Teaching is one of the most dependable ways to score points on a UK specialty training application — and one of the most widely misunderstood. Plenty of doctors teach medical students every week and assume that experience alone will score. It usually won’t. What the self-assessment frameworks reward is evidence of structured teaching training: a recognised course, a certificate, and ideally proof you have applied the skills. This guide explains how teaching points work for Internal Medicine Training (IMT) and ST3 applications, what actually counts, how many points are realistically on offer, and the fastest legitimate route to securing yours.
How teaching is scored on IMT and ST3 applications
Each specialty publishes a self-assessment scoring framework alongside its person specification. The teaching domain typically distinguishes between teaching experience (having taught) and training in teaching (having completed a course or qualification). The points sit with the latter. In recent years the scoring has tightened: a short “teach the teacher” or train-the-trainer course generally scores at the entry level, while the top of the scale is reserved for a formal postgraduate qualification such as a PGCert or diploma in medical education.
Because these frameworks are revised annually, treat any specific number as indicative and always confirm against the current year’s self-assessment guidance for your specialty. The structural logic, however, has been stable: a recognised teaching course is the accessible way to move from zero to a point in this domain.
Experience vs training — why the distinction matters
Delivering bedside teaching or a few medical-student tutorials demonstrates experience, but on its own it rarely scores, because it is hard to verify and easy to claim. A course gives the assessor something concrete: a dated certificate from a named provider, ideally CPD accredited. That is why doctors who teach regularly are often surprised to score nothing in this domain until they complete a formal course.
What counts as evidence?
When you self-assess, you are committing to evidence you can produce at interview or verification. For the teaching domain that usually means:
- A certificate of completion from a recognised teaching course.
- CPD accreditation for that course, signalling it meets a quality standard.
- Evidence you have applied the skills — a taught session with feedback, a reflective note, or a peer/student evaluation.
The strongest submissions pair the certificate with a short reflective piece showing you taught after the course and improved. That demonstrates the cycle assessors look for: training, application, reflection.
How many points can a teaching course earn?
For most recent IMT and ST3 cycles, a recognised teach-the-teacher course has contributed a single point in the teaching domain, with the higher tier requiring a PGCert or diploma. A point may sound small, but specialty competition is decided at the margins — applicants are frequently separated by one or two self-assessment points, so the teaching point is rarely worth leaving on the table. Confirm the exact weighting for your specialty and year before you rely on it.
Your three routes to the teaching point
1. A postgraduate qualification (PGCert / diploma)
The gold standard, and the only route to the top tier of the teaching score. The trade-off is obvious: a PGCert is a year or more of part-time study and often several thousand pounds. Worth it if you are committed to medical education as a career; overkill if you simply need to secure the point for this application round.
2. A classroom train-the-trainer course
Traditional one- or two-day face-to-face courses score the point, but they are expensive (commonly £390 and up) and inflexible — you have to find a date that fits your rota, travel, and lose a clinical day.
3. An online, CPD-accredited teach the teacher course
The pragmatic middle ground. A well-designed online course covers the same syllabus as a classroom train-the-trainer day — adult learning theory, objective setting, feedback, and planning bedside, small-group and large-group teaching — at a fraction of the cost and on your own schedule. Erudical’s teach the teacher course for doctors is built for exactly this: over 12 hours of content, CPD accredited, completed whenever and wherever suits you.
How to choose a teaching course that actually scores
Not every course labelled “teach the teacher” will satisfy an assessor. Use this checklist:
- CPD accreditation — confirm it, and note the date from which the provider has been accredited.
- A formal certificate of completion you can attach to your portfolio.
- A syllabus that matches a train-the-trainer course — adult learning theory, feedback models, lesson planning, and multiple teaching settings.
- Enough depth — a 30-minute webinar will not convince an assessor; look for substantial content (12+ hours is well above a typical two-day course).
- Flexibility that fits your rota, so you actually finish before the application window closes.
Timing: don’t leave it to the deadline
Applicants routinely lose the teaching point not because they couldn’t earn it, but because they ran out of time. Self-paced online courses remove the date problem, but you still need to allow time to complete the modules, sit any assessments, and ideally deliver a teaching session you can reflect on. Start at least a few weeks before the self-assessment closes. If you want a guide to the wider IMT timeline, see our IMT 2026 update.
How to evidence your teaching point properly
Once you have completed a course, keep everything: the certificate, the date, and the provider details. Then strengthen it: deliver a short teaching session, collect written feedback or a peer evaluation, and write a brief reflection on what you changed. File these together so that if your self-assessment is verified, your evidence is ready and coherent. For how CPD points map to your portfolio more broadly, see our guide to CPD points for teaching.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a PGCert to score teaching points?
No. A PGCert or diploma is required only for the top tier. A recognised teach-the-teacher course is the accessible route to securing a point without committing to a year of study.
Does the course have to be CPD accredited?
Accreditation is a strong quality signal and is recommended. Erudical has been CPD accredited since November 2020.
Will teaching medical students count on its own?
Usually not for the points — that is teaching experience, not training in teaching. Pair your experience with a recognised course to score.
How long does an online course take?
Erudical’s course is over 12 hours of content, self-paced, with six weeks of access (extendable), so most doctors complete it comfortably around clinical commitments.
Ready to secure your teaching point? Enrol on the CPD-accredited Teach the Teacher course for doctors and complete it in your own time.
