How is the IMT portfolio scored?
The IMT portfolio is divided into eight sections:
Section 1: Undergraduate degrees
Tips:
- Find your degree certificates with plenty of time in advance.
Section 2: Post-graduate degrees
Tips:
- For those who are considering just taking the MRCP to boost their IMT application – it doesn’t get you any points!
- Consider doing a PGCERT for
Section 3: Prizes and awards
Tips:
- This only includes prizes and awards obtained during medical school or after graduating.
- Presenting a poster at regional/national conferences is easier than you think. ALWAYS offer to perform an oral presentation, as often you can apply to deliver both.
- Even if you didn’t graduate with distinction or merit, you could still score points here. Look at your degree transcripts – if you scored with distinction or merit in a particular exam, you can still score 2 points.
Section 4: Presentations
Tips:
- These are some of the most straightforward and most time-efficient points to get.
- Submitting a poster to a national conference is much easier than you think, and these conferences have low rejection rates. Medical education conferences are a good one to aim for. Consider creating a teaching course for medical students, for example.
- Check out medprojecthub for upcoming conferences where you can submit posters!
- Always offer to perform an oral presentation.
Section 5: Publications
Tips:
- Publications require sustained work over a longer period of time. Think about these earlier on in medical school if you can.
- Collaborative studies are an excellent way to introduce yourself to the world of research – you can find these opportunities on medprojecthub.
Section 6a: Teaching (experience)
Tips:
- Again, this is a portfolio section where you can aim for top points.
- Creating a teaching programme has never been easier due to the rise in popularity of online teaching. Think about this early on in the academic year. Medical students love teaching programmes from junior doctors!
- ALWAYS get feedback for any teaching you do – whether it’s a lecture, tutorial or informal ward-based teaching. Create a QR code that links to your own generic feedback form, which can be used for evidence later on.
Section 6b: Teaching (training)
Tips:
- Many Clinical Teaching Fellow jobs fund a PGCERT in Education – this is an excellent way to get this qualification for free! Read more about this here.
- If you’re applying straight from F2, there are plenty of other free teacher trainer courses available. Bristol University offers a ‘foundations of medical education’ course, which is a two-day course equivalent to 10 credits. Additionally, the Open University offers many free online courses.
Section 7: Quality Improvement
Tips:
- Aim for top points in this section.
- Run a QI project – it can be on something straightforward. Crucially, complete at least 3 PDSA cycles.
- When you’ve completed the project, remember to present it at a local governance meeting and submit it to a conference as a poster/oral presentation.
Section 8: Leadership
Tips:
- Think about applying for Mess President during your foundation years – often there is no maximum number of presidents, so ask the current committee if you can create your role, for example!
- MedProjectHub provides leadership opportunities – you can represent your university or hospital.
Final words
In 2022, the portfolio has become mainly a tool to shortlist candidates for the interviews. However, when several candidates have the same interview score, they are ranked based on their portfolio marking.
Make sure you familiarise yourself with the portfolio requirements as some sections will take a long time to improve.
You might want to read our article on IMT application process next, found here. All tables on this page were taken from the imtrecruitment website. Please visit their page for more details. Y
