NHS Scientist Training Programme - 2017 applicants!

Hi! Thought I'd take the liberty of starting this thread because I've been having nightmares recently about missing the application deadline... Figured we can share our thoughts on the application process and questions and ask for clarification on anything we aren't sure about, etc :smile:

I'll be applying for medical physics in 2017!

Reply 1

Kvothe the Arcane

20

Original post by blumemusik

Hi! Thought I'd take the liberty of starting this thread because I've been having nightmares recently about missing the application deadline... Figured we can share our thoughts on the application process and questions and ask for clarification on anything we aren't sure about, etc :smile:

I'll be applying for medical physics in 2017!

What was your undergrad?

Reply 2

blumemusik

OP

9

Original post by Kvothe the Arcane

What was your undergrad?

Physics BSc at the University of Manchester, which I'm in my final year of now!

Reply 3

Joshalos

15

I am considering going down the clinical scientist route in biochemistry. Currently doing biomedical science at the University of Brighton in my final year, and have a years worth of NHs lab experience under my belt in clinical chemistry and toxicology. I may not apply this year but carry on working for another year as a BMS and then apply for the next cycle.

Reply 4

VicMagnanimous

Can anyone please get a hold of the list of universities and/or labs that deal with the different STP disciplines i.e. Medical Physics, Biochemistry, Microbiology etc..

Reply 5

samcofie

3

Original post by blumemusik

Physics BSc at the University of Manchester, which I'm in my final year of now!

Hey!! Am in Manchester as well, and am applying for genomics/cardiac and gastrointestinal. Doing my masters in cancer research now,

Reply 6

EmwyH

Hi!
I'm glad there are some people who are as worried as me.
I'm a last-year biomedical science student at Bristol. I am a bit undecided on my specialty atm so am thinking either medical microbiology or either histopathology/cytology
VicMagnanimous, there is a link of univeristy providers I think for this year, but I think best wait for when applications open as they may change.
I'm a bit worried about aptitude testing as the last time I did one, I didn't make the cut :frown:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 7

username391622

11

I'm applying for Genomics. Currently doing a Masters in biotechnology, although I'm a bit concerned it's not relevant enough to the Genomics stream. Fingers crossed though!

Reply 8

alldreams

I'm currently studying Genetics and I'm hoping to apply for the Genomic Counselling scheme. I'm coming straight from undergrad so I'm not sure how my application is going to go tbh, but there's no harm in trying!

Reply 9

amyf654

4

Hey I would like to apply for this next year too.

I have a degree in Forensic Science but I am currently working for NHS in Microbiology lab. However, I'm not too sure whether I can do my placement where I am working at the moment so I'm a bit confused at the mo!

Reply 10

Bagsworth

14

Hi all, I'm a 2016 trainee in clinical biochemistry. This forum was a big help in getting on last year so I'm around to return the favour and to provide any general advice on applications etc for 2017 applicants :smile:

Reply 11

_hsl

4

Original post by Bagsworth

Hi all, I'm a 2016 trainee in clinical biochemistry. This forum was a big help in getting on last year so I'm around to return the favour and to provide any general advice on applications etc for 2017 applicants :smile:

Hi Bagsworth. I was wondering, regarding the registration, what employment gaps do we need to account for? Say I did some part time work during Christmas and Summer holidays would I need to account for that even though I was at uni in between? Would I also need to account for the employment gap between university and starting a job in September? Thanks in advance for your help :smile:

Reply 12

Bagsworth

14

Original post by _hsl

Hi Bagsworth. I was wondering, regarding the registration, what employment gaps do we need to account for? Say I did some part time work during Christmas and Summer holidays would I need to account for that even though I was at uni in between? Would I also need to account for the employment gap between university and starting a job in September? Thanks in advance for your help :smile:

Hey, no problem :smile:

Employment gaps while you are at uni wouldn't need to be documented as your part-time work is "extra" to actually being registered for a degree (so anything from eg September 2013-June 2016 would . Also it's up to you but I didn't put any part time work or placements down that weren't directly relevant to applying to the STP. So I didn't put anything about part time work prior, during or after uni, unless of course you can relate that to the STP - leadership, responsibility, independence, supervising others etc, even customer facing part time jobs have some value if you're applying to one of the STP streams that will encounter talking to patients but bear in mind this section either is mainly for information or does not carry much scoring weight when it comes to reviewing the application. I've seen people get onto the STP with a degree and nothing else to add. A good rule is if it adds value to the application, put it in, otherwise leave it out. Employment gaps that make sense to someone looking such as graduating in June and getting a job in September are also fine, gaps that require explanation would be finishing work in February 2015 for example and then not having employment 6,8,12 months later etc. But as long as there is a good reason (maternity/paternity leave, gap year travelling) it's not a problem. Any relevant placements during your degree should be mentioned, of course, even if you were shadowing for a day, and all full-time employment post uni should be mentioned but obviously if you leave out that there will be a clear unaccounted employment gap! I hope that helps

Reply 13

tsvety

1

Happy to have the 2017 thread already! It will be my second time applying, made it to the reserve list for the interviews last year...I'm going for Genomics and Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics or Immunology, depending on number of places/locations available. I graduated with a BSc in Genetics in 2016, currently working at an NHS Genetics lab, so hopefully that would be enough to get me to the interviews...providing I pass the aptitude tests again of course. Anyone else dreading them?

Reply 14

EmwyH

Original post by Bagsworth

Hi all, I'm a 2016 trainee in clinical biochemistry. This forum was a big help in getting on last year so I'm around to return the favour and to provide any general advice on applications etc for 2017 applicants :smile:

Hi Bagsworth! I was hoping to get some work experience round January but was just wondering if there were certain time periods when there were interviews, just so my work experince doesn't clash? Do the time period of interviews vary each year?
Thank you in advance :smile:

Reply 15

Bagsworth

14

Hey, the interviews are held for about 4 weeks from the start of April depending on which discipline you're applying to. If it's like previous years then biochem is first, with haematology genetics and immunology in the first week. The NSHCS website might have an indicative timetable for this year's intake though!

Reply 16

Karada

Hey I will be applying for clinical biochemistry, any tips on the interview process, work experience etc would be great. Also where are you based currently for clinical biochemistry? Thanks

Reply 17

jessjesi24

how does it all work? this may sound like a stupid question but this was never advertised when i first graduated (a 2:2 in biochem) but now I'm at a different uni doing a biomed masters with a couple of years of working as a microbiologist (in a pathogen lab, not a pathology lab).

will we be told how many positions for each specialism are available? and where they will be? I've just bought a house with my partner so we'd find it quite difficult to relocate, although we are willing to.

I've got 2 weeks clinical biochem experience shadowing and I did 2 weeks in a pathology lab last year (lab and clinic)

wwhat else can I do to strengthen my application ? and what are the most oversubscribed/least oversubscribed steams? I'm a little worried my 2:2 will mean I am instantly rejected.

Reply 18

Bagsworth

14

Original post by Karada

Hey I will be applying for clinical biochemistry, any tips on the interview process, work experience etc would be great. Also where are you based currently for clinical biochemistry? Thanks

Work experience in a clinical biochem lab would be advantageous because a) there's a question in the application asking you about what you've done to find out more about the STP and the career and b) you will probably be asked quite probing questions about clinical biochemistry labs that you may not be able to answer properly if you've never been in a lab. The interview is a set of 4 interviews focusing on: 1) specialism specific knowledge 2) general science/scientific principles 3) leadership and management and 4) NHS values and the constitution. I'm a biochem trainee in London.

Reply 19

Bagsworth

14

Original post by jessjesi24

how does it all work? this may sound like a stupid question but this was never advertised when i first graduated (a 2:2 in biochem) but now I'm at a different uni doing a biomed masters with a couple of years of working as a microbiologist (in a pathogen lab, not a pathology lab).

will we be told how many positions for each specialism are available? and where they will be? I've just bought a house with my partner so we'd find it quite difficult to relocate, although we are willing to.

I've got 2 weeks clinical biochem experience shadowing and I did 2 weeks in a pathology lab last year (lab and clinic)

wwhat else can I do to strengthen my application ? and what are the most oversubscribed/least oversubscribed steams? I'm a little worried my 2:2 will mean I am instantly rejected.

The NSHCS will release information on which hospitals are recruiting what disciplines once applications open up again (about the start of January 2017). As for relocating, I don't know the specifics but when you apply you rank all the hospitals that are recruiting in that discipline as to whether you want that location from most wanted to least wanted and no preference/not wanted. If you get an interview, you will be scored out of 50 for the whole thing ( 4 interviews out of 10, all interviewers then also give you a score for communication that is averaged to a score out of 10) and the higher your score the higher the chances of getting your desired location.

Least subscribed are probably the more esoteric streams like dream science, gastrointestinal physiology, vascular science etc. Unfortunately the more lab based streams are the more oversubscribed either because a) microbiology and immunology only have about 4 places nationally or b) biochemistry seems like one of the most accessible / analytical streams so is very competitive.
If you're doing an MSc now then as long as you get a decent grade overall it's fine. If you had a 2.2 with no postgraduate qualifications then it'd be an instant rejection but with an MSc it's all good. There are psychometric tests before your application is actually read though. I didn't get the pass mark the first time I applied and got rejected with no one ever reading my application!

NHS Scientist Training Programme - 2017 applicants!

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