Cardiothoracic Surgery
Run-through · ST1 entry to CCT · ~8 yrs
Recruited by NHS England – Wessex (national recruitment, via Oriel)
Provisional — 2026/27 dates are based on last cycle's pattern. NHS England publishes confirmed dates around October 2026.
With no MSRA, your self-assessed portfolio score ranks you, and the top scorers are invited to upload evidence.
A panel of three assessors verifies your uploaded evidence against your self-score on the Evidence Verification Day (4 Jan), confirming or amending it — your score can move down as well as up. Candidates are then re-ranked on their verified portfolio score; this score alone decides who is invited to interview.
Your final rank combines your verified portfolio (carried over) with your interview. NHS England does not publish how the two are weighted.
Sources
- https://wessex.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/10/Applicant-Guide-2026-Cardiothoracic-ST1-National-Recruitment-FINAL.pdf
- https://wessex.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/10/ST1-CT-Surgery-Self-Assessment-Criteria-2026.pdf
- https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications/person-specifications-2026/cardiothoracic-surgery-st1-2026
- https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios