Route navigator

Start with the decision you need

If the immediate question is how to develop within your present role, begin with T01, T02 and a career meeting. Identify the capability or opportunity and the person who can authorise support. You do not need to presume a grade outcome to have that discussion.

If you are applying for an advertised Specialist post, obtain the current job description, person specification and application instructions. Check the applicable conditions, describe your relevant scope and map evidence to the actual role. Use T11 before submission.

If you are asking whether present work can be recognised through regrading, first establish whether a relevant process applies to your nation, contract and circumstances. Use the controlling policy and required form, rather than a colleague's account of a different process. The national orientation in chapter 5 points to the sources; it is not an application form.

If no post or route has yet been identified, ask the clinical director and workforce team what decision is possible and who can make it. Keep development worthwhile in its own right, but avoid an indefinite arrangement in which the doctor assumes additional responsibilities without a clear role, support or review.

If your objective is GMC specialist or GP registration, turn to chapter 19 and the separate decision aid. An employment-grade application is not a substitute for registration requirements.

Record your route

Nation contract and intended decision

Your response:

Operative policy or advertisement and version date

Your response:

Workforce contact and unresolved question

Your response:

Bring your employment timeline and current scope to the discussion. If advice conflicts, identify the difference and compare it with the controlling document. This navigator does not determine eligibility or replace the formal process.