He Failed IMT Shortlisting First Time — Then Cracked It. Here's Everything He Did Differently

Every year, around 8,000 to 9,000 doctors compete for approximately 1,500 to 1,600 IMT spots across the UK. Dr. Zeeshan Mohammed was one of them — and he did not make the shortlist on his first attempt. This conversation is about what he did differently the second time, and everything an IMG needs to know about the IMT application from someone who has just been through it. Dr. Zeeshan completed his MBBS from the Philippines, cleared FMGE in his first attempt, passed both PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, passed MRCP Part 1 and Part 2, and after 2.5 years as a junior clinical fellow at King's College Hospital across acute medicine, respiratory medicine and renal medicine — he secured his IMT training post. What this episode covers: IMT application process — multi-step, spans several months. Applications open every November with a one-month window. Shortlisting in January. Interviews across January and February. Rank released in March. Preferencing from all 1,600 IMT seats across UK. Offers from April through July or September. Self-assessment portfolio score — the most important part of the application. This score determines shortlisting. Key scoring areas: PubMed-indexed research (approximately 6 to 8 points), case reports (3 points), oral and poster presentations, QIP or audit, teaching, additional qualifications. Do not inflate your score — consultants cross-verify everything in the interview against submitted evidence. CREST form — the only document you actually upload. A UK-based consultant signs it to confirm you are at F2 level or above. Your qualifications do not need to be uploaded separately — GMC already holds that information. MRCP — Dr. Zeeshan's strongest advice: sit Part 1 and Part 2 as early as possible. Even before your first NHS job. Having both parts done signals commitment to the specialty and contributes significantly to IMT scoring. Preparing is also easier once you are inside the system seeing patients. The IMT interview — 20 minutes total, two stations. Station 1 (11 minutes): 2-minute self-presentation, portfolio-based questions, ethical scenario. Station 2 (10 minutes): clinical station with two different consultants. Pressure is far higher than non-training job interviews. One chance per year. Preparation from non-training interviews helps — same structure, different stakes. Building a strong portfolio — QIP or audit, research and publications, teaching and organising sessions, presentations (oral or poster). Leadership has been removed from IMT scoring. A postgraduate certification (e.g. in medical education) can differentiate you from the pool. Work-life balance and salary — 5 days a week standard, one weekend in four. Locum shifts available but optional. London weighting applies. Enough to save and travel. Not lavish but manageable. Imposter syndrome and mental health — very real, very common among IMGs. The first 4 to 5 months are the hardest. It does get easier. You are not alone in feeling this. Bias and discrimination — not in Dr. Zeeshan's experience. NHS has become deeply multicultural and diverse. Any incident gets raised and dealt with quickly. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Book a 1-on-1 session with Dr. Zeeshan Mohammed: https://www.goocampusworld.com/mentor... Call us: +91 90199 25847 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chapters: 00:00 — IMT application overview: 8,000 applicants, 1,600 spots 00:43 — Introduction: Dr. Zeeshan Mohammed — PLAB, MRCP, IMT secured 02:16 — IMT application process — timeline, shortlisting, ranking, preferencing 04:42 — Can you score yourself high to get shortlisted? What happens in interview 05:44 — How evidence and the CREST form work 06:49 — Verification of portfolio evidence 07:57 — Full IMT timeline: November application to July offer 10:01 — Portfolio building — what actually scores points for IMT 12:53 — MRCP Part 1 and Part 2 — why to sit them as early as possible 14:20 — Did Dr. Zeeshan get IMT on his first attempt? 15:14 — IMT interview vs non-training interview — the real difference 17:00 — IMT interview structure: 20 minutes, two stations explained 17:43 — Work-life balance in the NHS — honest picture 19:11 — Overtime — is it compulsory? 19:33 — First impressions of the NHS as a junior IMG doctor 21:13 — How to prepare for MRCP while working full-time 22:28 — Are UK doctors moving to Australia? What Dr. Zeeshan sees 23:44 — Salary — is it enough to live comfortably in London? 24:28 — Setbacks, imposter syndrome and self-doubt — honest account 26:27 — Racial discrimination in the NHS — direct answer 27:02 — Advice for PLAB pass doctors waiting for first NHS job 29:20 — Advice for doctors stuck in non-training and not progressing 30:31 — Advice for medical students: NEET PG first or start UK now? #IMT2026 #IMTApplicationUK #PLABToIMT #MRCPExam #NHSPortfolio #IMGUKPathway #InternalMedicineTrainingUK #GooCampus #GooCampusWorld #DrZeeshanMohammed #NHSDoctor #CRESTForm #IMGDoctor #PLABExam #UKIMGJourney