Preparing for a Consultant Post
Having obtained specialist registration, you are now eligible to apply for consultant posts. Before doing so, you should ensure both your clinical and non-clinical skills are fully developed.
Fellowships
Before applying, you may want to consider undertaking a fellowship, such as the RCS Senior Clinical Fellowship, which will provide you with additional specialty knowledge and preparation for a consultant role. A number of these kind of posts exist at various hospitals around the country.
Non-clinical skills
You will be managing a team, clinics, theatre lists and will no doubt be involved in clinical governance and risk management activities, as well as measuring and reporting on clinical outcomes. You may also have input into service redesign and modernisation. Therefore, you will need to have strong leadership and management skills. If yours are lacking, it would be worth attending a related course or seeking out extra responsibilities within your current role.
Training
You will need to be familiar with the curriculum and its associated assessment tools. Your local deanery may provide support for you to develop a teaching role. The RCS runs the following courses to develop consultant surgeons’ teaching skills: