Portfolio Points: High Yield, Last Minute, Low Cost
Our guide to portfolio points you can easily pick up between now and the CT1 interview.
The portfolio points may have been removed from the scoring for CT1 Anaesthetics applications, but don’t be fooled - your portfolio will still be assessed during the General Interview. Consider the following two answers to the same question about quality improvement:
“Quality improvement is an important part of my practice. As an F2 doctor I created a project which was well received by patients and staff and improved efficiency in the department.”
versus
“Quality improvement is an important part of my practice. As an F2 doctor I created a project which was well received by patients and staff and improved efficiency in the department. I presented my results as a poster at the Royal College of Anaesthetists Winter Symposium, where it won the runner-up prize in the poster competition.”
Clearly the answer that draws attention to a poster presentation and prize will be more impressive and score more highly. Luckily there are still opportunities to pick up portfolio points between now and the interviews, even if your current portfolio is not strong!
Domains
Although the scoring system is no longer in use at CT1 level, it is still helpful to think about your portfolio in terms of the scoring domains:
Additional Degrees and Qualifications
Achievements, Prizes and Awards
Postgraduate Clinical Experience
Quality Improvement
Research
Teaching
Academic Publications
Presentations and Posters
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Leadership
In this tutorial, we will focus on upcoming opportunities in the following domains:
Achievements, Prizes and Awards
Presentations and Posters
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
(For a more in-depth assessment of how to prepare your portfolio, see our ‘Preparing your Portfolio’ lecture in the CT1 Application Course.)
Achievements, Prizes and Awards
Didn’t come top in your year at med school? Don’t worry about it! There are numerous prizes available for junior doctors to apply to and the secret they don’t tell you is - many of them receive very few applications.
Often all that is required of you is to write an essay of a few hundred words. You might not win first prize, but a runner-up prize or ‘highly commended’ will still set you apart at interview.
The CT1 interview dates are fast approaching, but there are still a few prizes accepting applications before then. Here are a selection, ordered by deadline:
Royal Society of Medicine, Urology Section: Winter Short Papers Prize
Deadline: 12th October 2023
Criteria: ‘Aspiring Urologists’ to submit abstracts for the Winter Prize Meeting, maximum 250 words
Prizes: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place win £200, £100 and £50 respectively ‘towards their urological education’
it may be aimed at ‘aspiring urologists’ but a prize is a prize, and the interviewers know that many anaesthetics applicants have also considered a surgical career. If you have a research project, case collection or even an audit relevant to urology, it could be worth submitting a brief abstract to this prize.
The website gives no date for the prize to be awarded, but it seems likely that the ‘Winter Prize Meeting’ would take place before the anaesthetics interviews in February/March.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London Division: Annual Essay Prize
Deadline: 16th October 2023
Award: 9th November 2023
Criteria: Foundation doctors in London; an essay, research project, or literature review on a subject in psychiatry, maximum 6000 words
Prizes: two prizes of £200 and free entry to the London Division Autumn Academic Conference
This prize is unfortunately limited to foundation doctors (and medical students) based in London - however, if this applies to you, the criteria are broad and well worth an application. There are a number of potential essay topics relevant to both psychiatry and anaesthetic practice: for example, ICU delirium and post-ICU PTSD.
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/england/london/prizes-and-bursaries
Mind the Bleep: Award for Medical Education
Deadline: 31st October 2023
Award: 30th November 2023
Criteria: ‘An educational project proposal that’s aimed at any grade of junior doctor and/or final year medical students’
Prizes: 1 winner, 2 Highly Commended: ‘Winners will be supported in delivering their project in any format including but not limited to webinars, eLearning course, online resources, articles, tutorials or in-person courses. If certain criteria are needed for future applications or portfolios, we will work with them to maximise this.’
Most of us will have encountered Dr Akash Doshi’s excellent educational resource ‘Mind the Bleep’ at some point in our careers. If you have an idea for delivering high quality education to junior doctors or medical students, consider applying to their medical education award.
Projects don’t have to be complete or even begun, and winners will receive support from the Mind the Bleep team to deliver their project while also maximising portfolio points (thinking ahead to ST4 applications, perhaps?)
Presentations and Posters
Having your project accepted as a poster or presentation at a conference will inevitably make you sound more impressive - even if the project itself is not that outstanding. But just like the prizes above, what conferences won’t tell you is that the number of abstract submissions they receive is often very low. Many conferences end up accepting all submissions that meet their criteria! And there are usually prizes to be won as well.
Below is a list of conferences and meetings still accepting abstracts or poster submissions, which take place before the CT1 interviews. If you have any project - it could be a case report, audit, QIP or something else - that meets their criteria, consider submitting it - it could give you the edge in your interview.
British Geriatrics Society: ‘Geriatrics 4 Juniors’ (G4J)
A geriatrics conference might not seem the obvious choice for an anaesthetics applicant - but topics covered in this meeting include ‘Perioperative Medicine’ and ‘ITU and the Older Patient’. For the right applicant, there is therefore an opportunity here to present an anaesthetic-related poster before your interview.
The meeting is online-only and open to FY doctors and IMTs.
Deadline: 10th October 2023
Meeting date: 11th November 2023
Criteria: Abstracts up to 300 words describing audits and QI projects.
Royal College of Anaesthetists: Winter Symposium
Deadline: 23rd October 2023
Meeting date: 30th November - 1st December 2023
Criteria: Posters on either ‘Pre-habilitation programmes’ or ‘Quality improvement initiatives’.
Prizes: Amazon vouchers - 1st prize £50; 2nd prize £25; 3rd prize £10. All three also invited to give oral presentations.
Needless to say, having presented your work at a national conference organised by the Royal College of Anaesthetists will be a talking point at interview. The lunch at Red Lion Square is also particularly good!
This is a hybrid event open to all doctors (‘foundation medical students, trainees and non-trainees’). There is an interesting programme including talks on AI, pre-hospital trauma and aerospace medicine.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Conference 2024
Deadline: 30th October 2023
Notification of Outcome: end of January 2024
Criteria: Abstracts up to 400 words accepted on a range of topics
Paediatric anaesthesia is an important part of anaesthetic practice and the RCPCH Conference accept abstract submissions on a wide range of topics, including paediatric critical care and emergency medicine.
There are no prizes for non-paediatric trainees, but submissions are accepted ‘across all disciplines’ including medical students. There are a number of options for presentation preferences, including ePoster presentation which allows virtual conference attendance.
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/rcpch-conference/submit-abstract
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
This domain is usually the least challenging for candidates to score points on and we will not discuss the numerous ‘pay to play’ courses out there, nor the issues associated with this model.
However, a little known fact among doctors is that there are many conferences, particularly in the medtech field, which are free to attend for NHS employees. For candidates looking to bolster their CPD while also hearing some interesting talks on the future of healthcare, have a look at the free conferences below, all taking place between now and the CT1 interviews.
The Integrating Health and Social Care Conference
19th October 2023
15Hatfields Conference Centre
London
Provides a showcase of best practices and a venue for debate on the government’s plans to integrate health and social care providers to improve healthcare for all.
https://www.convenzis.co.uk/events/the-integrating-health-and-social-care-conference-2023
Digital Health AI and Data
30-31st October 2023
London
‘Dedicated to harnessing the power of data to improve healthcare for all.’ A new two-day conference of educational sessions and case studies of data science and AI applications in healthcare.
GIANT (Global Innovation and New Technology) Health Event
4-5th December 2023
London
‘The UK’s leading, unmissable healthcare innovation festival’ with educational events, discussions and presentations from healthcare professionals and start-ups.
Our Full Course
Enjoyed this free tutorial? For a more in-depth assessment of how to prepare your portfolio, check out our full CT1 Application Course.