An explosion in clinical fellow opportunities is delivering a valuable pool of leadership talent
By Peter Lees
FMLM Chief Executive
Since the start of FMLM a decade ago, we have believed in the leadership value of our more junior colleagues. We welcomed medical students and trainee members from the start and they responded by joining in significant numbers, which has led to a not infrequent accusation of FMLM being a trainee organisation. Although untrue, that felt more of a compliment than perhaps was the intent.
The initial FMLM development offer was the partnership with Professor Sir Bruce Keogh to establish the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow Scheme in 2011, and our first cohort represented trainees on our first governing body. That led to the formally constituted Trainee Steering and Medical Student Groups. We have given significant coverage to many facets of the clinical fellows’ schemes over the years, including the expansion into pharmacy and dentistry sponsored by their national chief officers. I hope we have also done justice to our counterpart schemes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, working with whom has been a pleasure whilst each is led and managed within their home nation.
We like to think that we never stand still with the schemes and have grappled with a few issues of unfinished business. While passionate about the value of the concept, it had been beyond our mandate to offer the same experience to other professions, but 2021 has seen healthy progress there. We are pleased to have gained the confidence of other professional groups by being asked to establish and manage a scheme for healthcare scientists, a multi-professional scheme to develop clinical leaders as sustainability champions of the future as well as an evolving scheme for nurses. It is hugely positive that we welcome more than 90 clinical fellows to six national schemes in England this month.
A big issue facing the national schemes has been geographical equity. With most national bodies located in the capital, fellowship posts are inevitably more inaccessible the further the potential clinical fellows live away from London. This year sees huge progress in this regard thanks to support from an exciting new partnership with the NHS England and NHS Improvement People Directorate. Together, we have launched the first regional multi-professional clinical fellow scheme, starting with 28 clinical fellows appointed across the seven NHS England Regions. This will rise to 49 fellows next year with one individual from each of the seven clinical professions in every region, supported by regional clinical and Leadership and Lifelong Learning teams. Again, the cohort is a highly diverse group of clinical leaders, representative of today’s workforce.
Evolution can hide achievement and it is important to reflect and recognise the increase from 11 medical clinical fellows in England in 2011 to well over 120 across the UK from all professions in 2021 (and close on 150 from 2022). Without hype, this has been built on the impact and contribution clinical fellows have brought to the host organisations – all major national bodies. It recognises the forward thinking and willingness to commit significant investment by those host organisations in a system which has made progress but still, in many settings, perpetuates outdated attitudes towards the leadership potential of our ‘less senior’ colleagues.
On a related note, there are well over 300 clinical fellow alumni back in the system and support to them has always been in our sights but frustratingly beyond our grasp. Again, with the support of the NHS England and NHS Improvement People Directorate, this year sees an exciting new beginning.
A formal alumni scheme was launched in May 2021 which will provide developmental support and networking opportunities to clinical fellow alumni and follow their progress and success.
The alumni continue to be recognised as a valuable pool for the NHS to draw on, and there is a growing number of alumni whom we have been able to match to other opportunities over recent years with considerable success. We are prodigiously proud that on multiple occasions during the pandemic, alumni rose to the challenge at scale to support the London Nightingale Hospital and the national vaccine programme.
To conclude – welcome to the new clinical fellows. Au revoir to the class of 2020/21 and thank you and your immediate predecessors for your efforts in support of managing the pandemic. Welcome also to more than 300 clinical fellow alumni entering the new scheme. We eagerly anticipate watching your success which we now have the opportunity to measure and highlight the value you bring to healthcare at home and abroad. Thank you to the national sponsors, the NHS England and NHS Improvement People Directorate and to returning and new host organisations – it bears saying again and again that without you, there are no schemes. Thanks also to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the healthy partnership with your schemes.
This year’s explosion in clinical fellow opportunities is a healthy recognition of the immense leadership talent which resides in clinicians early in their careers. It feels as if the case is now proven. I challenge us all to recognise this and to support, grow and enhance the opportunities to harness a hitherto untapped resource for the benefit of patients and the future of our great health services.