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How many people applied for each physician training post in the 2025 round — the real numbers, not estimates.
Source: NHS England competition ratios . Always confirm against the official guidance for your own round.
A competition ratio is applications divided by posts. It is a useful sense of scale and a poor predictor of your individual chances. A high ratio often reflects a small number of posts rather than exceptional demand — standalone General (Internal) Medicine looks brutal at 11.24:1, but that is 191 applications for just 17 posts.
Two things the ratio hides. First, not every applicant is appointable: a meaningful share fail longlisting on the person specification, or score below the appointability threshold at interview. Second, ratios are national while posts are regional, so a popular specialty in an unpopular region can be markedly easier than the headline suggests.
| Specialty | Applications | Posts | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (Internal) Medicine | 191 | 17 | 11.24 |
| Combined Infection Training | 112 | 10 | 11.20 |
| Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus | 362 | 73 | 4.96 |
| Rheumatology | 240 | 51 | 4.71 |
| Stroke Medicine / GIM | 145 | 32 | 4.53 |
| Acute Internal Medicine | 443 | 100 | 4.43 |
| Cardiology | 540 | 134 | 4.03 |
| Respiratory Medicine | 413 | 104 | 3.97 |
| Gastroenterology | 383 | 104 | 3.68 |
| Neurology | 197 | 55 | 3.58 |
| Renal Medicine | 206 | 58 | 3.55 |
| Palliative Medicine | 136 | 58 | 2.34 |
| Geriatric Medicine | 323 | 157 | 2.06 |
| Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics | 16 | 8 | 2.00 |
| Genitourinary Medicine | 46 | 45 | 1.02 |
Group 2 specialties recruit at ST3 rather than ST4, entered after Internal Medicine Stage 1 without the Stage 2 requirement.
| Specialty | Applications | Posts | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audiovestibular Medicine | 32 | 2 | 16.00 |
| Allergy | 29 | 3 | 9.67 |
| Sport & Exercise Medicine | 107 | 12 | 8.92 |
| Immunology | 37 | 5 | 7.40 |
| Clinical Genetics | 84 | 15 | 5.60 |
| Medical Ophthalmology | 14 | 3 | 4.67 |
| Dermatology | 261 | 57 | 4.58 |
| Clinical Neurophysiology | 41 | 9 | 4.56 |
| Combined Infection Training | 154 | 36 | 4.28 |
| Rehabilitation Medicine | 69 | 17 | 4.06 |
| Medical Oncology | 319 | 101 | 3.16 |
| Haematology | 236 | 103 | 2.29 |
If you are deciding between two specialties you would be equally happy in, the ratio is worth a glance. If you are not equally happy in both, it is worth almost nothing — a candidate who wants the specialty interviews better than one who picked it off a table, and the interview is where the ranking is decided.
The more actionable numbers are on how scoring works: the appointability thresholds are absolute, and no ratio changes them.
Figures are the published NHS England 2025 round. Interviews for the current cycle run October–November 1969. Ratios move year to year — treat these as the most recent complete picture, not a forecast.
Interviews are October–November 2026. The practice libraries cover every domain the panel scores — clinical scenarios, registrar capability, ethics, portfolio and the presentation — with model answers and the Score-5 anchors.
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