2026 Application Round This Plastic Surgery ST3 Self Assessment Tool scores your application against the full Health Education England shortlisting criteria — lettered competency bands, the publication impact-factor formula, and the binary criteria — before you submit. Weighting has been removed for 2026: every point counts equally, out of 35.
Work through each domain below — years in practice, clinical competence, and higher qualifications, audit and publications — and the live scorecard updates automatically as you go, so you always know where your application stands against HEE's 35-point scale.
Read the official HEE self-assessment and verification guidance for the full source criteria.
Evidence — Primary Medical Qualification certificate showing date and awarding school. If claiming a deduction for statutory leave, part-time working, or military duties, you'll need written explanation and — for part-time — a worked calculation (e.g. 4 years FT + 4 years at 60% = 6.4 years).
Domain — Surgical Competence
Evidence — Summary logbook, plus 3 WBAs at your claimed level (2 consultant-signed, level 3/4) and 3 WBAs at the level below (2 consultant-signed). Only lead-surgeon cases count (P/PPT/PAT/STU/STS) — not assisted or observed. A nailbed repair itself doesn't score, but it's the "level below" evidence for extensor tendon repair.
Evidence — Percentages refer to the TBSA you personally excised and grafted, not the total burn TBSA. The area must have been skin grafted, allografted, or covered with a substitute (Integra/Matriderm/BTM) — dressings alone don't score. Annotate WBAs accordingly (e.g. "excised 10% TBSA of a 70% burn, covered with Integra"). Non-burn wounds don't score here.
Evidence — Skin malignancy means a neoplastic lesion (BCC, SCC, melanoma, Merkel cell) where a margin needs marking. Only sentinel nodes for skin malignancy score — SLNB for breast or other cancers is excluded.
Evidence — Qualification certificate with date and institution, plus a description of hours/week and proportion of research vs study. Intercalated degrees, MRCS, FRCS and FRCS(Plast) do not score. Part-time courses (<37.5 hrs/wk) fall into the "less than 1 year research" band.
Evidence — First and second cycle data collection and presentation, plus a description of the intervention/change made between cycles. ISCP users need an AoA per cycle (or one AoA confirming both); non-ISCP users need written confirmation from their supervising consultant. General audits (VTE risk, record-keeping, handwashing) don't count, even on a plastic surgery ward.
Enter up to your four highest-scoring papers. Principal author scores 100% of the journal's impact factor; any other author position scores 50%. Other formats (letters, case reports, short communications, technical tips) score at 25% — but only if you're the principal author.
Evidence — Full PubMed citation and impact factor for each paper (JCR Clarivate 2025 list, regardless of publication year). Co-principal authorship must be evidenced by the journal itself; no one below 2nd author counts as principal unless senior author. Collaborative papers don't score here — see below.
Count first-author/presenter posters or presentations at a national or international meeting (e.g. BAPRAS, BSSH, BBA, BAHNO, ASGBI, FESSH) that have already taken place.
Evidence — Meeting name, date, location, and confirmation you were first author/presenter. Regional meetings (RSM, Alcock Society, NPRAS, Welsh Surgical Society) don't count; the Celtic BAPRAS meeting is a recognised exception. Each piece of work can only score once, however many times it was presented.
Have you been named on the author list of two or more collaborative papers?
Evidence — Author list showing your inclusion on each collaborative paper, with publication details, PubMed citation and impact factor score.
Have you been Principal Investigator on a formal NIHR-approved (or equivalent) trial?
Evidence — Principal Investigator certificate confirming your participation.
Scored by assessors on the day — estimate how well-organised and complete your portfolio is likely to present.
Your self-assessment score gets you shortlisted — the interview is what secures the number. This question bank covers every station with realistic scenarios, model answers, and interviewer-level frameworks.
