OMFS ST1 Self-Assessment: Planning ahead to maximise your score
OMFS ST1 application includes a portfolio self-assessment. As an applicant you will score yourself against pre-determined criteria and submit evidence to support this. The score you receive will be combined with your interview to determine your ranking.
This post highlights the main areas where you can build your CV to maximise your score.
The self-assessment has recently changed for the August 2027 entry. It’s always worth checking the up to date application summary each year to see if anything new has been added.
Scoring criteria:
MRCS and MFDS – up to 4 points for completing both examinations.
OMFS experience and engagement – including an OMFS elective, OMFS clinical/on-call experience, BAOMS membership and BAOMS second-degree bursary projects.
Surgical courses – up to 5 points for general surgical courses and a further 5 points for OMFS-specific courses.
OMFS surgical experience – up to 15 points based on your validated logbook, covering dentoalveolar surgery, trauma and other OMFS procedures.
Other surgical experience – up to 5 points for experience in surgical specialties outside OMFS.
Postgraduate qualifications – including research degrees and relevant postgraduate diplomas/certificates.
Prizes and awards – national prizes related to medicine, high achievement in medical or dental degree (Honours/distinction)
Audit and quality improvement – up to 5 points, with greater scores for completing two cycles and demonstrating leadership.
Presentations – up to 5 points for an invited/selected oral presentation at a national or international meeting and points for poster presentations
Publications – up to 5 points, particularly for first-author PubMed-cited original research.
Collaborative research – points are available for steering committee, site lead, local collaborator and data collector roles.
Medical education – qualifications such as a PGCert, PGDip or MSc can score points, alongside postgraduate teaching experience.
Leadership and management – national, regional and local leadership roles can score up to 5 points depending on the level and demonstrable impact. Can be medical or non- medical
Outstanding achievement – significant achievements outside medicine can score an additional point.
A few reflections and tips:
Start early: Everything you put on the application needs to be completed, if you are halfway through the second cycle of an audit that will only count as a single cycle audit.
Get things started early so you can finish and then maximise your points
Put any surgical experience on your ePortfolio/Surgical Logbook - put down any cases you have assisted/performed including during medical or dental school. The scoring system rewards both volume of cases and range of specialties. Also think about how you are going to verify the cases.
Have a look at the list of courses that score points and sign up to them (especially if you have a study budget to use) and don’t forget to keep a certificate saved somewhere for your evidence.
Don’t forget to pick up the easy points. Being a BAOMS member gets you the same number of points as working being on the second on call rota in your local hospital - one is slightly more time consuming than the other!
For further information on the application process and the self-assessment visit:
Link to the self-scoring assessment
Justin Brown
University of Leeds JTG Rep
