The North West Public Health Taster Session was recorded and is available online here:
https://youtu.be/MnIwubZz07g
The North West School of Public Health currently have newtorks leads for recruitemnt. Contact leads can be contacted via email:- nwsphregistrarreps@gmail.com
We do not currently have work experience or shadowing programmes set up in the North West so this would need to be arranged on an individual basis. It is worth reaching out to individual local authority (council) Public Health teams in your area as some Public Health Consultants will facilitate shadowing opportunities this way. You could also contact Public Health academics in university settings.
Don't forget that Public Health shadowing is not essential to apply, many current Registrars didn’t do this. However, having a chat with different Public Health Registrars or Consultants could give you an insight into day-to-day life in this field.
Advice and experiences
Colleagues in the region wrote three blog posts for the charity Widening Participation Medics Network (WPMN) in 2022 which are free to access here:
· Blog 1 - What is Public Health? "https://www.wpmedicsnetwork.com/post/so-you-want-to-be-a-public-health-consultant-part-1-3"
· Blog 2 - What is the Public Health Specialty Training Scheme? https://www.wpmedicsnetwork.com/post/so-you-want-to-be-a-public-health-consultant-part-2-3
· Blog 3 - How can I prepare for applying to the Public Health Specialty Training Scheme? https://www.wpmedicsnetwork.com/post/so-you-want-to-be-a-public-health-consultant-part-3-3
We can also recommend you watch a talk about life as a Public Health Registrar, available here: https://app.medall.org/contents/v-wpmn-welcomes-working-in-public-health
Applying to the Scheme
One round of recruitment starts in November each year and further details are available here:
https://www.fph.org.uk/training-careers/recruitment/recruitment-information/
Please be aware that we cannot offer any advice about individual eligibility to apply to the scheme. However, the FPH produces a very comprehensive FAQ document which may answer your questions – it can be found on this page: https://www.fph.org.uk/training-careers/recruitment/recruitment-information/additional-information/
Additional Resources
There are also other resources which may be of use to you:
· Choosing to train in public health by R Maini, S Rana and C Tomes
· FPH and NHS careers both have information about careers in public health: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/public-health/roles-public-health and https://www.fph.org.uk/media/2659/specialise-in-the-bigger-picture-booklet-sept-2019v4.pdf
· https://www.fph.org.uk/media/1144/fphsrc_career-profiles-2nd-edition.pdf
· The Faculty of Public Health website is the best source of information on recruitment, including the person specification and dates and structure of assessment and selection centres https://www.fph.org.uk/training-careers/recruitment/
· The ST1 Person Specification is on the Health Education England website. It is important to check the eligibility criteria and ensure you demonstrate how your experience is relevant to population health (make sure you scroll down to the Public Health person specification). You can find the Person Spec here: https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Recruitment/Person-specifications
· You can find more suggested resources in our third blog post (link above)
FAQs
Am I eligible to apply?
Eligibility can change slightly each year so it is important that you visit the Faculty of Public Health Recruitment webpage to ensure you have the most up-to-date information as well as checking the ST1 National Person Specification.
When do you recruit?
Recruitment usually begins in November for posts commencing in the following August. Advertisements for training will be published on NHS Jobs.
Who oversees the recruitment process?
Selection into Public Health Specialty training is currently run by Health Education East Midlands for England, Scotland and Wales. Applications are currently submitted through the Oriel on-line application system.
What does applying involve?
There are a number of stages you will need to go through during the application process.
The first stage:
Demonstrating your eligibility – this is through an online application process.
The second stage – if you are successful at demonstrating your eligibility:
Assessment Centre – this involves a number of computer-based tests in numerical and critical reasoning and situational judgement.
The third stage – the top ranked applicants following the Assessment Centre are then invited to the Selection Centre:
Selection Centre – this is a half-day face-to-face selection process with a minimum standard for passing.
Final stage – those who achieve the minimum standard at the Selection Centre will then be ranked by score and training location preference.
Offers – these are made in meritocratic order with the highest ranked candidate receiving an offer for their first-choice preference.
More detailed information is available via the Faculty of Public Health Website.
Is there anyone I can speak to for more information?
The North West School of Public Health currently have newtorks leads for recruitemnt. Contact leads can be contacted via email:- nwsphregistrarreps@gmail.com
Further information and support
Information on training in Public Health - Podcast Training in Public Health | Podcast on Spotify
For other enquiries about the recruitment and selection process please contact publichealthrecruitment.em@hee.nhs.uk