Clinical Fellow Schemes

Current Schemes

Clinical Fellow Schemes offer emerging clinical leaders with the opportunity to develop skills in leadership, management, strategy, project management and health policy outside of clinical practice. 

Host organisations have the opportunity to be part of a prestigious portfolio of schemes that develop a growing community of future clinical leaders who advocate and influence clinical, organisational and patient improvements across multiple healthcare systems. 

We currently run the following schemes:

National Medical Director's Clinical Fellow Scheme

Chief Pharmaceutical Officer's Clinical Fellow Scheme

Chief Dental Officer's Clinical Fellow Scheme

Chief Sustainability Officer's Clinical Fellow Scheme

Clinical fellow alumni

FMLM run a portfolio of prestigious, national clinical fellow schemes on behalf of NHS England, for developing clinical leaders and over 550 exceptional clinicians have passed through the schemes since 2011.

Alumni have the unique experience of having worked at the centre of leading national healthcare organisations, having led on a range of projects contributing to national priorities. Alumni have a range of enhanced skills including leadership and management, policy development, project management and research as well as extensive professional networks. 

What does the programme offer?

The programme forms part of a strategic partnership between FMLM and NHS England to increase clinical leadership capability across healthcare. It aims to create a formal network for fellows to stay connected, while providing access to ongoing leadership development opportunities and creating a multiprofessional talent pool for healthcare systems to engage with. 

How can clinical fellow alumni be helpful to the wider healthcare system? 

Alumni are a valuable pool of diverse, highly skilled individuals with diverse skill sets, experiences, and expertise for healthcare providers and organisation to draw on.  

Organisations may choose to engage the skills of alumni in a variety of ways including: 

  • Short or mid-term leadership roles 
  • Projects and research 
  • Special interest groups or consultations 
Alumni placements 

Alumni placements allow healthcare organisations to gain the benefit of the enhanced skills, experience, and networks of clinical fellow alumni. FMLM has helped to place alumni in a range of organisations including NHS and arms length bodies, Integrated Care Systems, All-Party Parliamentary Groups and more. 

Benefits of alumni placements 

Alumni have an enhanced skillset that is of considerable value to organisations and the wider health system including: 

  • a highly developed understanding of healthcare policy and the mechanism to support implementation, 
  • an enhanced understanding of the complexity of emerging policy and the ability to lead positive change, by Identifying the contexts for change, applying knowledge and evidence, making decisions, and evaluating impact, 
  • the ability to deal with complex issues and to communicate these concisely and to critically evaluate policies and processes, 
  • the ability to explain clinical issues, and their relevance, to clinical and non-clinical colleagues in a clear and persuasive manner, 
  • the ability to communicate with stakeholder at all levels and to influence change, 
  • skilled at developing and working with teams and to support others in developing their own personal insight and effectiveness, 
  • access to a wide range of professional networks at a regional and national level, and the ability to build effective relationships. 

For further information about alumni placements, please contact FMLM at  enquiries@fmlm.ac.uk 

Placement Case Study 

Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership 

Anthony McKeever, Executive Lead and Joint Accountable Officer, on why the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership engage clinical fellow alumni with their work. 

Our Integrated Care System (ICS) in Mid & South Essex wants to harness the talents of clinical leaders. We have therefore brought three of FMLM’s Clinical Fellow Aumni in to work with us for the last 12 months, to help translate our good intentions into purposeful action.   

Peter Scolding , Sophia Morris and Garry Davenport had spent the previous year on the National Medical Director’s and Chief Dental Officer’s Clinical Fellow Schemes, working alongside Prof Keith Willetts, Prof Sara Hurley and others, co-ordinating the NHS’ pandemic response.   

So, we acquired seasoned professionals, already used to all manner of three-letter acronyms, to navigating and motoring within the channels of health and care services, who could and did hit the ground running – not just energetic young doctors and dentists keen to make a difference.  I am pleased to say the experiment turned out well. Our three fellows have provided a shot in the arm for the teams and care areas in which they have worked. Each one has led specific areas of work which benefitted from their skills and perspective.   

Peter Scolding has enabled clinical and multi-professional collaboration in developing and delivering new models of stroke and frailty services in the community. Sophia Morris has been helping refine our System’s strategic approach to tackling inequalities, both within our workforce and across our wider resident population. Garry Davenport has worked to improve cancer diagnosis in the community, and has also provided clinical support to our Population Health Management programme.   

They have all contributed to one of our Partnership’s signature principles - engaging current and future clinical leaders, on a multi-disciplinary basis, in taking responsibility and leading change to improve the care area in which they work.   

In short, we have all started as we mean to go on. Our Senior Clinical Fellows have had an opportunity to apply their learning and experience from the national scheme, and to kick on again through picking-up greater ownership and responsibility, alongside closer mentoring and support; and the ICS has got a fabulous payback for investing in what it wants to become.  

August 2021

Hosting a Clinical Fellow

Does your organisation have the capacity to host a Clinical Fellow and desire the opportunity to engage with some of the most talented clinicians in the UK, many of whom are likely to be the senior leaders of the future?

Found out more information on becoming a host organisation