This section of the website provides guidance on points that require consideration before applying to IMT, this includes:
- What and where - which specialty you are interested in (ACCS-IM, IMT or both) and in which regions would you consider working. There are two vacancies for IMT/ACCS-IM this round: one covering England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and a separate one for Scotland. An application will only be considered for one of these vacancies.
- Specialties to which to apply - this website only covers the application process to IMT/ACCS-IM. You can find out about the application process for other specialties on the Medical Training Recruitment website.
- Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 - Your priority status will have a major impact on your application at the shortlisting and offers stages. Details of the criteria to be given priority status can be found on the Medical Training Recruitment website. It is not possible to advise candidates on their personal priority status or the likelihood that candidates without priority status will be shortlisted or made an offer. Data has been published by NHS England from 2026 recruitment which details the application numbers and percentage that had priority status. Interview capacity was approximately 3,800-3,900 in 2026 and is anticipated to be similar in 2027. Please note that, whilst previous application numbers and interview capacity may provide useful context, they should not be regarded as a reliable predictor of future application levels.
- When to apply - information about the dates of recruitment rounds can be found on the dates & posts page.
- Where to apply - applications should be made through the Oriel System.
- Applying time - in previous recruitment rounds, candidates have reported spending around 10 hours or more on registering & applying - late applications cannot be accepted - so ensure you have enough time to complete your application and aim to submit it in good time before the deadline.
- Assessment methods - an oveview of how your application will be assessed during the process.
- Information and documentation required - the application form requires you to enter a substantial amount of information about your career, experience and achievements to date. Additionally, you will need to have access to documentation to support your claims, should you be requested to supply it during the process. It is advisable to familiarise yourself with this so you can ensure you have everything you need.
- ACF applicants - if you have applied for an academic clinical fellowship at CT1/ST1 level in a medical specialty, in most cases you will need to also apply to the IMT process to be clinically benchmarked. The page on this area explains how this will affect you during the recruitment process.
- Future recruitment - summary information on recruitment beyond the current year.
Other information
We have published an applicants' guide which can be downloaded from the document library. The guide gives a brief overview of the whole process and is a good starting place for those not familiar with how the process works who want a summary before they start getting into the detail.
In addition to the information provided on this website about the process, there are many other sources from which to get information about specialty training, medical careers, specialties etc. Links to some of these other organisations can be found in the other links section.
As well as these websites, it is advisable to speak to colleagues, such as current ACCS-IM/IMT trainees or supervisors who have some experience of the recruitment process in previous rounds, who can give a more personal insight into applying.