Recognition
Make existing responsibilities and contributions visible, with a clear description of their scope and impact.
Practical career development
SAS recognition & progression toolkit
Describe the work you do. Connect it to evidence. Identify what you need next, and prepare a clear discussion with the people who can make decisions.
Build your discussion brief ↓Start with the outcome you need
Job planning
Prepare a discussion about agreed duties, time, resources and support. Use the linked contracts guide for the governing arrangements.
Career progression
Organise evidence against the relevant role and national or local process. A well-prepared portfolio supports a discussion; it does not guarantee appointment or regrading.
Three separate questions
What work do I do? What contractual role or development opportunity am I seeking? Am I seeking specialist registration? Keep these questions separate: a job title, a scope of practice and an entry on the Specialist Register are different things.
A worked example
Illustrative only: a doctor who coordinates ward teaching might record the teaching responsibility, identify a timetable and anonymised feedback as evidence, note preparation time as a gap, and ask for a job-plan discussion. The next action could be for the clinical manager and doctor to review the workload by an agreed date. Actual evidence and applicable arrangements must be checked.
Your working notes stay on this page.
Entries are not submitted or automatically saved. Download or copy your brief before refreshing or closing the page. Use anonymised evidence references, not patient details or confidential records.
What do you want to achieve?
Build your evidence map
These are organising prompts, not an official capability framework. Map your material to the actual criteria recorded above. Mark irrelevant areas as “Not applicable” and explain why.
0 of 6 areas have both a contribution and an evidence reference. This is a note-completion count, not a readiness score.
Clinical responsibility and judgement
What decisions do you make, within what agreed scope, and when do you seek help?
Example: anonymised service activity summary, agreed scope of practice or supervisor feedback.Education and supervision
Who do you teach or supervise, how often, and what feedback or outcomes show the contribution?
Example: teaching timetable, learner feedback or an educational role description.Leadership and governance
What do you lead, what authority do you hold and who is accountable for the decisions?
Example: role terms of reference, governance minutes or an agreed improvement action.Quality improvement and service development
What changed because of your work, and what evidence supports the change?
Example: project summary with baseline, intervention, results and limitations.Teamwork and professional contribution
How do you coordinate care, support colleagues and contribute across professional boundaries?
Example: anonymised multisource feedback or a pathway contribution.Development and sustainability
What learning, protected time, resources or support would enable the next step?
Example: PDP objective, completed learning or a documented request for support.Prepare the request and next steps
Before the meeting, these are proposed actions. Update them afterwards to reflect what was agreed, including who will respond and by when.
Your discussion brief
Review the wording before sharing. Blank fields are labelled “To complete”; the tool does not infer achievements or make a case on your behalf.
Discussion brief
SAS RECOGNITION & PROGRESSION — DISCUSSION BRIEF Preparation aid; not an eligibility assessment or official application. Nation: [To complete] Purpose: [To complete] Current role: [To complete] Scope and responsibilities: [To complete] Applicable criteria / policy / version: [To complete] Decision or support requested: [To complete] Meeting / decision-maker: [To complete] EVIDENCE MAP Clinical responsibility and judgement Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] Education and supervision Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] Leadership and governance Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] Quality improvement and service development Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] Teamwork and professional contribution Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] Development and sustainability Contribution: [To complete] Evidence reference: [To complete] Status: Not reviewed Gap / support needed: [To complete] AGREED OR PROPOSED ACTIONS 1. [To complete] Owner: [To complete] Target date: [To complete] MEETING FOLLOW-UP Record the decision, reasons, outstanding evidence, review date and who will provide the written response. Distinguish proposed actions from agreed actions. Prepared using SAS Doctors Review: https://sasdoctors.com/sas-recognition-progression Keep this document securely. Do not include patient identifiers or confidential colleague information.
Use the right guidance alongside your evidence
Specialist-grade preparation
Connect the role, service need and capability evidence.
Contracts & job planning
Identify which terms and local arrangements govern your work.
Specialist registration
Explore the separate registration pathway and evidence requirements.
Appraisal & development
Connect reflection and agreed development objectives.
Free ClinicalEdu learning
Choose learning that addresses an identified development need.
Your UK nation
Start with the arrangements applying where you work.
Primary-source starting points
- NHS Employers: Specialist-grade resources and readiness checklist ↗
- NHS Employers: Specialist readiness checklist (PDF) ↗
- NHS Wales: current employment policy index, including regrading ↗
- NIMDTA: Specialist-grade development support ↗
Source links checked 18 October 2026. The six organising areas are original editorial prompts, not an official assessment framework. Confirm the current criteria, jurisdiction and local process before using this brief for a formal application. No eligibility score, accreditation or automatic entitlement is implied.