Free guidance for senior doctors working through the GMC's Portfolio Pathway. Eligibility, evidence, timelines, costs, and specialism-by-specialism content for all 17 specialisms BDI Consultants supports. Updated when the rules change. Written for non-substantive Consultants, senior SAS doctors, and internationally-trained specialists working towards UK Specialist Register entry.
Most recent first
A practical guide to reading the GMC and Royal College SSG, mapping evidence properly, avoiding common traps, and turning the guidance into a credible Portfolio Pathway plan.
A practical guide to CiPs, modern curricula and evidence mapping. What Capabilities in Practice mean, how they changed Portfolio Pathway portfolios, and how senior doctors should prove independent specialist-level practice.
A plain-English guide to the four GMC domains behind Portfolio Pathway evidence. What each domain means, what evidence usually proves it, and how to avoid a clinically strong but professionally thin application.
Most candidates take two to four years. A primary-source-based, stage-by-stage timeline with the variables that move the dates and the specialty-by-specialty patterns we see in practice.
A plain-English walkthrough of what the GMC actually asks: CCT vs non-CCT, the six-month rule, recent-evidence requirement, and the patterns that quietly disqualify otherwise strong candidates.
The legal standard moved from "equivalence to a CCT" to "knowledge, skills and experience". The outcome is the same. What changed for evidence, how each Royal College adapted, and what to do if you started under CESR.
The GMC's route to specialist registration for senior doctors who haven't completed a UK approved training programme. Eligibility, evidence, timeline, costs, and what assessors look for, in plain English.
