Occ Med ST3 Self-Assessment 2027: Points & Calculator

Occupational Medicine ST3 scores your self-assessment across nine domains. The guidance gives no total, but the domain maxima (1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2 and 4) add up to 29. The score works as a shortlisting filter first: “we may shortlist out candidates whose self-assessment score is too far away from the interview capacity cut off”, and “The top scoring applicants will then be invited to upload their achievements”, which a senior occupational health physician verifies. Round 2 applications for the August 2027 intake run from 10am on Thursday 19 November until 4pm on Thursday 10 December 2026, and your scores are fixed the moment you submit.

Occ Med ST3 self-assessment points at a glance

2027 criteria, page last reviewed 18 September 2026 Last checked 12 October 2026

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 29.

No total is stated; 29 is the sum of the nine domain maxima. The self-assessment is used to shortlist: "we may shortlist out candidates whose self-assessment score is too far away from the interview capacity cut off" and "The top scoring applicants will then be invited to upload their achievements". Final ranking: "A combination of your verified evidence scores, prioritisation task scores and scores at interview will be used to determine your final total score and ranking" (weights not published). Appointability: "currently 70% of the total weighted score".

Occ Med ST3: every domain, what scores and the maximum
Domain	What scores (official wording)	Max
Postgraduate medical qualifications	1 point DOccMed (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 1 point. Only the DOccMed scores. "Membership of or passing other colleges’ exams do NOT count toward scores in this domain."	1
Prizes and awards	2 points You were awarded a Distinction during your undergraduate medical training or post grad qualification (score: 2) 1 point You were awarded a Prize or Merit during your undergraduate medical training or post grad qualification (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2 points. Both scoring statements tie the award to "your undergraduate medical training or post grad qualification". "awards and prizes before entering higher education do not count toward score in this domain."	2
Clinical governance	4 points Any of the following: Evidence of chairing a national committee relevant to medicine or health and safety with various external stakeholders OR, Evidence of leading on developing a national policy relevant to medicine or health and safety, including confirmation from the body / organisation which owns the policy. OR, For audit or QI projects, ALL the following should be met: You have led a significant postgraduate audit or QI project AND, You significantly contributed to ALL aspects of the project AND, The project findings resulted in making recommendations to improve AND, There is at least a second round of the project to close the loop AND, The result was presented at least at a local meeting (score: 4) 3 points Any of the following: Evidence of chairing a regional committee / or significant contribution to a national committee relevant to medicine or health and safety with various external stakeholders OR, Evidence of leading on developing a regional policy / or significant contribution to a national policy relevant to medicine or health and safety including confirmation from the body / organisation which owns the policy. OR, For audit or QI projects, ALL the following should be met: You significantly contributed to more than one aspect of the project excluding data collection at post grad level The project findings resulted in making recommendations to improve There is at least a second round of the project to close the loop The result was presented at least at a local meeting (score: 3) 2 points Any of the following: Evidence of chairing a local (i.e. hospital, employer level) committee / or significant contribution to a regional committee relevant to medicine or health and safety with various external stakeholders OR, Evidence of leading on developing a local (i.e. hospital, employer level) policy / or significant contribution to a regional policy relevant to medicine or health and safety including confirmation from the body / organisation which owns the policy. OR, For audit or QI projects, ALL the following should be met: You significantly contributed to at least one aspect of the project, apart from data collection, at post grad level OR led an undergrad project The project findings resulted in making recommendations to improve The result was presented at least at a local meeting (score: 2) 1 point Any of the following: Evidence of significant contribution to a local (i.e. hospital, employer level) committee relevant to medicine or health and safety OR, Evidence of significant contribution to developing a local (i.e. hospital, employer level) policy OR, For audit or QI projects, evidence that you contributed to at least one aspect of the project, apart from data collection, at post grad level OR significantly contributed to an undergrad project (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Audit and QI presentations are scored here, not under Presentations or Posters: "if you have completed an audit, presented it as slide set and then as a poster, you will be only scored in domain 3 under Clinical Governance, but not under domain 7 Presentations or domain 8 Posters."	4
Academic research	4 points Completion of a PhD or MD with original research (score: 4) 3 points Any of the following: Completion of an MSc with original research OR, You led a research project relevant to medicine or health and safety and significantly contributed to ALL aspects of the project (score: 3) 2 points You have significantly contributed to at least one aspect of a research project apart from data collection at postgraduate level (score: 2) 1 point Any of the following: You have contributed to at least one aspect of a research project, apart from data collection, at postgraduate level OR, You have made a significant contributed to a research project at undergrad level (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. "published research can be used for domain 4 Academic Research and domain 6 Academic Publications" (one of the stated exceptions to single-domain scoring).	4
Teaching	4 points You have a recognised qualification in teaching, for example, a post graduate certificate, Diploma, or Masters in Medical Education (score: 4) 3 points Any of the following: You have attended a "Teaching the Teachers" course OR, You regularly delivered formal teaching (e.g. lectures) at a recognised course OR, You have organised a teaching programme at national level (score: 3) 2 points Any of the following: You delivered occasional formal teaching at a course OR, You have organised a teaching programme for healthcare professionals or healthcare students at a regional level (score: 2) 1 point Any of the following: You have carried out informal teaching (including nurses or medical students) OR, You have organised a teaching programme at a regional level (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. The scoring table and the evidence notes disagree. Table 3 scores 'You have attended a "Teaching the Teachers" course' at 3. The evidence notes say "attending a course does not attract any score under teaching (except “Train the Trainer” courses)", but also "To receive a score for the Teaching domain, you require evidence of being involved in teaching and not attending as an attendee or student" and "Attendance at a course or simple presentation of a topic without a teaching element will not count toward scores in this domain."	4
Academic publications	4 points You am first author in more than one peer-reviewed publication (score: 4) 3 points Any of the following: You are the first author in one peer-reviewed postgraduate publication OR, You are listed as an author in more than one peer-reviewed postgraduate publication (score: 3) 2 points Any of the following: You are listed as an author in one peer-reviewed postgraduate publication OR, You are the first author in more than one peer-reviewed undergraduate publication (score: 2) 1 point You are listed as an author in one peer-reviewed undergraduate publication (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Abstracts and presentation slides do not count: "Abstracts, links to the publication, full research project ..., slides of a presentation of research project do not count toward scores in this domain."	4
Presentations (excluding audit presentations)	4 points You have presented at an international meeting on a medical or health and safety topic (score: 4) 3 points You have presented at a, national meeting on a medical or health and safety topic (score: 3) 2 points You have presented at a regional meeting on a medical or health and safety topic (score: 2) 1 point You have presented at a local meeting on a medical or health and safety topic (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. "Posters, presentations of an audit or quality improvement project, presentations for the purpose of teaching, presentations without an event programme or accompanying letter or on a subject that is not related to a medical or health and safety topic will NOT count toward scores in this domain." "If you have completed more than one national presentation, there is no requirement to include all of them and one is sufficient".	4
Posters	2 points You have presented a poster at a national or international meeting on an academic subject or another subject related to medicine or a health and safety topic (score: 2) 1 point You have presented a poster at a regional or local meeting on an academic subject or another subject related to medicine or a health and safety topic (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2 points. Posters are a separate domain from oral presentations. "In general, the same evidence will not be scored in more than one domain."	2
Self-reflective practice	4 points Evidence of full reflection covering all aspects of reflective practice on more than one occasion, at least one of which was relating to an aspect of occupational health (score: 4) 3 points Evidence of full reflection covering all aspects of reflective practice on one occasion relating to an aspect of occupational health (score: 3) 2 points Evidence of reflection covering some aspects of reflective practice on at least one occasion relating to an aspect of occupational health (score: 2) 1 point Evidence of reflection covering some aspects of reflective practice on at least one occasion (score: 1) 0 points None of the above (score: 0) Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. "To receive a score under Reflection, we require evidence of your reflection on the learning from the course."	4
Total	Not published as a single figure: this is the sum of the domain maxima.	29

Dates for this round

18 November 2026, 5pm Advert appears source
19 November 2026, 10am Applications open source
10 December 2026, 4pm Applications close (scores locked on submission) source
5 January 2027 Evidence upload portal opens source
11 January 2027 Evidence upload portal closes source
12 February 2027 Evidence verification results and appeals window opens source
15 February 2027 Appeal window closes source
19 March 2027 Interview source
12 April 2027 Initial offers released expected source

What you can still add before 10 December 2026

What each of these adds is the difference between the option you would reach and the one you already hold, so it can be nothing if you hold that option already. The calculator works out the gain from your own answers.

Clinical governance. If you already have a finished audit or QI project with recommendations that has not yet been presented, presenting it (for example at NMERC on 14 Nov 2026) can complete the 'presented at least at a local meeting' condition for tiers 2 to 4. Your role and the closed loop must already be in place. NMERC talks are delivered on 14 Nov 2026, before the window opens on 19 Nov. "You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application."
Teaching. Attend an Erudical Teach the Teacher live day (09:00 to 17:00, 6 hours of live teaching) and have the certificate before you submit. The self-paced course certificate can be added to the same evidence file. Gets you to: Teaching the Teachers course, regular formal teaching, or national programme organiser. "You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application." Applications close 4pm Thu 10 Dec 2026; certificates are emailed after the course has run, so leave time for yours to arrive before you submit.
Presentations (excluding audit presentations). Submit an abstract to NMERC 2026 (free, at nmerc.org/submit) and deliver the talk online on Sat 14 Nov 2026, before the window opens on 19 Nov. Keep the slide deck; the NMERC programme names every presenting author. Gets you to: National meeting presentation. NMERC 2026 is online on Sat 14 Nov 2026. "You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application."
Posters. Present a poster at NMERC 2026 (online on 14 Nov 2026; submit at nmerc.org/submit). Use different work from any NMERC oral you claim. Gets you to: National or international poster. NMERC 2026 is online on Sat 14 Nov 2026. "You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application."
Self-reflective practice. Write a reflection on a CPD event you attend before submitting (for example an Erudical course day or NMERC). Covering all aspects of reflective practice on an occupational health topic reaches 3; any topic with some aspects reaches 1. Gets you to: Partial reflection, any topic. Start by 10 December 2026. "You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application." Applications close 4pm Thu 10 Dec 2026.

Evidence traps

Your self-score is fixed when you press submit. Anything you finish afterwards, even before the window closes, can't be added. You cannot submit evidence or adjust your scores after your application is submitted. ... You will also not be able to amend your scores if you gained an achievement after the submission of your application. source
An audit presented as a talk or poster earns Clinical governance points only, never Presentations or Posters points. if you have completed an audit, presented it as slide set and then as a poster, you will be only scored in domain 3 under Clinical Governance, but not under domain 7 Presentations or domain 8 Posters. source
A presentation scores only with an event programme naming you as presenter, or a formal letter from the organiser or chair. Posters, presentations of an audit or quality improvement project, presentations for the purpose of teaching, presentations without an event programme or accompanying letter or on a subject that is not related to a medical or health and safety topic will NOT count toward scores in this domain. source
Missing evidence for a domain means zero for that domain, and late uploads are ignored. If you fail to upload your supporting evidence for any domain, you will not be awarded any points in that domain. source
Photos of you presenting or receiving a prize are not evidence. Please do not submit photos of yourself presenting, teaching or receiving an award as we cannot verify the individual in the photo source

Sources

2027 Occupational Medicine ST3 Self-assessment Guidance, Heading '2027 Occupational Medicine ST3 Self-assessment Guidance'; page last reviewed 18 September 2026; next review due 18 September 2028
Occupational Medicine ST3 recruitment timelines, Round 2; page last reviewed 1 October 2026
Overview of Occupational Medicine, Page last reviewed 4 June 2026 (text still says 'the 2026 Occupational Medicine recruitment process')
Occupational Medicine interviews, Page last reviewed 29 July 2026
Occupational Medicine benchmarking, ranking and preferencing, Page last reviewed 4 June 2026
Occupational Medicine ST3 2027 person specification, Person specification and entry criteria for Occupational Medicine ST3 2027 recruitment
2025 Competition ratios, Round 2 table: Occupational Medicine ST3, Applications 119, Posts 7, Competition ratio 17.00

Points you can still earn before 4pm on 10 December

Five domains can still move for most applicants, and three of them turn on dates in November. Teaching offers the biggest gain: the scoring table puts having attended a “Teaching the Teachers” course in the 3-point band, so an Erudical live day gains 2 if your best is informal teaching and 3 from nothing, provided the verifier accepts it (more on that below). Presentations and Posters are separate domains, and NMERC, delivered online on Saturday 14 November, can gain up to 3 for a national talk and up to 2 for a national poster, as long as each uses different work. Self-reflective practice is the easiest domain to fill late, because a written reflection on a CPD event you attend before submitting, such as a course day or NMERC itself, gains 1 from a blank on any topic, or 3 if it is a full reflection on an aspect of occupational health. Clinical governance can rise too if you have a finished audit or QI project, with your role and recommendations already in place (and, for 3 or 4, a second round that closes the loop), that has never been presented: presenting it, at NMERC or a local meeting, completes the condition that “The result was presented at least at a local meeting”, which tiers 2 to 4 all require. Qualifications, prizes, research and publications are realistically settled by now, since a DOccMed result or a peer-reviewed acceptance is unlikely to arrive in time unless it’s already due.

Occupational Medicine evidence rules that cost points

Three rules account for most of the points lost in this specialty. The first is timing: “You can only claim a score based on achievements completed by the point of submission of your application”, and you “will also not be able to amend your scores if you gained an achievement after the submission of your application”, even while the window is still open. The second is the single-domain rule, “In general, the same evidence will not be scored in more than one domain.” Audit work is the sharpest case, because “if you have completed an audit, presented it as slide set and then as a poster, you will be only scored in domain 3 under Clinical Governance, but not under domain 7 Presentations or domain 8 Posters.” Published research is the stated exception and can score in both Academic research and Academic publications. The third is the quality of the evidence: a talk needs the slide deck plus a programme that lists you as the presenter, or failing that a formal letter from the organiser or chair; photos of you presenting or receiving an award are refused because the panel “cannot verify the individual in the photo”; and a domain with no evidence uploaded scores nothing. Each domain also has a short justification box (100 words for qualifications and prizes, 300 for reflection and 250 for the rest), but “the main justification for each score is the evidence you submit”, and over-claiming “could be reported as a probity matter to the GMC”.

Worked example: an IMT2 doctor at 8 out of 29

Picture an IMT2 doctor with a merit from medical school, a single-cycle audit in which they designed the data collection tool, made recommendations and presented the results locally, informal bedside teaching of students, co-authorship of one undergraduate paper, a local talk, a regional poster and one short written reflection. Against the 2027 tables they score:

Postgraduate medical qualifications: 0, because they have no DOccMed and other college exams don’t count here.
Prizes and awards: 1, for a merit during undergraduate training.
Clinical governance: 2, for one aspect beyond data collection, with recommendations and a local presentation. Without a second round closing the loop, it can’t go higher.
Academic research: 0.
Teaching: 1, for informal teaching.
Academic publications: 1, as an author on one peer-reviewed undergraduate paper.
Presentations: 1, for a local meeting.
Posters: 1, for a regional poster.
Self-reflective practice: 1, for some aspects of reflection on one occasion.

That totals 8 of a possible 29. Before 10 December, two changes are within reach. An Erudical Teach the Teacher certificate, in hand before submitting, moves Teaching from 1 to 3 if the verifying physician accepts it as a Teaching the Teachers course, a gain of 2. A non-audit talk on a medical topic delivered at NMERC on 14 November lifts Presentations from local (1) to national (3), a further gain of 2. Together they bring this doctor to 12. Had the same NMERC work gone in as a poster instead, Posters would go up by just 1, to 2. A fuller reflection could add to Self-reflective practice as well, although the verifier decides whether a reflection on the course you claim under Teaching also scores.

Score your own Occupational Medicine self-assessment

Choose the statement that matches your evidence in each of the nine domains, and the calculator adds them up and shows the gain from anything you can still finish before 10 December. We’ll show your result and email you a copy.

Go to the Occ Med ST3 calculator at the top of this page

For a printable copy of all nine tables with the Round 2 dates, add your email and the PDF comes straight to your inbox.

Email me the printable version

Does a teach the teacher course count for Occ Med ST3?

We claim it at 3 points in Domain 5, Teaching, and the verifying physician has the final say. The 3-point statement reads “You have attended a ‘Teaching the Teachers’ course OR, You regularly delivered formal teaching (e.g. lectures) at a recognised course OR, You have organised a teaching programme at national level (score: 3)”. The evidence notes pull in two directions. One supports the claim, saying “attending a course does not attract any score under teaching (except “Train the Trainer” courses)”. Another cuts against it: “To receive a score for the Teaching domain, you require evidence of being involved in teaching and not attending as an attendee or student.” We read the table and the Train the Trainer exception as covering a teach the teacher course, so upload the certificate and say plainly in the 250-word box that it is a Teaching the Teachers course. The Erudical live day (09:00 to 17:00) gives “6 hours of live teaching with an expert”, and if you’ve also completed the self-paced modules (20 of them, over 12 hours), put that certificate in the same evidence file. The guidance sets no length or format for the course. Have the certificate before you press submit, which must happen by 4pm on 10 December 2026. Live days before then: 24 October, 31 October, 7 November, 15 November, 28 November and 5 December. The course adds 0 if you already hold that tier or higher: a recognised teaching qualification such as a PG Cert, Diploma or Masters in Medical Education already scores 4, and regular formal teaching at a recognised course or organising a national programme already scores 3. From informal teaching it gains 2, and from nothing it gains 3. See our comparison of teaching points by specialty for how the same course fares elsewhere.

Teaching you deliver scores here as well. “You regularly delivered formal teaching (e.g. lectures) at a recognised course” sits in the 3-point band and “You delivered occasional formal teaching at a course” scores 2, evidenced with something like a letter from the course organiser and the feedback you received. Erudical is always looking for teachers for its Teach the Teacher course: contact us. NMERC and Erudical roles may qualify. See the NMERC and Erudical websites and contact us for details.

Presenting at NMERC on 14 November

The online NMERC conference is on Saturday 14 November 2026, before the Occupational Medicine window has even opened, so a talk or poster given there is already complete when you submit. It costs nothing to present, doctors and medical students from anywhere can send an abstract, and abstracts can be submitted at nmerc.org/submit. An oral counts under Presentations, where “You have presented at a, national meeting on a medical or health and safety topic (score: 3)”, and a poster under Posters, where “You have presented a poster at a national or international meeting on an academic subject or another subject related to medicine or a health and safety topic (score: 2)”. Your gain is that figure minus what you already hold in the domain, so a doctor whose best talk was local (1) gains 2, and one with no poster gains 2 from a poster. Three conditions decide whether it counts. The subject must be medical or health and safety, and “The relevance of the subject will be decided by the verifying OH physician.” It can’t be an audit or QI project or a teaching session, since “Posters, presentations of an audit or quality improvement project, presentations for the purpose of teaching” are among the items that “will NOT count toward scores in this domain”; an audit you present at NMERC scores under Clinical governance instead. And a talk and a poster need to be different pieces of work. For evidence, the guidance asks for the slide deck “AND a copy of the event programme clearly demonstrating your name as the presenter”. NMERC’s programme carries the name of each presenting author, the letter and abstract book set out every co-author in author order, and presenters also get a certificate. Presenting your own work there doesn’t earn Teaching points, and an abstract may not be accepted.

Occupational Medicine ST3 self-assessment questions

How many points is the Occupational Medicine ST3 self-assessment out of?

The nine domain maxima add up to 29, though the guidance itself never states a total. Your self-score decides whether you’re invited to upload evidence, and the verified score then joins your prioritisation task score and interview score: “A combination of your verified evidence scores, prioritisation task scores and scores at interview will be used to determine your final total score and ranking”. The weights between those three parts aren’t published. The benchmarking page puts the appointability line at “currently 70% of the total weighted score”.

Do posters and presentations both count in Occupational Medicine ST3?

Yes, as two separate domains. An oral scores 1 at a local meeting, 2 regional, 3 national and 4 international, while a poster scores 1 at a local or regional meeting and 2 at a national or international one. The same piece of work is normally scored once, so pick the domain where it earns more, and audit or QI work belongs in Clinical governance whichever format you used. If you have several national talks, “one is sufficient”.

When do I upload evidence for Occupational Medicine ST3?

After the window closes, if your self-score earns an invitation. The evidence portal, on Qpercom, is open from 5 to 11 January 2027, and files should be “Clearly named files with the scoring domain name appearing first, followed by a description of the document”, as PDF, JPEG or PNG, one file per document. Verification results come out on Friday 12 February 2027 with an appeal window that closes on Monday 15 February, and interviews are on Friday 19 March 2027, online, as one station of about 35 minutes split into Portfolio and Scenario parts.

How competitive is Occupational Medicine ST3?

Round 2 in 2025 drew 119 applications for 7 Occupational Medicine ST3 posts, a competition ratio of 17.00. The recruitment covers England and Scotland. Shortlisting compares self-scores with interview capacity, and no cut-off score is published, so claim every point your evidence supports before you submit.

Occupational Medicine ST3 self-assessment 2027: points calculator and scoring guide

Occ Med ST3 points calculator