. The extra half a year is your internship here. Wherever you have that, that is the equivalent of an FY one year in the NHS, which is a way of saying that you have done your F one. So again, the same criteria for FD, if you have essentially done F two, you cannot and get that signed off, you cannot apply for loan in the same way as if you have done your F one. Wherever it is, you cannot apply for training program. Also, we have full license to practice um when we graduate. And so that is, yeah, you, you, so therefore that's not a criteria for being able to do standalone. So you can, we can, we can't, we cannot apply for a training program in the F one. No N nontraining. Yeah. Ok. Ok. Do you get provided an education provider in a Yes, you get an educational supervisor and a clinical supervisor regardless of where you are because you need to be accounted. Someone has to hold you accountable for things and if you want to be able to express concerns or even know what's going on, that's your first port of call. They both have two different responsibilities for me. My ES and CS are the same person. So that kind of makes it easier unless you have an issue with your ES, you can't tell your CS because it's the same person but that's, that's, it's not gonna, it's not gonna be like that. Um, but yes, I do. You, you will because when you get your competency review, even if you're grade, you will still need to get your, um, competency review at the end of the year. So ideally, they're the ones who do it. So you need to be assigned to someone who can keep track of you. You can't be a rogue doctor assigned to nothing and no one and just do whatever you want all across the UK. You need to be held, someone needs to hold you accountable and have meetings with you regularly to just, just to see where you are and touch base. Really? Ok. So I think I was asking about trust grade jobs. So for the one job you get, but in a trust grade, you also get supervisor. You do. Yeah, regardless, regardless of whatever you, you, you do with an, even if you're a locum locums get, get it long term locus. If you're just doing it here and there, then you won't. But some people get long term locum positions like three months, six months and then you, then you will because if you're taking an f three year, that's essentially, it's a locum year. So you need, and you feel with one trust long term again, someone has to do a review of you and, and just, you know, um keep tabs on you. So, yes, you will. OK. Um So this is, do we still need to have it? So can you repeat that? It says, do we still need to set the SJ ti heard that it was, you heard that it was stopped? It was Yeah. Oh Yes. As far as I know, um I had to sit it this year. I because even British graduates do sit up. So it's just something we, we are doing the same things as them. Therefore, we will be examined in the same way it might be different come January time. You let me know to send your application and maybe they'll just say invite you straight for an application. But as far as I know, it's quite important to have an S JT even when you apply for specialty training, um you not just, you will not just do your application, you'll do another SAT exam. It always keeps popping up at every point because it's morality and all these ethics that will, it'll never stop existing in the NHS. And, and so you always have some form of exam for that, but it might be, it, it, it may be scrapped for standalone. Yeah. Um, you can find out this year again if it is or if it isn, don't let, like, the pedantic prevent you from applying, just give it a go anyway. It just not too difficult for an ex. Ok. Does anyone have anything else for us? Oma? Um, any other questions about the O ok. A month third. What do you think about moving out of the UK for residencies in other countries like Australia, the US Canada? Um I've come across a few people who are thinking of doing that. I personally, I think if you have an opportunity, if you are willing to crack down do su Assembly, do the entrance exams, I think it's worth giving it a go and doing it if I'm honest. Um I think there are more opportunities, places that say the US, there are more opportunities available there. Sometimes there's more technology, there's just more resources in general depending on where you are in the NHS. We can't always be equipped with in major cities like the major cities. Are, you do have the winter pressures, you have the staffing issues. Sometimes there are, I mean, that's just focusing on the negative. There are of course, lots of positives and about being in the UK and having that sort of camaraderie in the NHS. You do have that but sometimes, and also let's say you become a consultant to become a consultant, a post has to open up for consultancy and then you take it, which means someone's retired, someone's moved on and all that post has opened up within the hospital. So it's very dependent on those factors. Whereas if you go to, let's say a place like America, you will, I think they call it an attending over there that you can apply. You are eligible to apply for that when you have done all your designated things to, to do the tick boxes of, for example, whatever reg does their reg equivalent. Um, of course, monetarily, of course you're gonna be paid better there. Um, the weather's better. That's, that's probably unless you're in like the harsh winters of Toronto or something. But ideally if you're willing, if you're willing to put in the work to get there, if you don't have family or friends, then you're willing to uproot somewhere where you just start all over again. Um, in an unknown place, sometimes you might, you move away from stand alone. It's almost like starting in an unknown place anyway. But, you know, you have people or a community at least within the same country. So if you're willing to do that, um, far more adventures await outside the UK. Also, there's a life outside of that. Um, there's, there's a whole lot to be discovered. And if, if you're really thinking about that, if you're willing to put in the effort. I don't see why you, why you can't or you shouldn't apply for places outside? Perfect. I was OK. Does anyone else to ask? Um I had a question about the interviews. Um uh What would you say or would you like wise would be the best way to ask for it? Specifically the ethical case and the clinical case. So you can look at ethical scenarios for examples of them. There are some books out there, people have published. Um I think it's called CT ST Interview Skills or something that there are lots of resources for that if you want to go down that road. Um Sometimes if you know, if you know a senior working in the hospital, sometimes it's good to discuss with them. But II know that's not always um possible but books uh read, read any sort of available scenarios online and that would probably be a good way to do that ethic ethical know that there's a structure when it comes to ethics, there's never sort of what you would do in real life as well. If someone's having an issue, are you gonna go over their head and go and complain to the whole lead consultant? Now you would speak to them about it first. Get their side of the story. Um If it keeps on happening, then you discuss with your supervisor first and you say what to do about it. Get some advice from people always build it up and you can use that sort of a and then if it just gets to the point where it's just a disregard for anything in patient safety, use buzzwords, patient safety quality of care, you know, like all of these are just remember that in your head, they will, they have so many people to interview that if you just use these buzzwords that always helps. So just know that know that there's a template and follow that template almost. But definitely get the book. If you want to look at some resources, online, ethical is a bit more tricky because no one really focuses on that. It's always clinical based S JT S et cetera. So don't worry too much about it. Just don't say something overtly wild, then I think it should be fine. OK? So if no one has any more questions, we're gonna wrap up for you this evening. Thank you so much doctor. OK. Someone said, what did you do? Just the UK FP O past papers. So just go on their website. Um They break down everything about the standalone program anyway, you can read a bit more about it and just um go on their past papers just they have, it's a lot of past papers to get through, but you have the answers there as well. Just go and do that if you would like additional resources past medicine, which is the holy grail of everything clinical based for UK graduates use that they have a past med past uh sorry, they have a JT section there at the end to go through that you can sign up to workshops and things if you want to, if you want more of a face to face sort of thing. But I think the past papers are more than enough. OK, perfect. OK. Well, thank you everyone for joining us. Um We'll see you our next then. Thank you very much doctor and we'll see you all soon. Thanks for joining. Thank you. Thank you. Bye.
