Locuming & appraisal

Give the year a purpose, then build more than one route to suitable work.

• Choose two or three priorities: income, rest, travel, experience, exams or a training application. Protect time for them and leave room to revise your plan.

• Read the person specification for your intended specialty before choosing a long placement. Some entry routes limit previous specialty experience.

• Bank and agency work can be combined. Start with departments that know you, keep your consultant updated and compare the actual support and opportunities available.

• Be realistic about availability. The speakers described a competitive SHO market; travel and flexibility may help, but continuous work and higher rates are not guaranteed.

Pages 2–3 in the attendee PDF

A reusable compliance folder saves time. Local induction makes each new placement safer.

• Keep your CV, identity and right-to-work evidence, GMC details, qualifications, appraisal or ARCP records, DBS information, occupational health clearance, training, references and indemnity together. Check each provider’s exact requirements.

• Ask referees early, track expiry dates and check whether existing training is accepted before paying to repeat it.

• Confirm the location, grade, responsibilities, named contact, IT and prescribing access, senior support, escalation routes and timesheet process.

• Accept work within your competence and available supervision. A familiar specialty in a new hospital still needs local induction.

Page 3 in the attendee PDF

A quoted assignment rate, gross hourly pay and take-home pay are different figures.

• Get written confirmation of the payment route, paid hours, unpaid breaks, holiday pay, pension arrangements, travel costs and cancellation terms.

• Under an umbrella arrangement, business costs may come out of the assignment rate before gross pay is calculated. Employer National Insurance should not be deducted from your gross wages.

• The webinar’s £50 × 40 paid hours × 46 weeks = £92,000 gross example was an arithmetic illustration, not an earnings forecast. Allow for time off, cancelled shifts and unavailable work.

• Check early payslips and tax codes. Consider the full pension package and seek appropriate advice for your circumstances. The webinar was not an individual tax or pension recommendation.

Page 4 in the attendee PDF

Chris’s recorded account offered a personal view of work, travel and life after FY2.

• Chris started in a supervised employed emergency medicine post in Queensland, then combined locum work with travel. His rota, salary and rates were historical personal examples.

• Job titles and responsibilities vary between states and hospitals. Check the job description, procedures, out-of-hours duties and supervision rather than relying on a UK grade comparison.

• Check Medical Board of Australia and Ahpra registration eligibility and conditions. Completion of UK foundation training does not automatically give unrestricted Australian practice rights.

• Start paperwork early: CV, references, qualifications, registration, vaccination evidence, accepted courses, visa and indemnity. Obtain current costs and recruitment dates.

• For rural posts, ask about senior advice, diagnostics, retrieval arrangements and expected skills. Compare travel, accommodation, cancellation terms and minimum commitments.

Pages 5–6 in the attendee PDF

Confirm your arrangements early when you leave training or change how you work.

• Appraisal is a normally annual supportive review that contributes to revalidation. The GMC makes the revalidation decision; your appraiser does not.

• Check your designated body connection and revalidation date in GMC Online. Ask when appraisal is due, who arranges it, which portfolio is accepted and whether costs are covered.

• Confirm designated body acceptance before booking an independent appraiser. If you have no responsible officer or suitable person, contact the GMC about your route and deadlines.

• Discuss gaps, little clinical work or overseas work promptly. Any exception to annual appraisal should be agreed; do not rely on a fixed number of weeks of work as a guarantee.

• If you will not practise in the UK, consider your licence arrangements and discuss restoration and return-to-work plans before making a change.

Page 7 in the attendee PDF

Small, regular records with reflection are more useful than a pile of certificates.

• Cover your whole scope of practice, including relevant non-clinical, private and voluntary roles.

• Record varied CPD and its effect on your work. Fifty hours is a common college or local benchmark; the GMC does not prescribe a fixed points total.

• Show your contribution and learning from quality improvement, and reflect on relevant significant events, complaints and compliments.

• Plan patient and colleague feedback using your chosen tool’s instructions. Sample requirements depend on the methodology; agree adaptations where necessary.

• Complete health and probity declarations, review your previous PDP and agree realistic objectives. Record the date, topic, learning and effect of each activity, keeping patient information anonymous.

Page 8 in the attendee PDF

The PDF includes the full detail, bank and agency comparison, pay questions and linked official guidance.

Market observations reflect the speakers’ experience. The notes state that registration and regulatory points were checked against official guidance on 12 October 2026. Salary and cost examples from Chris’s recording are historical. NC Healthcare sponsored the webinar.