Core surgical training and progression into specialty surgical training: how do we get the balance right?

Doctors training in surgery in England usually complete a two-year core surgical training programme (CT1 and CT2) and then apply for entry into a surgical specialty training programme at ST3. This is a highly competitive process. Currently, ST3 is the only level of entry into specialty training and all doctors wishing to obtain a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in a surgical specialty must apply for ST3 posts, irrespective of their previous surgical experience. Consequently, doctors who apply for ST3 entry directly from core surgical training find themselves competing against doctors with considerably more surgical experience.