Hosting a clinical fellow | www.fmlm.ac.uk

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.

Clinical Fellow Schemes (CFS) provide healthcare and associated organisations with the opportunity to engage some of the most talented clinicians in the UK, many of whom are likely to be the senior leaders of the future. Clinical fellows step out of clinical practice or training for 12 months and work with senior leaders and teams in a diverse range of organisations. The schemes recognise the need to develop a growing number of future clinical leaders that will go on to shape healthcare in the UK. They provide clinicians with the opportunity to develop skills in leadership and management, policy development, project management, research and analysis, communications and collaboration required for effective leaders.

We currently facilitate the following schemes:

What are the expectations of becoming a host?

To participate in the scheme, FMLM asks organisations to commit to the following principles:

Support a contract (secondment or fixed term) for the duration of the fellowship.
Support the objective of the scheme: to develop aspiring clinical leaders by providing an environment conducive to developing the skills, knowledge, insight, and behaviours required to transition to their role as a leader.
Assign roles that aim to enhance fellows’ strategic understanding of the multiple systems that work together to provide health care and the varied faces of healthcare leadership.
Expose clinical fellows to and engage them in high level strategic leadership and decision-making and supported to contribute to work required to support the process of decision making.
Ensure clinical fellows have protected time to engage in the scheme’s development programme and attend appropriate FMLM events.

Scope of the Clinical Fellow role

Clinical fellows should lead or participate in meaningful projects which contribute to organisational and national healthcare priorities.
Clinical Fellows are not observers or undertaking a shadowing experience and the work they undertake should add value to the team that they work with.
Lead on a significant project or portfolio of projects to gain experience of planning, management, and effective delivery as well as the complexities of engaging others.
Engage with a range of stakeholders, producing high quality outputs supporting effective communication and stakeholder management, both internally and externally.
Gain understanding of the targeting of resources, monitoring budgets, implementation and evaluation of the tasks/projects including complex information and analysis as required.
Gain experience of working in teams, team dynamics, negotiating and influencing, power dynamics as well as insights into their leadership style and how that may be developed.
Be a fully contributory member of the team bringing clinical experience to inform the work of the team, department, and wider host organisation.

How does the scheme work?

FMLM run a single recruitment and education process for each scheme.

Recruitment
Candidates are recruited through a rigorous recruitment process managed by FMLM, that has been validated by independent HR advisors. Candidates go through a two-stage recruitment process, shortlisting, and interview.

To ensure host organisations attract the right candidates, we invite hosts to participate in the recruitment process.

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Role overview

Candidates apply for a place on the scheme, they do not apply for a specific host organisation. Therefore, a host organisation must be prepared to accept any candidate that has been appointed.
To attract the right candidate to each role, hosts provide a structured job description that helps candidates to understand more about the organisations and what kind of work they might be involved in and what opportunities may be available. As workstreams and agendas are fluid in healthcare from year to year, we do not expect hosts to provide a strict job description but enough to provide candidates with insight into the flavour of work a fellow might be involved in, in the broadest sense.
Shortlisted candidates will use the job descriptions and host evening (see below) to declare a preference and rank the host organisations in the order that they would be prepared to work at. This is to facilitate an informed match for the benefit of both candidates and hosts.

Host Evening

Hosts will attend a virtual Host Evening event. This is a helpful networking session for shortlisted candidates to meet with host representatives to understand more about each organisation and the type of work they might be involved in as part of the fellowship. Shortlisted candidates will meet virtually in small breakout groups with each host representative(s) to hear about the organisation and ask questions to the host and current clinical fellows.
FMLM provide all hosts with guidance ahead of the event to ensure that they are able to prepare their ‘pitch’ to candidates.

Interview

Host leads or senior representatives are invited to participate in the interview process by participating in interview panels. This not only helps to ensure that the scheme is identifying the very highest calibre candidates, but it also provides host with the assurance of the quality of the candidates appointed to the scheme and the rigour of the recruitment process.
Interview dates are circulated to host leads a year in advance for planning purposes with a full annual schedule.

Appointment and contractual requirements
The Clinical Fellow Schemes run annually, generally from 1 September – 31 August.

Contractual arrangements

Fellowships are offered on a secondment basis only.

Successful candidates are seconded from their employing organisation to the organisation that will host them as a clinical fellow. They will remain under the same employment contract and terms and conditions with their employer.

Hosts are encouraged to consider the flexible nature of posts. Posts can be offered by host organisations either full time or less than full time. Due to the intensive nature of the scheme and the limited fellowship period, less than full time posts are usually offered as a minimum of 0.8 WTE.

Costs

Salary costs
Host organisations fund the salary and on-costs (pension, NI) costs of a clinical fellow as follows.

The salary is set at Agenda for Change Band 8A or equivalent salary range for those paid outside of the Agenda for Change model. Doctors in a training programme will be paid according to the appropriate NHS graded base pay scale in place as of 1 September 2025 at the next training grade that they would have progressed to, should they have remained in a training post. Posts in London attract London weighting.

The salary arrangements for doctors in training and those on the Agenda for Change model are different and the salary for this post reflects this. The salary model adopts the arrangement in place for all nationally run NHSEI clinical fellow schemes, managed by FMLM.

For secondment arrangements, as fellows retain their employment contract, the employing organisation (e.g., NHS Trust) will continue to pay all salary and associated on-costs and will be reimbursed by the host organisation by way of a mutually agreed payment schedule, including agreed reasonable expenses. Posts in London attract London weighting as usual.

FMLM Management fee
FMLM charge host organisations an annual management fee. This fee covers the full cost of recruitment, scheme management and a comprehensive annual development programme.

The management fee for 2025/26 is £5,950 + VAT per clinical fellow, payable in full within 30 days of appointment.

Learning outcomes

Learning objectives will be agreed locally with hosts and line managers but the high-level objectives below outline the key knowledge, skills, and professional competencies that clinical fellows are expected to achieve during their fellowship. Designed to guide both personal and professional development, these objectives provide a clear framework for fellows to advance their clinical expertise, engage in meaningful research, and develop leadership capabilities in healthcare settings. By focusing on patient-centered care, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration, working to SMART objectives will ensure that fellows are well-prepared to contribute to the evolving landscape of healthcare and excel in their specialised fields.

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FMLM Development Programme

To support experiential learning, FMLM provide clinical fellows with an enhanced range of educational opportunities to support their leadership development.

Development programme
FMLM deliver a comprehensive development programme to support leadership learning. The programme explores a range of themes and challenges that are crucial for aspiring leaders to understand, including how healthcare is organised, politics and policy making, understanding your leadership style, leading through a crisis and uncertainty, team working and team dynamics and health inequalities and sustainable healthcare.

The curriculum has been developed in line with the FMLM Leadership and management standards, a nationally recognised framework for medical and dental leaders in the UK, that are applicable and relevant for all professions. The standards articulate a set of core leadership values, skills and behaviours expected of clinical leaders at multiple levels.

Action Learning Sets (ALS)
Clinical fellows participate in formal Action Learning Sets (ALSs) led by a FMLM-provided trained facilitator. Action learning is a practical and dynamic way to learn, reflect and bring about personal and organisational change with the support of others facing similar challenges.

Multisource feedback
Clinical fellows will complete a multi-source feedback exercise to help them to understand how others see them and through this, to identify their strengths and areas for development. These are completed at the start and mid-point of the fellowship year.

Insight months
Clinical fellows arrange host insight days that provide hosts with the opportunity to engage with all clinical fellows. These are typically two-hour virtual sessions, that allows clinical fellows to learn more about a host organisation, to better understand their role within healthcare and can be used as a useful ‘myth busting’ or consultation opportunity.

What are the specific benefits for organisations in primary care, secondary care, pharma and non-healthcare industries?

Primary Care
Hosting a Clinical Fellow in primary care could introduce innovative practices and support multidisciplinary professional development. Fellows offer fresh perspectives, up-to-date knowledge, and specialized community-based expertise that could improve diagnosis, treatment, and positive patient outcomes. Their presence fosters a learning environment, benefiting clinicians, staff and patients through shared knowledge and mentorship. Additionally, Fellows could help manage workload, increase efficiency and improve patient access. By collaborating with FMLM, Clinical Fellowships could help strengthen your primary care services and promote continuous improvement within your healthcare delivery.

Secondary Care
Hosting a Clinical Fellow in secondary care could enhance service delivery, support workforce capacity, and foster innovation. Fellows bring specialized expertise, contribute to complex case management, and introduce the latest research and best practices. Their presence improves multidisciplinary teamwork, provides fresh insights, and helps refine clinical pathways. Additionally, they could assist quality improvement activity and workload management, reducing strain on senior clinicians and helping to drive excellence in in-patient care and hospital efficiency.

Pharmaceutical Industry
Hosting a Clinical Fellow in the pharmaceutical industry could help bridge the gap between clinical practice and drug development. Fellows bring firsthand patient care experience, offering valuable insights into real-world treatment challenges and medication efficacy. Their expertise enhances clinical trials, regulatory processes, and pharmacovigilance. Additionally, they contribute to medical education, ensuring evidence-based prescribing. By fostering collaboration between healthcare and industry, FMLM’s Clinical Fellows can help support innovation, improve drug development, maintain patient safety, and enhance the overall effectiveness of pharmaceutical products.

Non-healthcare Industries
Hosting a Clinical Fellow would bring non-healthcare industries further valuable expertise in problem-solving, data analysis, and human factors. Their medical background enhances workplace health initiatives, employee well-being programs, and occupational safety strategies. Fellows could contribute to research, innovation, and product development, particularly in the technology, insurance, and consulting sectors. Their analytical skills support evidence-based decision-making, while their leadership skills foster interdisciplinary collaboration. By integrating healthcare perspectives, FMLM Clinical Fellows could help improve your business’ productivity, risk management, and overall organizational health strategies.