Please find below some frequently asked questions, but also feel free to get in touch directly if you have other questions not answered here or on these webpages.
Recruitment to Core Psychiatry Training in England, Scotland and Wales is coordinated via a single national process. There are two rounds of applications: one for a cohort starting in August, and a smaller round for trainees starting in February. Further details of the timetable, application process, person specification, and application requirements can be found here.
Overseas applicants should be particularly aware of the requirements for demonstrating Foundation Year competencies on the recruitment webpage above. This may require some planning ahead of the application window to ensure that all the required documentation is ready on time.
All applicants must take a standardised computer-based test, the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA). It is advisable to prepare carefully for this test; there are currently no interviews for Core Trainees and offers will be based on MSRA scores only.
Recruitment to Higher Psychiatry Training in England, Scotland and Wales is coordinated via a single national process. There are two rounds of applications: one for a cohort starting in August, and a smaller round for trainees starting in February. Further details of the timetable, application process, person specification, and application requirements can be found here.
All applicants must complete a verified self-assessment. Eligible applicants will be invited to an online interview. Overseas applicants should be particularly aware of the requirements for demonstrating Core Training competencies on the recruitment webpage above, including completion of the Certificate C or an acceptable alternative. This may require some planning ahead of the application window to ensure that all the required documentation is ready on time.
HEE East of England offers Higher Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, General Adult Psychiatry, Medical Psychotherapy, Old Age Psychiatry, and Psychiatry of Learning Disability. There are also some posts that are available for internal competition that can lead to specialist endorsements (such as Liaison, Substance Misuse/Addiction, Rehabilitation Psychiatry). As of the 2024 recruitment year, we do not offer any dual programmes.
Core Training consists of 36 months of training across a wide range of patient groups and settings, including psychological therapy. Higher Training consists of 36 months of training in one of the following single specialities:
- General Psychiatry
- Old Age Psychiatry
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Psychiatry of Learning Disability
- Medical
The East of England Psychiatry Training Programme is spread across 6 Mental Health Trusts:
- Bedfordshire and Luton
- Cambridgeshire
- North Essex
- South Essex
- Norfolk and Suffolk
- Hertfordshire
These trusts cover a wide variety of areas and offer a variety of opportunities in Core and Higher Training to develop trainees’ skills and cater to special interests. Core Psychiatry Trainees will work in one Trust (this minimizes travel and accommodation issues for trainees), and some of the Higher Trainees will do the same. The smaller Higher Trainee rotations might have posts across multiple Trusts, but these are often organised to help trainees manage travel. Many of the more rural Trusts also try to ensure that the boundaries of the jobs offered are within reasonable travelling distance, e.g., Norfolk and Suffolk FT offer higher trainees rotations based in either Suffolk or Norfolk, rather than expecting trainees to commute across counties.
The East of England Deanery offers clinical academic training (ACFs and ACLs) in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia. Key areas of research include:
- Dementia and aging
- Developmental psychology
- Mental health in older adults
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents
- Psychosis in young people.
Full details can be found here.
Yes! We are welcoming of trainees who might need to work Less Than Full Time (LTFT). HEE East of England has a strong commitment to helping all doctors reach their full potential and to helping those with child-caring or other responsibilities to continue training. There is further information on eligibility and the application process here.
If you are thinking of training flexibly you should discuss this with your Educational Supervisor and your Training Programme Director. When you start your post, ensure that you negotiate an appropriate work schedule and that you are not taking on a full-time case load in reduced sessions. You need to consider how to access training and teaching. Information about LTFT training can be found here. You should also familiarise yourself with the rules about rotas, leave and pay in the Health Education England LTFT Training Policy document.
The LTFT Trainee lead for EoE is Dr Fiona Thompson, Fiona.thompson@cpft.nhs.uk. Please feel free to contact her for advice relating to LTFT training. As well as this, you may send any queries relating to the LTFT application process to the EoE generic inbox: england.ltft.eoe@nhs.net.
All Psychiatry Trainees will have weekly 1:1 supervision for one hour with a consultant, usually your Clinical Supervisor. You will also have an Educational Supervisor to develop and facilitate an individual learning plan that addresses your educational needs, give specialty guidance, and offer pastoral support if needed. Furthermore, the Training Programme Director can provide additional support with training difficulties, career needs, and ensuring that the Trust provides opportunities to meet the necessary competencies needed to complete training.
The Deanery runs a Professional Support Unit who may be able to assist with wider issues. The Royal College of Psychiatrists also offers the Psychiatrists’ Support Service (PSS) which provides free peer support by telephone.
It is essential that you are registered with a GP; this will enable you to address any health problems you encounter during training, including mental health problems. Mental health problems are common in the population; doctors are not immune from this. Your GP will be very important in getting support, and your employer will enable access to Occupational Health and often other options (such as counselling services).
All Trainees with have an Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) to assess their ability to progress to the next level. Trainees are usually not required to attend in person, but it is essential to have an up-to-date portfolio to facilitate the process. Although the training year ends in July, ARCP dates can start as early as May. For more information, please see our ARCP page.