Certification of Training and Specialist Training
The RCOphth is responsible for recommending doctors to the General Medical Council (GMC) for inclusion on the Specialist Register. It is a legal requirement to be entered on the Specialist Register before taking up a consultant post in the NHS.
There are three routes to specialist registration:
- CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) – please also visit the GMC website
- CESR (CP) (Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration – Combined Programme) – please also visit the GMC website
- CESR (Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration) – please also visit the GMC website
CCT
CCT is the route for doctors who have completed a full GMC-approved training programme.
CESR (CP)
The CESR (CP) is the route to specialist registration for doctors appointed above ST1 level to a GMC-approved training programme who, at point of entry into the programme, wish to count time spent in previous non GMC-approved posts.
From 1 January 2021, any doctor on a combined programme, whose application for entry to the specialist is approved by the GMC, is eligible for a CCT.
CESR
CESR is the route for doctors who have not completed a GMC-approved training programme but who are able to demonstrate that their specialist training, qualifications and experience are equivalent to the requirements for the award of the CCT in the UK.