The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton Hospital in Banbury. Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. Many of our recruitment programmes use values-based interviewing to identify those who have the skills we seek, who share our values and who are able to deliver compassionate excellence from the outset. We know that this makes a significance difference to your job satisfaction and above all the outcomes and experience of our patients and their families. For more information about our Values and Value Based Interviewing please visit http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/about/vision-and-values/default.aspx Job overview Applications are invited for a one‑year post at Core Trainee level in General Surgery, for August 2026 & February 2027 intakes. The post is based within the Surgical Emergency Unit (SEU) at the John Radcliffe Hospital, a busy, consultant‑led unit providing acute general surgical care. The successful candidate will join a well‑established team delivering high‑quality emergency surgery within a supportive training environment. The timetable includes dedicated weeks of emergency operating, management of acute surgical admissions, and participation in the ambulatory surgery clinic, all with close senior supervision. This post provides broad exposure to all areas of general surgery, with excellent opportunities to develop both clinical decision‑making and operative skills. There are excellent teaching opportunities, delivered in conjunction with the University of Oxford Medical School, and trainees are encouraged to become actively involved in the unit’s audit, quality‑improvement, and research programmes. The department has a strong track record of preparing doctors for Core Surgical Training and Higher Surgical Training, and tailored support will be provided for portfolio development and the application process. The rota includes night and weekend working within contractual limits. Given the workload and acuity of the unit, previous experience working within the NHS is essential. Advert The Core Trainee post is based within the Surgical Emergency Unit (SEU) which assesses over 200 patients per week through the surgical triage area, with a further approximately 150 patients per week managed via the acute ambulatory clinic. The unit delivers the full spectrum of Emergency General Surgery, undertaking approximately 400 acute laparoscopic cholecystectomies, 800 laparoscopic appendicectomies, and over 200 emergency laparotomies each year. The John Radcliffe Hospital is also a Level 1 Major Trauma Centre, providing additional exposure to complex emergency and trauma‑related surgical presentations. This post will equip the successful candidate with the clinical and operative skills required to manage acute general surgical conditions, supporting progression into specialty training. In addition, there will be exposure to the management of specialist and tertiary‑level cases, including colorectal, OG, and hepatobiliary surgery. The timetable includes dedicated weeks of emergency operating, based exclusively in theatre, as well as opportunities to participate in elective operating across general, colorectal, and hepatobiliary surgery. This combination offers broad operative experience and exposure to the full range of surgical skills required for ST3 application. Night‑time and weekend duties are shared equitably across all Core Trainees in General Surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital and are delivered via a fair, transparent, and contract‑compliant rota. Working for our organisation There is a strong commitment to academia, teaching medical students from the University of Oxford, audit/QuIP projects and presenting and attending conferences. As a successful candidate you will be given your own clinical and educational supervisor to ensure that your portfolio and surgical skill set develops to allow progression to higher surgical training. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Applications are invited for a one‑year post at Core Trainee level in General Surgery, commencing August 2026 or February 2027. The post is based within the Surgical Emergency Unit (SEU) at the John Radcliffe Hospital, a busy, consultant‑led unit providing acute general surgical care. The successful candidate will join a well‑established team delivering high‑quality emergency surgery within a supportive training environment. The timetable includes dedicated weeks of emergency operating, management of acute surgical admissions, and participation in the ambulatory surgery clinic, all with close senior supervision. This post provides broad exposure to all areas of general surgery, with excellent opportunities to develop both clinical decision‑making and operative skills. There are excellent teaching opportunities, delivered in conjunction with the University of Oxford Medical School, and trainees are encouraged to become actively involved in the unit’s audit, quality‑improvement, and research programmes. The department has a strong track record of preparing doctors for Core Surgical Training and Higher Surgical Training, and tailored support will be provided for portfolio development and the application process. The out‑of‑hours commitment includes resident night shifts rostered in defined blocks, averaging approximately one week of nights in every three to four weeks (≈1 in 3.25), alongside weekend working within contractual limits. Given the workload and acuity of the unit, previous experience working within the NHS is essential. COVID-19: The COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not a condition of employment at this time, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. We will be checking the vaccination status of all new starters so that we can manage individual and environmental risks and so that we can support those who may be undecided about vaccination. If you are unvaccinated there is helpful advice and information at Oxfordshire County Council Website where you can also find out more about how to access vaccination. There is a current Government consultation underway which will determine whether some new starters may need to be vaccinated. No unsolicited recruitment agency telephone calls or emails. Please make sure that you read the job description and person specification attached below, and that your statement in support reflects this as your application will be judged against these criteria. All candidates will be contacted with an update on the application. The majority of correspondence will be via the e-recruitment system, therefore you should check your emails regularly including junk mail folders in web-based email products.