Batched, not rolling
Stage 1 feedback is provided on completion. Successful candidates can take Stage 2 as soon as they are notified.
The scheme publishes indicative stage dates each cycle — that timetable, not a forum post, is what to plan around.
Use the gap
Use the interval before the virtual assessment centre to prepare examples from your own experience.
What a normal wait looks like
Stage 1 and Stage 2 each provide a feedback report on completion. Stage 2 can be taken as soon as you are notified of Stage 1 success.
Use the dates in your application account and messages. Virtual assessment centres for 2027 entry run January–February 2027.
We do not publish a number of days here, because the only reliable timings are the ones the scheme itself publishes for the cycle you are in. Anything else you read online is a single candidate's memory of a different year.
When it is reasonable to chase
If a published stage date has clearly passed with no communication, contacting the scheme's recruitment team is reasonable and will not count against you. Keep it short: your name, application reference, the stage you are waiting on, and the date you expected to hear.
Every candidate receives a feedback report on completion of each online stage.
Meanwhile, assume you have progressed and prepare accordingly. Candidates who wait for confirmation before preparing lose the one advantage the batched timetable gives them: a long, predictable run-up.
Prepare inside the gap
Use the waiting period to build a short bank of examples from your own experience and rehearse them out loud.
Our scenario-judgement practice is framed around the NHS Constitution values using our own keying; GMTS does not publish those values as its marking scheme.