Terminology note

SAS is used here as a collective description of Specialty Doctors, Specialists and Associate Specialists, with relevant historical grades acknowledged where they affect an individual's position. It is not a substitute for the exact grade and terms in an employment agreement. A statement about one national SAS contract should not be assumed to apply to every doctor described informally as SAS.

Specialty Doctor refers to the employment grade. Specialist, with a capital initial where the distinction matters, refers to the Specialist employment grade. Specialist registration means entry on the GMC Specialist Register. These descriptions answer different questions. A reader should identify whether a document concerns appointment to a post, the scope of work in that post or registration, rather than relying on the word specialist alone.[1,2]

Associate Specialist refers to the employment grade held by doctors under the relevant arrangements. Historical or locally used titles should be read with the accompanying contract. The book does not infer a doctor's entire scope, level of autonomy or organisational powers from a title. Those features require their own account of work, competence, appointment and delegated authority.

LED means locally employed doctor. The term describes an employment grouping, not a single national contract or level of capability. A clinical fellow or similarly titled post may have local terms even when some duties resemble those of a national SAS post. Doctors moving between these arrangements should compare the documents and requirements explicitly. Similar pay or a shared rota does not establish identical terms.

Appraisal denotes the professional review described in the relevant chapter. Revalidation denotes the GMC process concerning continued licensed practice. The appraiser, responsible officer or suitable person, employer and GMC have different functions. A professional portfolio is the organised evidence supporting one or more defined purposes. Acceptance of information for one purpose does not automatically establish its adequacy for another.

Portfolio Pathway is the term used for the GMC route discussed in Chapter 18. Older material may use CESR or related historical terminology. Readers should use the current application route and specialty guidance when preparing evidence. A career-development portfolio is not itself a Portfolio Pathway application, even when some of its material may later support one.[8]

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland identify the relevant national context. UK-wide is used only where the statement is intended to apply across the UK. NHS is sometimes used collectively for readability; where a contractual or administrative distinction matters, the text names the relevant system, including Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. PA means programmed activity where that term is used by the applicable contract. Session is retained where it is the contractual unit. Numerical examples explain their own assumptions rather than treating the terms as universally interchangeable.

Must, should and may have different force. In a sourced rule, preserve the source's meaning. In practical guidance, the book explains a recommended method or reasonable option. An illustrative suggestion should not be converted into an entitlement or mandatory requirement merely because it appears in a checklist.