Guide to the new Senior Specialist role, and how to build your CV towards eligibility
The role of Specialist was introduced in the 2021 Contract to provide career progression from Specialty Doctor/ Dentist for senior SAS clinicians.
What is a Specialist?
A Specialist is a senior and experienced clinician who works independently in a specified area of practice. They have overall responsibility for patient care in their area and are a senior member of the multi-disciplinary team.
Compared to a Specialty Doctor/Dentist, the Specialist provides a greater amount of expertise, responsibility, decision making, and competence. They are responsible for patients under their care, and they have greater opportunities to undertake wider professional activities and additional NHS responsibilities such as management roles.
Compared to a Consultant, a Specialist is an expert in a narrower field and works independently within a defined area of practice, rather than across the whole speciality. A Specialist is encouraged, but not expected to carry out wider roles such as management, leadership, teaching, training, audit and research, whereas these are expected of a Consultant.
Minimum entry criteria of the Specialist role
- Full registration and licence to practice with General Medical/Dental Council
- ≥ 12 years medical/dental work since primary qualification
- ≥ 6 years work in relevant specialty at SAS grade (or equivalent)
- Meet criteria in Specialist generic capabilities framework - more info here.
How to demonstrate you meet the generic capabilities framework
The following document lists examples of the types of evidence you should supply to demonstrate that you meet the required capabilities. Access here.
Much of this evidence is required for your annual appraisal, so make sure to fully participate in your appraisal and include all evidence of your activities throughout the year. This includes your job plan, multi-source feedback from colleagues and patients, mandatory training, CPD and quality improvement activities and any teaching, leadership, and management activities.
Specific pointers on building your CV
- Autonomous practice – if you work independently, have this officially recognised. Some Trusts have a policy for recognising this, if your Trust doesn’t have a policy, speak to your SAS Tutor and LNC representative. Make sure the work you do in clinics, theatres, endoscopy etc is correctly coded under your name so you can get annual reports showing your activity. [link to BMA document on Autonomous Practice]
- Keep a surgical logbook, which can provide annual summaries of the work you do.
- Do some leadership and/or management training (for example consider a relevant Postgraduate Certificate)
- Lead a service development or quality improvement project. Document the project and have evidence of the outcomes.
- Consider becoming an appraiser in your Trust.
- Audit your own practice and document it, so you can demonstrate a change you have instituted which has improved outcomes for patients.
- Attend a Human Factors course
- Attend a course on Patient consent, such as ICONS.
- Get involved in medical education. Have evidence of the training you provide (for example the numbers of WBAs you complete for trainees on ISCP and feedback from students). Consider joining the Faculty of Surgical Trainers, becoming an education supervisor, or doing a Postgraduate qualification in medical or dental education.
- Get involved in research studies.
HEE and NES provide funds for the development of SAS doctors/dentists, so speak to your SAS tutor about accessing funding if needed to help you build your CV.
NHS Education Scotland (NES) funding is also available to SAS Grades working in Scotland, with more information found here.
Reference
Many useful documents are available on the 2021 Contract page of the NHS Employers website found here.