Portfolio

The portfolio marking scheme has been overhauled during the 2023 application round, with an increased number of categories as well as increased number of points provided per category.

One of the notable changes is regarding tasters. Previously, the “demonstration of dedication to specialty” was marked out of 2 points, where maximum points were achieved for a taster week + any other evidence of commitment to specialty such as attending radiology conferences, radiology QIPs etc. Now the maximum number of points is 10 for MULTIPLE significant exposures to clinical radiology. This can be achieved one of several ways:

• 2 x separate tasters in different environments – ie a DGH and a tertiary centre, or a subspecialty such as paeds/neuro/IR (minimum of 3 days each per taster)
  • 1 x taster and a radiology elective/SSC
  • 1 x taster and a research project/QIP which involved being within the radiology department/working with a radiologist

All domains are as follows:

1. Commitment to specialty
2. Leadership & management
3. Teaching & training
4. Formal teaching qualifications
5. Audit & quality improvement
6. Academic achievements
7. Prizes & Awards

Please see further breakdown of these domains and points allocated on the following websites:

• Radiology Cafe: https://www.radiologycafe.com/interview-application/st1-application-form/
• IR Juniors: https://www.irjuniors.com/portfolio

These websites display the Oriel self-assessment guidance from 2023 with points allocated per achievement in each domain.

Interviews

The most recent rounds of interviews have been 15-minute long Teams interviews.

Just remember, it feels very fast for everyone.

Try and remain calm throughout. You can always ask the interviewers to repeat the question if you are not sure or you feel you are going on a tangent.

Be confident and sell yourself well. Think about all your achievements in your portfolio/CV and use these as examples of why you are the person for the job.

It is worthwhile going through the ORIEL person specification to identify desirable characteristics/attributes that the interviewers are looking for. Again, find examples to demonstrate you are the candidate they are looking for. When possible, try and relate it back to radiology/give personal examples.

General Interview Advice:

• Make a good first impression – dress professionally even though it’s on Teams
• Good verbal communication – speak clearly and concisely, sometimes it’s better not to jump straight into questions instead thinking about them and reflecting appropriately.  
• Good non-verbal communication – sit upright and slightly forward in an engaging posture, don’t fidget, smile, make good eye contact, demonstrate active listening (i.e. nodding) 
•  Practice speaking out loud beforehand with questions. This is probably one of the most useful pieces of advice.

Useful links/books for applications/portfolio/interviews

There are several useful websites to familiarise yourself with which provide advice and information on the radiology training pathway, application process, portfolio and interview.

It is worthwhile reading the below pages:

• https://www.radiologycafe.com/interview-application/career-in-radiology/
• https://www.irjuniors.com/applyingforradiology
• https://www.mindthebleep.com/applying-to-radiology/
• https://www.rcr.ac.uk/clinical-radiology/careers-and-recruitment/specialty-recruitment
• https://www.thesrt.co.uk/applicants/
• https://radcast.com/

There are a couple of useful books you can consider buying for interview preparation:

• Radiology Interview: The Definitive Guide With Over 500 Interview Questions For ST Radiology Training Interviews: Volume 4 – by James Russell & Matthew Seager
• Medical Interviews (Third Edition): A comprehensive guide to CT, ST & Registrar Interview Skills – Over 120 medical interview questions, techniques and NHS topics explained – by Olivier Picard