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IMPORTANT: Update regarding examinations
Please visit the JSCFE News page for relevant updates on examinations.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED AT TIME OF APPLICATION
You are advised to read the following before making your application
- Examination Regulations
- Published Syllabus
- Applicant Guidance Notes
You will need the following to make your application:
- Debit/Credit Card
- Medical Qualification - year/country obtained
- MRCS – month/year obtained
- Three signed Structured References (pdf format)
- Curriculum Vitae (pdf format)
- Operative Summary (pdf format)
- Photocopy of your passport (pdf format)
- Pearson VUE test centre - you will be asked to select your preferred test centre location from a drop-down option list
You are advised to read the examination regulations and refer to the published syllabus before making your application.
Click to view the calendar.
The JSCFE is administered by the Joint Committee on Intercollegiate Examinations on behalf of the four Surgical Royal Colleges (Edinburgh, England, Glasgow & Ireland). The JSCFE runs in parallel with the UK and Ireland Intercollegiate Specialty Fellowship Examinations but prospective candidates should note that the two suites of examinations are not equivalent. It is only Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations that are regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) and it is therefore only the Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations that are recognised by the GMC and Medical Council in Ireland as the test of knowledge within the approved UK/Ireland surgical curricula. As such, success in an Intercollegiate Specialty Examination may be used by applicants for a Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) to demonstrate knowledge equivalent to that of a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). Any other test of knowledge (including JSCFE) presented within a CESR application must be accompanied by a portfolio of further evidence of knowledge to demonstrate equivalence to a CCT holder. The specialty-specific guidance on the GMC website has further details.
All prospective JSCFE entrants should therefore carefully reflect on their career aims and objectives in conjunction with their Principal Referee prior to examination application. It is highly recommended that any candidate planning a CESR submission should prepare for the Intercollegiate Specialty Examination rather than JSCFE although transfer to the former after gaining eligibility to proceed from success at JSCFE Section 1 will be possible from January 2023. Full details are included in the Guidance Notes for Applicants, which prospective candidates are advised to carefully consider.
The JSCFE suite was launched in 2012 and specialty-specific examinations currently exist for the following surgical disciplines:
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- General Surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Otolaryngology
- Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery
- Urology
The JSCFE will assess applied knowledge and clinical skills to the same standard as the UK and Ireland Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations (the day 1 UK/Ireland Consultant in the generality of the specialty) but as mentioned above the two examinations are not viewed as equivalent by the UK and Ireland regulatory bodies. The JSCFE is aimed at surgeons in the international community who are about to, or who have recently completed their training and who wish to continue their careers in countries other than the UK or Ireland.
Success in both JSCFE Section 1 and Section 2 will permit affiliation to one of the four Surgical Royal Colleges of Great Britain and Ireland and, with effect from January 2023, the use of the post-nominal IntFRCS (College) as long as the annual College subscription in maintained. This revised post nominal distinguishes the qualification from success in an Intercollegiate Specialty Examination.