Preparing for consultancy

The College recognises that preparing for consultancy can be challenging. We are pleased to introduce this online resource for you, which we hope will help you through some of the difficulties and provide advice and support to prepare you for applying for your first consultant post, through to negotiating your job plan, achieving a work/life balance and beyond.

Dear Colleague,

Congratulations on obtaining entry to the specialist register. The College recognises that preparing for consultancy can be challenging. We are pleased to introduce this online resource for you, which we hope will help you through some of the difficulties and provide advice and support to prepare you for applying for your first consultant post, through to negotiating your job plan, achieving a work/life balance and beyond.

You will also find information about taking up College representative roles (for example that of surgical tutor, regional deanery adviser, examiner roles etc), as well as advice on flexible working arrangements, mentoring, and other support services. We have also provided a list of links that you may find useful.

The NHS is a rapidly evolving organisation - and the role and responsibilities of the consultant are changing too. Such changes provide excellent opportunities for consultants to be at the forefront of delivering care to patients, planning, modernising and leading clinical change. We hope that this resource will be of assistance to you in negotiating your own pathway to a fulfilling consultant career.

Of course, we would like this resource to be dynamic and would welcome your feedback on its usefulness and on areas where you think we could make improvements. If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact us at new_consultants@rcseng.ac.uk.

The College wishes you the very best of luck for your career as a consultant surgeon.
Anne Moore, FRCS
Council Member for Professional Standards