Eligibility for ST3 and Portfolio Scoring

Recruitment update: This guide draws on published 2026 recruitment guidance and a recruitment-led webinar detailing portfolio guidance for 2026-2027. This information should be checked against the final handbook for your application year. The next cycle’s exact content is not confirmed here. (Official recruitment hub)

Understand the Three Stages

Before thinking about individual portfolio points, separate the application process into three stages.

• Eligibility: Do you meet the essential entry requirements?
• Shortlisting: Is your verified portfolio score high enough for an interview invitation?
• Final selection: Does your overall performance secure an offer?

Being eligible does not guarantee an interview. Similarly, being appointable does not necessarily guarantee a training number. (Recruitment overview)

Check Your Eligibility First

Read the current person specification and application guidance before doing anything else.

Check:

• Qualifications
• GMC registration requirements
• MRCS requirements
• Previous surgical experience
• Core surgical competences
• Any required competency forms
• Application and evidence deadlines

For the 2026 recruitment process, the published guidance required candidates to have completed full MRCS by the offer date. (Medical Specialty Recruitment)

Candidates who had completed UK Core Surgical Training provided their CT2 ARCP Outcome 6. Applicants applying through the alternative competence route required a completed CREHST at application. (Competence and application requirements)

These requirements may change, so use the current year's person specification rather than relying on previous recruitment cycles.

How Much Does the Portfolio Matter?

In the published 2026 process, your verified portfolio score was used to shortlist candidates for interview.

Once shortlisted, the portfolio contributed 20% of the final ranking, with the interview accounting for the remaining 80%.

The portfolio therefore, serves two roles:

1. It helps determine whether you receive an interview.
2. It continues to contribute to your final ranking after shortlisting.

Know Where the Portfolio Points Are

The published 2026 scoring overview included the following domains:

Some points are assessor-awarded rather than automatically claimed. (Official scoring overview)

Years in Practice

The recruitment webinar described the following scoring:

Adjustments were described for circumstances including maternity leave, national army service, and supported less-than-full-time training. Check the current guidance for how these apply.

Surgical Competence

For procedural competence, the updated guidance requires appropriate ISCP procedural workplace-based assessments such as PBAs or DOPS at Level III or IV, signed by a consultant meeting the required criteria and supported by a signed or validated logbook.

When reviewing your evidence, check:

• Relevant operation
  • Does the procedure actually meet the descriptor?
  • Pay attention to anatomical or technical exclusions.
• Assessment level
  • Make sure the overall recorded WBA level satisfies the requirement.
• Assessor
  • Check that the person signing the assessment meets the stated assessor requirements.
• Supporting category
  • Where the scoring system requires evidence of the preceding level of experience, make sure this is also provided.
• Logbook
  • Include a validated summary and make the relevant procedures easy to identify.

Procedural Assessment Levels

The webinar described the levels as:

• 3a: Performed with minimal guidance or intervention; occasional help needed.
• 3b: Performed competently without guidance or intervention, but lacked confidence.
• 4a: Performed confidently to a high standard without guidance or intervention.
• 4b: As for 4a, with the ability to anticipate, avoid or manage common problems.

A Level III or IV WBA describes your assessed performance. It does not mean performing unfamiliar surgery independently without appropriate supervision.

Hand Trauma

The described progression is:

The updated guidance specifically notes that the flexor tendon descriptor should be checked against the final published guidance for the application cycle.

Definitions matter. For example, the draft specifies that fracture fixation includes fixation using a K-wire, screw, or plate and excludes distal phalanx fixation.

A logbook entry simply stating "finger fracture" may not provide enough information for the assessor to determine whether it qualifies.

Burns

For burns, the operative percentage relates to the area you personally excised/debrided and covered, rather than simply the patient's total burn size.

Covering may include a skin graft, biodegradable temporising matrix (BTM), or another appropriate wound covering, subject to the current recruitment scoring criteria.

For example, operating on a patient with a 30% TBSA burn does not automatically demonstrate that you personally excised and covered 30%.

Your evidence should clearly show the area treated and your own contribution.

Skin Cancer

The sentinel lymph node biopsy category applies to skin malignancy and does not include breast SLNB.

Audit

The audit section rewards more than simply having taken part in an audit.

The proposed scoring considers whether:

• The audit is plastics-related
• You were the primary author
• You presented the work
• You completed the audit and re-audit
• The project resulted in significant improvement or had significant merit

The additional merit point is discretionary.

For each audit, make sure you can clearly show:

1. What standard did you assess?
2. What did the first measurement show?
3. What change did you help introduce?
4. What did the re-audit show?
5. What was your personal contribution?

Keep evidence of your presentation, results, and role.

Publications

The draft guidance allows candidates to submit up to four papers.

The publication scoring described in the recruitment webinar considers factors including:

• Authorship
• Journal impact factor
• Article type
• Publication status
• Whether the paper meets the relevant PubMed and journal requirements

For every paper you intend to claim, prepare:

• Publication: Full citation and PubMed record
• Authorship: Your author position and any shared-authorship designation
• Journal metric: Impact factor from the list specified for the cycle
• Article type: Original article, case report, technical tip, or research letter
• Status: Evidence that the publication meets the deadline and status rules

The scoring described in the webinar used 100% of the impact factor for first authorship, capped at 10 per qualifying paper, and 50% for other qualifying authorship, capped at 5.

These figures are used to calculate an intermediate publication score before it is converted into portfolio points. They are not portfolio points themselves.

Presentations & Posters

The updated guidance allows up to four qualifying first-author posters or presentations that you personally presented at eligible national or international meetings.

For each claim, keep:

• Abstract acceptance
• Evidence of authorship
• Evidence that you personally presented it
• Evidence that the meeting satisfies the recruitment definition

Do not assume that a meeting qualifies simply because it uses "national" or "international" in its title.

Higher Qualifications

The higher qualification section considers:

• Type of qualification
• Duration of research
• Whether the research is ongoing, being written up, or completed
• Whether the qualification has been awarded

The updated guidance states that intercalated degrees do not qualify, and some part-time programmes may be treated as less than one year of research.

Check the exact descriptor before assuming that an additional qualification gives you points.

Collaborative Research & Investigator Roles

These are separate portfolio claims.

The proposed guidance describes:

For collaborative research, the draft specifically notes that one qualifying contribution does not produce half a point.

Make sure your evidence demonstrates the role you are actually claiming.

Organise the Portfolio for the Reviewer

A good achievement is only useful if the assessor can verify it.

Keep your evidence:

• Clear
• Readable
• Properly labelled
• Easy to match to the scoring descriptor

Before submitting, ask a colleague to find the evidence supporting one of your claims.

If they cannot establish it quickly, make the organisation clearer.

Work Out What to Do Next

A simple gap analysis can stop portfolio preparation from becoming overwhelming.

Prioritise work you can realistically complete and evidence by the application deadline.

There is no universal portfolio score that guarantees an interview.

Next: ST3 Interview: Format, What to Expect, & Preparation