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Prospective trainees in radiology should fully
research their chosen career. Reading the information provided on this
website is a good start, but candidates are also advised to seek advice
directly from radiologists in training in their locale. There are
currently 22 approved Radiology Training
Schemes in the UK. Further
information about the individual schemes can be obtained from the
appropriate heads of training in each department. The training
administrator at the Royal College of
Radiologists (RCR) will send out a general Information
Pack out on request.
The Regulations
for Training in clinical radiology are also available on the RCR
website.
Most radiology posts start on 1st October or
thereabouts. These posts are usually advertised anytime from January
the same year, and will appear in the classified section of the British
Medical Journal (BMJ). The
BMJ Classified Section is also available on-line. All applicants will be required to submit an
application form and curriculum vitae (CV) with at least
two referees. You must choose your referees carefully but bare in mind they will only
be asked to supply a reference if you are short listed.
The approved method for short listing candidates is by a
pre-agreed points system. Applications are scored by the short listing
panel on the basis of the anonymous application form (personal details
having been removed), not on your CV. If possible, these should be
neatly word-processed rather than hand-written. Bonus marks are awarded
for postgraduate qualifications, publications and audit (particularly
radiology publications), administrative activities (BMA / STC / JDC
representative, etc), knowledge of the training scheme applied for and
extended computer skills. Marks can be deducted for a prolonged clinical
career without further qualifications, hand-written applications,
unexplained career breaks and lack of obvious commitment to radiology.
Short listed candidates will be invited for
interview. Some schemes may extend an invitation to visit the main
department. You should also take time to discuss any issues or
questions you have with trainees already on the scheme. You may ask
how the interview panel is comprised, but the names of in individual
interviewers are not usually disclosed. In any case, direct canvassing
of the interview panel is forbidden and may lead to disqualification of
the candidate. Pre-guessing the interview questions can be as rewarding
as spotting for exams, and we have therefore provided a list of Sample
Interview Questions
you should feel confident to answer on the day.
Candidates should arrive in plenty of time for the
interview. There are no strict dress regulations but cross-dressing is
best avoided. If there is any delay before the interview, have a cup of
tea and relax away from the other candidates if possible. At interview,
you will be made welcome and introduced to the panel. Don't worry,
no one ever remembers all their names! One of the interviewers will then go through your curriculum vitae with you, mainly for the
benefit of the rest of the panel. If you have done any research, have a
concise summary prepared; you don't want to bore them at this
stage. One or several of the interview panel will then ask you
questions, most of which you should have prepared answers for. Nevertheless, there
will almost always be a question you are not expecting. Remember to
smile when this happens!
To be fair and equitable, the interview panel may well ask the
same questions to each of the applicants in turn. It is in your best
interest therefore, not to discuss the questions asked with the other
candidates when you leave the room. If during the interview you
are asked whether you would be prepared to take the job if offered, your
answer should be YES. Once offered the job you can then accept, or explain
if you
have another interview to attend before you finally make your decision.
If all applicants are interviewed on the same day, the successful (and
unsuccessful) candidates will usually be announced at the end of the
session.
All that remains is for us to wish you all the best and every success in your
chosen career.
© Dr R Bramley and Dr H-U Laasch 2001
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