Certification for Higher Surgical Training

Process of recommendation for the award of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT)

The JCST works on behalf of the General Medical Council (GMC) and is mandated by this body to make recommendations for the award of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT).  All higher surgical trainees will now be awarded a CCT on completion of their training programme irrespective of their certification type at the point of enrolment. Further details on certification types can be found here.

The certification process has the support of both the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD) and the Confederation of Postgraduate Schools of Surgery (CoPSS). The Trainee, the JCST Office, the Training Programme Director (TPD) and the SAC Liaison Member (LM) all play a role in the certification process. Below is a description of each parties responsibilities.

Responsibilities of JCST Office

Responsibilities of Trainee

Responsibilities of Training Programme Director (TPD) an Deanery 

Responsibilities of SAC Liaison Member (LM)

Recommendation to the GMC

Early CCT requests

Archiving 

Responsibilities: JCST Office

  • Review the training history for each trainee six months before their expected certification date and address any outstanding information.  If there is information missing or periods of training not accounted for, the JCST office will make contact to request clarification. 
  • Inform the GMC that trainees are approaching their final certification date.  
  • Advise trainee, Training Programme Director (TPD) and SAC Liaison Member (LM) that they need to prepare for the final ARCP meeting.

Responsibilities: Trainee

The trainee must ensure that they are:

  • Registered with the GMC. Trainees in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) must also be on the General Dental Council (GDC) register or be able to satisfactorily demonstrate eligibility for registration with the GDC in order to be entered onto the GMC's Specialist Register in OMFS. Trainees should be able to demonstrate one of the following at completion of training: full and current registration with the GDC or a letter from the GDC confirming eligibility for registration.
  • Enrolled with the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) on ISCP in your relevant specialty.
  • Have satisfactory ARCPs that cover the entirety of training until at least the penultimate year. There should be an ARCP outcome for each year of training with no gaps between assessments.
  • All periods of OOP have been accounted for.
  • Passed both sections of the FRCS examination (or have the opportunity to do so before the expected certification date).  
  • Paid the JCST trainee fee for the entirety of training, up to the expected certification date. 
  • Ensured that all training details and ISCP portfolio are up to date in advance of the final ARCP meeting. It is essential that assessors have enough time to assess all evidence ahead of the panel meeting; failure to provide this evidence in a timely manner could lead to an incomplete ARCP outcome – see Gold Guide.
  • Considered the curriculum  requirements of the specialty and ensure that all competencies have been met.  
  • eLogbook data is current and covers all periods of NTN training and any previous posts recognised as counting towards higher surgical training. 
  • Uploaded an up-to-date CV, ensuring it shows all training posts including dates.
  • Completed the GMC's certification process. Any questions should be directed to the GMC.

Responsibilities: Training Programme Director (TPD) and Deanery 

  • In preparation for the final ARCP meeting, ensure those who need to attend, specifically the SAC LM, have been invited in advance.
  • TPD to discuss trainee's competencies with SAC LM and agree if an ARCP outcome 6 can be awarded.
  • TPD and Deanery to sign off the final ARCP outcome 6 via ISCP. Ideally the ARCP outcome 6 should not be awarded more than four months before a trainee's expected certification date. 

Responsibilities: SAC Liaison Member (LM)

  • Review trainee's ISCP portfolio using the curriculum requirements and discuss whether or not they can support the award of CCT with their TPD. 
  • Provide externality at the final ARCP meeting in person or virtually and if attendance is not possible liaise with the JCST office and SAC Chair so that another SAC member can attend. 
  • Submit a comment on the final ARCP outcome 6 confirming whether the SAC can support the award of CCT. Please note that JCST cannot progress recommendations to the GMC for CCT without SAC support being evidenced on ISCP. 

Recommendation to the GMC 

The certification process will rely on data and evidence recorded entirely in ISCP. The role of the SAC in recommending trainees to the GMC for the award of a CCT is a major part of this process. This will however only be possible if SAC LMs are able to assess the competences as evidenced by the data recorded in ISCP in advance of the final ARCP meeting.

Subject to a number of final checks, once the ARCP 6 is signed off by all relevant parties, including the SAC LM, JCST will recommend trainees to the GMC for the award of the CCT. We aim to complete this process within six weeks of receiving confirmation that the ARCP 6 has been signed by the TPD, the trainee and deanery administrator.

Please note that the sign-off on an ARCP 6 does not automatically lead to a recommendation to the GMC. The JCST office will ensure that all items mentioned above have been addressed before proceeding with the recommendation. 

Please be aware that if trainees apply for their certificate more than 6 months after their certification date, the GMC may ask for extra evidence of professional activities since completion of training.

The GMC has stipulated that all applications for certification must be made within 12 months of expected certification dates. If trainees do not submit their application for CCT via GMC Online within this timeframe, they may need to apply via the Portfolio Pathway (CESR) route. Please note that Portfolio Pathway (CESR) applications are assessed against the most up-to-date version of your specialty's curriculum.

Trainees must be on the GMC’s Specialist Register before they can take up a substantive UK consultant appointment. Trainees may however be interviewed for consultant posts before they are on the Specialist Register, provided the date of the interview is no more than six months prior to the expected certification date.

Early CCT requests 

All early CCT requests must be supported by the SAC Liaison Member, Training Programme Director and Local Office. Individual requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis. JCST will bring forward expected CCT dates once support has been evidenced via the ARCP process.

Archiving

Please note that the JCST will archive trainee files after they have been recommended to the GMC for certification. Our records retention policy requires us to keep archived trainee files for eight years after which the files will be confidentially destroyed, for further information please see our Privacy Policy.