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NHS doctor application checklist: what to check before you submit

By the Health Job Scout team · 5 min read · Fact-checked 22 October 2026

Most applications that fail don't fail on the big things. They fail on a missed criterion, a rushed screening answer, a date that doesn't match, or a statement that could be anyone's. This checklist pulls together what our other guides cover so you can run through it in ten minutes before you submit. It is our checklist, not an official one.

1. The post

• Read the job description and the person specification, not just the title. Our guide to NHS job titles explains why the title alone can mislead.
• Check whether it is a training post or a trust-employed one, and whether that is what you want.
• Note the closing date, and apply well before it.

2. Eligibility

• Go through the essential criteria one by one. Write next to each the evidence you have. If one asks for NHS experience you don't have, see applying without NHS experience.
• Check your registration and any restrictions that apply. Our post on jobs after PLAB covers the practice setting note.
• Check any courses the advert asks for. See which life support course and whether ACLS and BLS are accepted.

3. Screening questions

• Read each question twice and answer exactly what it asks. See how to answer pre-screening questions honestly.
• For exams, "passed" means you hold a result. See exam questions on applications.
• For "NHS experience", read the wording. An attachment is observation, not employment. See clinical attachments and NHS experience.
• If you aren't sure what a question means, ask the contact on the advert and keep the reply.

4. Employment history

• Every job and period of training is listed with accurate dates. The NHS Employers standard says application forms should ask for your full history and an explanation of gaps, and that unexplained gaps or discrepancies should be explored at interview.
• Every gap has a one-line honest explanation.
• You have a contact for each employer, because employers seek references to validate your recent history. See how to write your employment history.
• Your home-country jobs are described by what you did, not renamed. See describing your house job.

5. Skills and statements

• Your procedures list states what you did and at what level. See the procedures and skills question.
• Each paragraph of your statement answers a criterion with a specific example from your own work.
• If a question asks about your areas for development, your answer has an action and a result. See areas for development.

6. Honesty and AI

• You could talk through every claim, with an example, if someone asked. Applications are checked, and the NHS Counter Fraud Authority lists claiming qualifications or experience you don't have as NHS staff fraud. See why honesty matters.
• If you used AI, you checked every fact and the text sounds like you. One NHS trust says generic, over-processed applications may not be shortlisted. See using AI for applications.
• No patient details appear anywhere in the application.

7. Final checks

• Spelling and grammar, ideally read aloud.
• Names, dates and numbers match your documents.
• Your contact details and email address are correct.
• You have saved a copy of your answers, the advert and the person specification.

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