NATIONAL SURGICAL TRAINING PROGRAMME
ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN IRELAND
RCSI.COM
GUIDE TO CORE
SURGICAL TRAINING
INTAKE 2024
Code of Corporate Governance for Board Members
of the RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery
2
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
3
Surgical Affairs
Document Title Guidance on Core Surgical Training intake
Revision level Revision
date
Document
number
Description of revision Document
owner
Approved
by
Version 1 Sept 2022 AD6534 Key dates for 2023
intake.
FAQ’s revised to
include information on
submission of centile
score.
Inclusion of information
on desirable standard,
call for interview &
centile scoring.
JC CST
Committee
Version 2 Sept 2023 AD7505 2023 desirable standard;
2024 intake dates;
update to reference
section; update to
scoring matrix to
reect 5% for personal
presentation piece;
clarication to Medical
Council eligibility piece.
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
4
OVERVIEW
The training of a surgeon is a lengthy and expensive
process and it is very important that those who are most
suited to a surgical career become our future surgeons.
The purpose of the selection process for surgical training
is to identify and select those trainees who are most likely
to become the best consultant surgeons of the future.
The process should also identify and select out those
who are likely to be unsuccessful or problematic as future
surgeons and discourage them from pursuing a career
pathway in surgery.
The majority of applicants will be in their intern year,
although some trainees may already have completed
their intern year. It is not intended that trainees who
already have a signicant amount of surgical experience
would be appointed to commence year one (ST1) of
surgical training.
The minimum requirements for appointment to
surgical training are the possession of the MB degree,
satisfactory completion of an approved intern year and
excellent communication skills in the English language.
Applicants must be eligible for registration with the
Irish Medical Council. Applicants are expected to be
completely truthful and honest in their application forms.
Submission of false or misleading information will be
regarded as a form of professional misconduct: this
will lead to disqualication and the candidate may be
reported to the Irish Medical Council.
The selection criteria for CST is based on six categories,
each worth a dened percentage of the total marks.
(Please review the scoring matrix in this document for
more details)
Appointment to surgical training is competitive and
selection is through an objective process with a clearly
dened marking scheme which is designed to be fair,
transparent and reliable. The underlying principles of the
selection and appointment process, are equity of access,
objectivity in the selection process, and transparency in
the appointments.
RCSI reserve the right to apply a Pre Interview
assessment to determine the number of applicants
brought forward to the next stage of the selection
process. The standard will be set following an analysis of
the applications and aptitude testing.
Offer of appointment to Core Surgical Training is based
on candidates meeting the desirable standard.
The desirable standard each year is set by subtracting
the calculated standard deviation for all those
candidates who score ≥ 80 marks – from 80 Marks.
The desirable standard for previous years was calculated
as follows
Year Desirable Standard
2021 76.86
2022 75.64
2023 74.74
All those deemed eligible to be appointed to Core
Surgical Training should meet or exceed the “Desirable
standard”.
The rst 80 candidates who achieve above this score are
offered a place on the Core Surgical Training
Programme. These posts are allocated in the rst
instance to citizens of Ireland or nationals of another
Member State of the European Union, the remaining
places are allocated to the highest ranked non-EU
citizens.
It is important to note that advocating or lobbying for
candidates is not permitted. You are advised that should
you wish to discuss your application with colleagues or
mentors they should not in turn contact members of the
Surgical Affairs team in relation to your application.
Full instructions on all aspects of the interview process
will be issued to candidates invited for interview.
Professor Kevin Barry
Director of the National Surgical Training
Programmes
2021 onwards: Desired Standard or Cut Score
80 Marks - σ (applicants scores ≥80 Marks
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
5
KEY TIMELINES & LINKS FOR APPLICATION
PROCESS FOR JULY 2024 CST INTAKE
• Applications open: Thursday, 19
th
October 2023 -
5pm (Irish time)
• Closing date: Thursday, 23
rd
November 2023 - 5pm
(Irish time)
• Key information, eligibility criteria and link to the
application site can be found at http://www.rcsi.ie/
surgical-training-programmes
• CST intake webinar Thursday, 12
th
October 2023
at 7pm, details will be circulated via the Forum of
Postgraduate Training bodies.
• Interviews will take place week beginning week
beginning Monday 19
th
February 2024
Note: dates remain subject to change until
conrmedwithcandidates.
• Interviews will be virtual via the MS Teams platform.
Candidates will be informed of any changes in this
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
6
Surgical Aptitude
Tests
Undertaken online
following submission
of application.
Clinical Judgement
Interpersonal Skills
Professional
Development
Suitability for
Specialty Training
Personal Presentation
Online surgical aptitudes measure:
Physcomotor skills
Visuospatial ability
Perception
Review and discussion of:
Structured Clinical Scenarios
Topics may include:
Communication
Teamwork/Leadership
Crisis Management
Negotiation/conict resolution
Topics may include:
Clinical Research projects
Attendance at meetings/courses
Audit projects
Teaching activities
Topics may include:
Motivation /drive
Knowledge of Specialty
Time/stress management
Work ethic/professionalism
Topics may include:
Medical School and Intern history;
Highlights of your undergraduate
academic record; achievements in
your career since graduation; surgical
experience; attributes which may make
you a good surgeon; extracurricular
achievements/ interests; other relevant
information
10
15
15
15
25
5
scored at
application
point
(Note: Following
the closing date
for submission of
applications all
candidates will be
contacted with
details on how
to complete this
component)
scored at
interview
scored at
interview
scored at
interview
scored at
interview
scored at
interview
2
3
4
5
6
7
Category
Undergraduate
Academic Record
Submission / topic
Centile score from Medical School
Mandatory submission as part of your
application.
Scoring % available
in this category
15
Scored
scored at
application
point
1
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
7
CENTILE SCORING
As part of your application to Core Surgical Training, you
will be asked to submit evidence of your centile/decile
score as provided by your university.
Centile Scores have a maximum of 15 marks available.
Marks will be awarded as outlined here:
Range Centile Bucket
10 90-100 15
15 75-89 12
15 60-74 9
15 45-59 8
10 30-44 7
5 25-29 6
5 20-24 5
5 15-19 4
5 10-14 3
5 5-9 2
5 0-4 1
Points to Note:
If you do not supply a centile/ decile ranking, you will be
awarded the lowest score of 1 marks.
If your university does not provide centile/decile ranking,
you can submit a letter from your university conrming
this.
If you submit a letter from your university conrming it
does not provide centile/decile rankings, 6 marks will be
awarded.
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
8
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please review the FAQ’s for information on range of
topics including:
• General information
• Eligibility for the training programme
• Irish Medical Council registration
• The CST training programme
• The online application
• Technical troubleshooting & queries
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENERAL INFORMATION
Q: Is there a fee for the training programme?
A: No, but there is an application fee of 50 Euro
(non-refundable), payable via credit card at point of
submission of application.
Q: Is there an application fee?
A: Yes, it is 50 Euro (non-refundable), payable via credit
card at point of submission of application.
Q: Can I get a scholarship/fellowship for CST?
A: There are no scholarships or fellowships available for
this programme. Each trainee is employed by the HSE
and receives a contract in advance of commencement
on the programme and their employment date (Second
Monday of July annually) from the allocated Hospital.
Q: Is there limit on how many times I can apply to
CST?
A: No, there is currently no limit to number of times you
can apply to the CST Programme.
Q: Should I have my MRCS completed before I apply
for the programme
A: No, however, you must have passed both parts of
MRCS to be eligible for an ST3 interview. You can review
data on MRCS amongst successful CST applicants in
the Trainee Progression Data document on our ‘How to
apply’ page on our website.
Q: I have missed the application deadline, what can I
do?
A: No applications can be submitted after the deadline.
If you have missed the deadline you must wait to apply
the following year. We advise all applicants to ensure you
have all your documentation prepared well in advance of
the published deadline.
Q: I am due to have my certain aspects updated (work
visa status / nationality etc) but will not have proof of
this until after applications close. Can I follow up with
proof at a later stage?
A: No, all information including IMC status, proof of
English language, nationality, medical school results,
MRCS status and work visa category are assessed at the
time of application. We do not accept supplemental
documentation following the close of interviews.
Q: I have not worked in Ireland before, will this affect
my chances of getting a place on the programme?
A: It is not necessary to have worked in Ireland prior to
applying for the CST Programme, however, it is of benet
to have some knowledge of the Irish Health Service
ahead of interview.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ELIGIBILITY FOR THE TRAINING PROGRAMME
Q: Am I eligible for CST?
A: Please see eligibility criteria documentation on the
webpage here.
Q: Can I join the programme without a Medical
Degree?
A: No, you must hold a full Medical Degree to apply for
CST.
Q: Do I need to complete an intern year?
A: Yes, please see more details with regard to
Registration on the Irish Medical Council website
at www.medicalcouncil.ie.
Q: I completed my Medical Degree in English in non-
English speaking country. Do I still need to provide
IELTS or OET results?
A: Please see documentation in relation to this here.
Q: I am a non-EU national, am I eligible for CST?
A: Please see eligibility criteria documentation on the
webpage here.
Q: I am booked to sit my English Language exam
but will not get results until after applications close.
Am I permitted to submit my application and follow
up with exam results at a later date before the
interviews?
A: No, all information including IMC status, proof of
English language, nationality, medical school results,
MRCS status and work visa category are assessed at the
time of application. We do not accept supplemental
documentation following the close of interviews.
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
9
MEDICAL COUNCIL QUERIES
Q: How can I apply for Medical Council Registration
(IMC)?
A: Please visit the Irish Medical Council website
www.medicalcouncil.ie for information re eligibility for
Registration.
Q: Do I need to pay my registration fee for the IMC
before applying?
A: No, you must prove you are eligible for the General
Division of the Register, not that you have already
registered. An email from the IMC is sufcient proof of
your eligibility status.
Q: Why do you ask for an IMC number?
A: While we do not require registration with the IMC
to have been completed by the time of application to
CST, it can be a lengthy process. To ensure that there
will be no delays in completing registration before
commencement on the programme, your application to
the IMC must be started by the time of application. It
also serves as a unique identier for applicants.
Q: My application with the IMC is still pending, how
do I input an IMC number?
A: You will have received an application number with
your application to the IMC. This number will become
your IMC number for life once your registration is
complete. This is a 6 digit number and should be input
where the application requests an IMC number.
Q: Am I eligible for the Medical Council
A: The CST ofce is not in a position to assess potential
applicants for eligibility to the medical council. The
onus is on the applicant to provide proof that they are
eligible to register on the General Division of the Medical
Council. The proofs that we accept in this regards are
1) your registration (current or previous) or 2) an email
from the Medical Council citing you by name, conrming
that you are eligible to register on the General Division
at the time of application to CST. Communications that
reference being eligible to apply to the medical council
or emails that reference eligibility at a future date will not
be accepted.
Q: I was previously registered on the Irish Medical
Council but have allowed my registration to lapse. Do
I need to register again?
A: No, for the purposes of applying to the CST scheme,
you will be required to upload your most recent
registration certicate. You will be required to renew your
registration before beginning on the scheme should you
be successful in being offered a place.
Q: I currently hold intern registration on the Irish
Medical Council Can I apply to CST with only intern
registration? What proof do I need to upload?
A: Please upload your Intern registration certicate. This
will satisfy the CST Ofce that the IMC has reviewed your
registration documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REFERENCES
Q: Do I need referees?
A: You are not required to submit references at this
point in the application process. (This is a change from
previous years) You will be required to submit two
references at a later stage in the process should you be
successful in round one or subsequent offers rounds. We
will communicate this to you at that stage of the process
with full instruction on how to submit your references.
We advise that you are prepared to contact referees from
your clinical posts at that time, with one being from your
current or most recent post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE APPLICATION
Q: Where can I nd the CST application?
A: Applications are hosted on our dedicated application
portal CSTOnline. We do not provide copies of the
actual application to the candidates before applications
open. Please visit our website dedicated to applicants
at: https://www.rcsi.com/surgery/training/surgery/cst/
apply. On this site you will nd eligibility requirements, a
checklist which outlines what documents you should be
compiling in order to apply amongst other documents.
This will provide potential applicants with an idea of what
information will be required once the application portal
opens.
Q: Is there a certain Document Format for Online
Applications?
A: Allowed le extensions: “jpg”, “jpeg”, “jpe”, “png”,
“gif” “txt”, “doc”, “docx”, “pdf”, “xls”, “xlsx”, “rtf”
If you upload a PDF this will increase the size of the
document.
Q: Is there a limit to characters when uploading a
document?
A: Yes, please limit to 150 characters including le name
and le path
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
10
Q: Is there a limit of characters on different sections
of the applications?
A: Please see below:
• Title of Publication, Audit, presentations and case
reports limit is 100 characters.
• Title of research limit is 500 characters
• Details of research limit is 4000 characters
• Veried attendance at meeting limit is 4000 characters
• Details of clinical Experience limit is 2000 characters
Q: On the personal details page of the application I
am asked to select Stamp 4 “YES” or “NO” – how do I
know what to select here?
A: If you do not require a working visa in order to work in
Ireland you should select “NO”. If you require a working
visa in order to work in Ireland and have not yet been
granted a Stamp 4 permission you should select “NO”. If
you require a working visa in order to work in Ireland and
have been granted a Stamp 4 permission and possess
proof of same you should select “YES” (you will then be
prompted to upload your verication)
Q: What is your degree entry method if you attended
an international university?
A: Please choose ‘other’ and state direct entry or
graduate entry etc as appropriate
Q: How do I provide my medical school centile score?
A: You are required to submit an ofcial document from
your medical school outlining your centile mark. If your
medical school does not provide such evidence please
request a letter conrming that they do not provide this.
Failure to submit either an ofcial centile score or a letter
conrming that your medical school do not issue such
conrmation may be detrimental to your score. A copy of
your medical degree will not sufce.
Q: What proof is required when submitting
presentations?
A: An invitation or email from the meeting or conference
team conrming your presentation slot.
Q: What supporting documents are required for
Research in Progress?
A: A letter or email of conrmation from your supervisor
(must be Consultant level, not another trainee)
Q: How do I provide proof of audit?
A: A letter from you consultant stating the nature/
name of the audit and conrming your participation or
published abstract from a national meeting programme
including your name as a listed author or a published
paper from a journal listing you as an author.
Q: What does it mean by ‘standards used’ for audit?
A: There are a number of specic standards that can be
used for developing criteria when performing a
clinical audit such as STROBE and NICE. Where a specic
criteria for standards has not been used a brief summary
of the standards used can be input in this section. Your
audit supervisor should be able to guide as to what is the
most appropriate for this section.
Q: Can I list an audit with an expected nish date?
A: Audits in progress cannot be added to the audit
section, however can be included in the additional
information section of the application or as research in
progress.
Q: How are different aspects of the application
marked (i.e. MRCS status, publications, master’s
degree, audits, presentations, etc.)?
A: There are no dened scores awarded but would
demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning which
would be taken into account under professional
development during interview.
Q: I am due to have my work published/ accepted
for presentation/ but this won’t happen until after
applications close. Can I update this information on
my application afterward?
A: No, the CST Ofce is not in position to accept any
documents or updates to applications following the close
of applications.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE TRAINING PROGRAMME
Q: Can a CST trainee avail of the HSE Flexible training
scheme or family friendly rotations?
A: The HSE Flexible Training scheme is open to trainees
from CST year 2 onwards. Family friendly rotation
requests will be reviewed on an individual basis. You
can read more on such policies as Job sharing and
Post reassignment here under General Policies and
Procedures & Employee/HR Guidelines and Procedures.
Q: How many places are available on the CST
Programme?
A: 80 Training places are available each year (subject to
review year on year by RCSI, NDTP/HSE)
Q: Can I defer my place?
A: No deferrals are allowed.
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
11
Q: How can I study a particular specialty?
A: You must rst successfully complete Core Surgical
Training for competitive entry to your chosen specialty at
ST3.
Q: Can I apply to ST3 in more than one specialty?
A: No, you can only apply in your ST2 specialty. If you
want to change specialty in year 2 there is an option to
do so.
Q: When will I choose my specialty?
A: We will contact you with information on this midway
through CST year 1.
Q: Can I defer my application for ST3
A: No, if you do not apply to ST3 directly from ST2 you
will be required to apply via the Equivalent Standards
Route (ESR) where available, in any subsequent years.
Q: What is the Equivalent Standard Route (ESR)?
A: Please see information here under General Policies
and Procedures
Q: Will my CST cert be accepted to apply directly to
higher training in other countries?
A: You would need to check this with the the training
body in the country where you are applying for Specialty
training.
Q: Where can I get information about progression
rates from Core to Specialty training?
A: Please see information here under Progression
Metrics.
Q: Are year one posts allocated competitively? When
do you submit your preferences for these?
A: Yes they are, there is an electronic match based on
ranking from intake scoring, candidates rank choices from
the full list of rotation sets 1 – 80 if they receive a round
one offer following interview.
Q: Can I get credit for completing a different training
programme and do less than two years on CST?
A: No, you must complete the full two year programme.
Q: Are the year 2 posts paired with any specic posts
or does it change from year to year?
A: Year 2 rotations are not linked to year 1 rotations. ST2
posts can uctuate according to demand and are usually
linked pro rata to the number of ST3 SpR posts expected
to be available the following year. We offer guidance
on indicative numbers when trainees are selecting their
preferences.
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Q: Can I do my application on a smart phone?
A: No, we strongly advise that you use a laptop/desktop
for optimum performance.
Q: Can I do my application in my hospital?
A: We recommend you don’t try to do your application
in the hospital as there can be rewall /internet
speed issues.
Q: Is there a recommended browser for the CST
online application site?
A: For optimum performance on the CST application site
we recommend using Google Chrome
Q: I am having an issue accessing the site or
uploading my documents, what should I do?
A: If you are experiencing technical issues we
recommend you try a couple of things such as clear your
cache on your computer; switch to incognito mode on
your browser. (You can readily nd information online on
how to do this)
Q: Can I use my college email for application?
A: You can use any personal email however we have
noted issues in the past with college emails on both
our application site and on MS teams so it would be
advisable to use an alternative email if you can.
Q: When attempting to register for CSTOnline I am
receiving the error: “a duplicate user account was
found with mismatching information” What should I
do?
A: If you are attempting to register with an RCSI email
that is, or has been, associated with one of the college
portals (student portal, library portal, tutor portal, etc.)
you will receive this error message. Please contact
corest@rcsi.com providing a screenshot of the error and
your RCSI email address in order to have your Portal User
Account reset to enable you to proceed.
Q: I’m having a technical issue with my application
and the suggestions listed have not helped, what
should I do?
A: Please take some screen shots of the error messages
or relevant pages & email them to: cor[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you query is not answered above please contact us
via email at: corest@rcsi.ie
RCSI SURGICAL AFFAIRS
Guide to Core Surgical Training Intake 2024
12
Surgery
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, D02 YN77, Ireland.
Email corest@rcsi.com
www.rcsi.com