Glossary
The terms used across MedicMess, in plain English. Rules on training, CPD and scoring are set by the royal colleges, recruitment offices and the GMC; check their current guidance before relying on a detail.
Conferences and presenting
- Abstract
- A short structured summary of a piece of work (research, audit, quality improvement or a case) submitted to a conference in the hope of presenting it.
- Abstract deadline
- The last date a conference accepts abstracts. Organisers sometimes extend it, so the official page is the final word.
- Oral presentation
- A spoken talk about accepted work, usually a few minutes plus questions. Often scored higher than a poster in specialty applications.
- Poster presentation
- Accepted work shown as a printed or electronic (e-poster) display, sometimes with a short talk beside it.
- Early-bird registration
- A reduced conference fee for booking before a set date.
- Trainee rate
- A reduced fee for doctors in training, and sometimes for students. Eligibility is set by each organiser.
- Hybrid event
- A conference that can be attended in person or online.
Training and applications
- Resident doctor
- A doctor in training below consultant or GP level. The term replaced "junior doctor" in England in 2024.
- Foundation Programme (FY1, FY2)
- The two-year programme doctors in the UK usually start after medical school.
- Core training
- The first stage of specialty training in some routes, such as Internal Medicine Training (IMT) and Core Surgical Training (CST).
- Specialty training (ST)
- Training towards a specialty certificate, numbered by year (ST1, ST3 and so on).
- Round 1
- The main national specialty recruitment round each year, with a fixed application window.
- Self-assessment score
- Points an applicant claims for achievements such as presentations, publications and teaching, checked against evidence. Each specialty publishes its own scoring.
- Portfolio
- The collected evidence of a doctor's training and achievements, used at appraisal and in applications.
CPD and revalidation
- CPD
- Continuing professional development: the learning doctors keep up throughout their careers and reflect on at appraisal.
- CPD credits
- A measure of educational time, awarded by royal colleges and other providers, commonly one credit per hour of learning.
- Appraisal
- A yearly structured review of a doctor's practice and development.
- Revalidation
- The General Medical Council process, normally every five years, that confirms a licensed doctor remains up to date and fit to practise.
- Audit and quality improvement (QI)
- Projects that measure care against a standard, or test changes to improve it. Both are common routes to a first abstract.
Journals and publishing
- Peer review
- Assessment of a submitted paper by independent experts before a journal decides whether to publish it.
- Impact factor
- A journal-level figure: the citations received in one year by what the journal published in the previous two years, divided by the number of citable items it published.
- Indexing
- Whether a journal is listed in databases such as MEDLINE (searched through PubMed). Some applications only score indexed publications.
- Open access
- Published so anyone can read it free of charge.
- APC
- Article processing charge: the fee some open-access journals charge authors to publish.
- Predatory journal or conference
- An outlet that charges fees while offering little or no genuine peer review or audience.