ICBSE and JCST Chairs

The Presidents of the four Surgical Royal Colleges of the United Kingdom and Ireland invite applications from surgeons with significant relevant experience for the roles of Chair of two key Intercollegiate Committees as follows: 

• The Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations (ICBSE)
• The Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST)

The current Chairs demit office during 2024.

The process will be by application, selection and interview by the Presidents of the four Colleges. The selection process will be led by the President of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Professor Rowan Parks.

The Committees

ICBSE

The ICBSE governs the operation, regulation and development of the MRCS and MRCS (ENT) examinations. Mr John Hines demits office in September 2024, and the incoming Chair will take up office in the summer to allow a period of handover.

The new Chair will preside over an important period for the MRCS exams, leading on the delivery of ICBSE’s strategy over the next three years. Significant quality assurance initiatives relating to the exams, and their future development, will be taken forward during the successful applicant’s tenure.

In addition to this, the role will include oversight of the implementation of intercollegiate elements action planning to address differential attainment, as well as framing an approach to identifying the impact of work in this area on candidate outcomes. The role holder will also represent the four Colleges in interactions with the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), as well as with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC).

JCST

The JCST’s key aim is to enhance the quality of surgical training. It does this by providing curricula that remain relevant and meet the GMC standards and by supporting surgical trainees and trainers. It is responsible for 10 Specialty Advisory Committees (SACs), a number of Training Interface Groups (TIGs) and a Core Surgical Training Advisory Committee (CSTAC).

It is the parent body for the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP), it enrols and monitors surgical trainees, and makes recommendations to the relevant regulator when they are ready for certification at the end of training. On the GMC’s behalf, it also evaluates applications under the CESR/Portfolio pathway. JCST members work closely with Deaneries and Schools of Surgery to support quality improvement and quality management of training programmes.

Please refer to the JCST’s Terms of Reference here for additional details. The current Chair will demit office at the end of October, but a prospective appointment will be expected to begin in summer 2024 to allow for a period of handover.  

Application

Applicants must be Fellows of one of the four surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland and be in clinical consultant practice in the National Health Service (UK)/Public Health Service (Ireland).   

The application form, role description and person specifications are available from:

• ICBSE: Pauline Whitelaw, Head of ICBSE
  Tel: 0207 869 6014/Email: pwhitelaw@icbse.org.uk 
  
   
• JCST: Susana Cipriano, Head of JCST 
  Tel: 020 7869 6252 /Email: scipriano@jcst.org
  
   

Closing Date:  The closing date for applications is Friday 31st May 2024.

Interviews:  Interviews will be held online and are provisionally scheduled to take place on Tuesday 2nd of July and Wednesday 3rd of July 2024. Exact timings will be confirmed at a later date.