ISTP posts in Urology are offered at ST3+ level for a duration of between 12 to 24 months.  This specialty deals with the urogenital system: kidney, bladder and urinary problems, as well as men’s sexual and reproductive health. This includes diseases of the kidney, urinary tract stones, cancer (prostate, bladder, testicle and kidney), prostate, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, etc.   Some time is spent managing chronic conditions. Investigating and treating patients with prostate symptoms or bladder cancer takes up a large amount of a urologist’s time. Specialist areas include: complex pelvic surgery, uro-gynaecology, andrology and paediatric urology.  More information about this specialty can be found on the RCS website.

All posts are fully supervised, contain a strong element of training and are approved by the relevant Deanery or Local Education & Training Board (LETB). 

If you are interested in joining ISTP: Urology, please visit our ISTP Page for further details about the application process. 

Once matched and placed, ISTP trainees are fully supported by the RCS in the following ways:

• Quality assurance of the training undertaken by the RCS.
• Ongoing advice, guidance and pastoral care throughout the duration of the placement.
• A professional home at the RCS through automatic affiliate membership of the college.
• Enrollment into the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP), which will support the training undertaken in the Trust.
• Invitations and access to RCS courses, induction days, annual symposia and masterclasses.
• Eligibility to apply for the ISTP Research & Projects Fund.
• Award of an RCS Certificate of Completion at the end of the placement.

Eligibility requirements:

Applicants wishing to join ISTP must meet the following criteria:

• You must be working within an ISTP Partner Institution.
• You must be resident overseas at the time of applying to the programme and have no rights of residence in the UK/EU/EEA/Switzerland.
• You must hold a Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) that is recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC) and verified by the ECFMG.
• You must have completed an acceptable internship (or equivalent) of not less than 12 months following your undergraduate training.
• You must have completed at least 3 years of full-time clinical practice or training.(equivalent to ST3 or above in the UK) since obtaining your PMQ, including the most recent 12 months. (Please note: clinical attachments or observerships do not count).
• You must have passed the MRCS (UK) or hold an acceptable alternative qualification.
• You should not have previously attempted the GMC Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board (PLAB) test.
• You must have achieved a minimum score of 7.0 in each category of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test and achieved an overall score of at least 7.5 or a grade "B" in each testing area of the medicine version of the Occupational English Test (OET).