Specialty Advisory Committees (SACs)

Information on how to apply for SAC membership is available here.

SACs play a key role in the development and improvement of postgraduate surgical training in the UK and Ireland. Each SAC works to ensure that training programmes cover all aspects essential to train someone to consultant level. Some of the key areas SACs are responsible for:

  • Providing advice and guidance to trainees, trainers, local Specialty Training Committees (STCs), Training Programme Directors, and others stakeholders involved in medical education
  • Writing and developing the surgical curricula in line with the General Medical Council's Excellence by design: standards for postgraduate curricula and the Generic professional capabilities framework
  • Contributing to and participating in national selection and recruitment processes for core and specialty training entry 
  • Contributing to the quality management and quality improvement of specialty training programmes across the UK and Ireland through a network of SAC Liaison Members (LMs)
  • Setting quality indicators (QIs) for specialty training posts
  • Providing advice through the LMs at ARCP panels, ARCP appeals and at Specialty Training Committee (STC) meetings
  • Assessing surgical trainees' requests for time Out of Programme, Acting up as a Consultant, and recognition of LATs (where applicable)
  • Setting certification guidelines in line with current curricula to support trainees, trainers and Training Programme Directors (TPDs) in ensuring that curriculum requirements are being met
  • Responsible for recommending trainees for certification
  • Evaluating doctors' applications for entry on to the GMC's Specialist Register via the CESR route 

For details of current SAC members please click on the links below:

Below is a list of documents and links that may be useful to SAC members:

Historical documents (for reference only)