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Information For Fellows

 

Educational and Professional Development FAQs

 

How do I apply for my Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert)?

All Fellows are funded to undertake a postgraduate certificate (PG Cert) in a subject of their choice, as long as there is at least one module which has a leadership or medical education focus, or an appropriate alternative.  The course needs to begin during the Fellowship and needs to fall within the allocated budget.

There is no entitlement to any particular amount of transferrable credits. Most Fellows report that the academic component of their Fellowship is more work than anticipated at the outset – it is therefore advisable to choose one Postgraduate Certificate or equivalent, in order to have adequate time to also focus on your Fellowship project.

The course must be within the £3600 funding budget. If the course exceeds this amount, then part-funding will be agreed up to a maximum of £3600. Fellows should be mindful that their overall study budget for the duration of the Fellowship is £3600 and, therefore, if they choose to enrol on a PG Cert at this amount, they would not be eligible for any other funded study leave throughout the Fellowship.    

For helpful information about choosing a course for the academic component, please see: PDF Using your FLP Study Budget. The document includes helpful guidance as well as a list of academic or PG Cert courses that undertaken by previous fellows - the list is not exhaustive and the FLP does not endorse any of the courses.  We would encourage you to speak to current or past Fellows to help guide you in your choice of PG Cert.

Once you have chosen your PG Cert, we advise you discuss this with your Educational Supervisor. If they are in agreement, please complete the PGCert Sponsorship Request Form. Please follow the link to access the PGCert Sponsorship Request Form. The form will be submitted to the FLP admin team. If approved, the admin team will request a purchase order for the cost of the tuition fees and provide you with formal confirmation of sponsorship.

This will allow a purchase order to be raised for your course and sent to the Course provider. You are advised to discuss how to register for the course directly with the Course provider. Please note if you are starting in August the earliest the FLP team will begin raising Purchase Orders is July.

How to access FLP courses provided for fellows

You can self-enrol on Maxcourse prior to commencing in post. Please change your profession to Leadership Fellow, to ensure that you are able to log onto the relevant courses.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE TAKE NOTE

The curriculum of additional FLP courses, offered to augment your PGCert and your project experience, has been carefully curated in response to fellows’ feedback.  Courses are offered to support the development of your leadership skills.  They are often costly to run and difficult to source elsewhere, therefore we would recommend attending as many as is appropriate for your particular learning needs.  Places are often limited so bear this in mind when you book and ensure this is a firm commitment in your diary.  Once your place on a course has been booked, please let us know in good time if your commitments change and you need to cancel your spot.  If you discover that you cannot attend, you must send apologies to the course facilitator and cancel your place via Maxcourse so that is available for another fellow.  This is a professional courtesy, as is arriving punctually and staying for the duration of the course.  Exceptions to this should be arranged with the course facilitator in advance.  Please consider where you attend from if a course is virtual: your location should be quiet and enable you to fully participate e.g. have both video and sound access.  Cars, public transport, cafes and public spaces are all inappropriate locations to dial in from.  You should not have childcare or caring responsibilities at the same time.  Your fellow participants may be sharing sensitive or personal reflections and need to know you are treating their contributions with the respect they deserve.

Be mindful that you are building your reputation as a leader throughout the year: clear and timely communication taking responsibility for yourself and your own learning journey is key.  Please do not think ‘it doesn’t matter if I don’t turn up, others will be there.’  Non-attendance wastes resources, but perhaps more importantly impacts the running of the group; if a few people simply do not turn up, the session may not be viable.  Since the merger with NHSE we are under much closer scrutiny of resources and the ongoing support of your leadership development has been tough to secure.  Poor attendance of a commissioned course may result in it ceasing to continue.  Where a course has prep work e.g. completion of a questionnaire, timescales are even more important. Deadlines are set around both the commitments of the admin team and the course facilitator.  Please be mindful of the competing time constraints on our admin colleagues - it is simply not possible for them to see and act on inbox emails urgently.  To offer the place to someone else, purchase a questionnaire, administer and download it requires several days and sometimes over a week.

Fellows who cancel course places at very short notice or without giving apologies may have future learning opportunities restricted.

You have access to these courses for up to 6 months after your Leadership Fellowship ends.

How much is my study budget?

Each Fellow commencing in post with effect from August 2021 will have an overall study budget of £3600.  This includes the cost of an academic or postgraduate certificate (PG Cert) course - this list is not exhaustive and the FLP does not endorse any of the courses.  See the Frequently Asked Question on How do I apply for my Postgraduate Certificate for further information.  This means that if a Fellow chooses a PG Cert costing £3000, they will have a remaining study budget of £600 for all other study associated costs throughout the year. Study leave funding is available to fund professional development during the programme only.  Any remaining allocation cannot be claimed once a Fellow has finished the programme.  

Throughout the year, there will also be free courses offered by the Future Leaders Programme. 

Any costs associated with the project, including travel, are covered by the employer.

All requests for study leave funding must be submitted using the online Study Leave Request Form for approval by the Associate Dean. Please follow the link to access the Study Leave Request Form. Before submitting a Study Leave Request Form, the activity must be discussed with your Educational Supervisor.

Submitted forms will be processed by the Future Leaders admin team (england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net).

Any requests which exceed the overall study budget for an individual will not be considered. 

See the Frequently Asked Question on Requesting Funding for Additional Courses / Conferences.

Requesting funding for additional courses / conferences

After choosing your PGCert, you can request to use your remaining study budget to attend external courses / conferences related to your project or leadership development.

All requests for study leave funding must be submitted using the Study Leave Request Form for approval by the Associate Dean. Please follow the link to access the Study Leave Request Form. Before submitting a Study Leave Request Form, the activity must be discussed with your Educational Supervisor.

Submitted forms will be processed by the Future Leaders admin team (england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net).

Study leave requests must be submitted at least 4 weeks in advance. It may not be possible to progress requests received at short notice.

Any requests which exceed the overall study budget for an individual will not be considered.

Your request will be considered taking the following factors into account:

  • NHSE will cover costs associated with study leave during your Fellowship.  Any costs associated with your project should be funded by your School (in case of 100% NHSE costs) or your employer (in cases of 50/50 funded posts).
  • Funding available within the financial year (each Fellow has an overall study budget of £3600, including the cost of their PG Cert);
  • Relation to the Fellow’s learning needs;
  • Potential benefit to the Fellow and the programme;
  • Cost of course / conference.

Can I claim travel expenses?

Expenses for activities related to your Fellowship can be claimed back from your employer. This includes travel to FLP courses (including those recommended on the FLP curriculum), meetings and other activities in relation to your Fellowship. Your expenses should be discussed and approved by your Educational Supervisor.

If you wish to discuss requesting funding for further courses, please see the Frequently Asked Questions on Requesting Funding for Additional Courses / Conferences.

Cancelling courses / conference place

Although courses may be free at the point of access to Fellows, they are not free to the FLP.  Cancelling a course / conference at short notice (particularly at less than 48 hours) means significant cost is incurred to the Programme, and impacts on the funding available for other courses and conferences.

If you are unable to attend a course or conference please e-mail england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net at your earliest convenience:

  • Marking your e-mail for the attention of the Business Manager 
  • Outlining your reasons for cancellation.

Please note it is not acceptable to notify via Whatsapp alone.  It is also unacceptable to offer no apologies or explanation for your absence.

We appreciate there will be occasions when cancellation is unavoidable due to illness or adverse life events, and are understanding of such reasons. 

If cancellations are made without good reason or prior notification, Fellows will be refused funding for further activities and removed from the current FLP courses. You may be asked to repay the fee for the course. 

How do I apply for study leave for specialty-specific training courses during my FLP year?

The NHSE position remains that individuals on OOP are not eligible for study leave time and funding, except for OOPT (Out of Programme Training). In exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Postgraduate Dean, study leave funding during other OOP types may be considered for curriculum-based activity.

Coaching

All leadership Fellows are encouraged to access the NHSE YH Coaching Scheme, which offers 4-6 sessions of coaching with a trained coach on the NHSE YH Coaching register.  Please see here for further details.  The register can be provided by emailing england.coaching.yh@nhs.net

The aim of coaching is to increase potential and enhance the careers of those who access it. Sessions are confidential and do not form part of an educational assessment. 

People access coaching for a variety of reasons, and there are no right or wrong ones.

Some examples are:

  • You want to achieve different outcomes, improve your performance, or improve your leadership or management skills;
  • You have yet to identify your key strengths and how best to utilise them;
  • You perceive a gap in your knowledge, skills, confidence or resources;
  • There is something at stake e.g. a challenge or development opportunity and you want to make the most of it.

Coaching complements the other components of the Fellowship and has the potential to enhance leadership confidence and the impact of the Fellowship.

360º appraisal

We recommend that all Fellows complete a 360º feedback process using the  NHS Healthcare Leadership Model 360° Feedback Tool.  This is an online tool, which gathers information from raters via an anonymised online form, and then comprises a 2 hour facilitated feedback session.  This process is funded by the Future Leaders Programme.

Alternatively, you may wish to use any tools that your college or faculty provide.

A 360º appraisal can be undertaken at any point of the Fellows choosing during the year, but it is probably most useful if undertaken in the latter half of their year  This leaves time to identify development areas and an action plan to address these., leaving enough time so that they can work on any development points if they wish.

For further information on the process, please see the 360° Appraisal Notes.

Other opportunities

Sheffield Microsystem Coaching Academy (recommended by Duncan Miller, Alumni):

The two day 'Introduction to Quality Improvement Course' is designed to introduce the basics of quality improvement through a mixture of presentation, video and practical exercises.  It is aimed at anyone who is interested in quality improvement, as a leader, a potential MCA coach, or as part of an improvement team.

This course is a real eye opener!  Out of all the medical courses I have ever been on (and I've been on a few), this stands out as the best… by a mile.  This course will take you to away from the unknown unknowns.

The variety of candidates and interactive presentations made both days a huge success.  If anyone is interested in quality improvement and service development this course surely is a must.

The HOPE Exchange programme (recommended by Saira Ghafur, Alumni):

HOPE exchange programme is a four week exchange programme run yearly by the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation.  The aim is to promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise within the European Union and to provide training and experience for healthcare professionals.  Each year has a different theme, for instance quality improvement and patient safety. It is open to all members of the multi-disciplinary team, with a minimum of three years’ experience working in healthcare.   The exchange culminates with an evaluation conference in the lead country.

Applications for the programme should be returned by end October and you will need your host Trust / Deanery to help support the process. You may also require a language test depending on which country you are placed in.

This is an excellent experience to learn more about patient safety, quality and health policy at an international level.  Despite very different health systems in each of the countries, you soon realise that we are all faced with very similar challenges.  It is a great opportunity for collaboration and learning about best practice from other countries.

Please contact sairag@doctors.org.uk to find out more information about the programme.

Porter Intensive Seminar (recommended by Saira Ghafur, Alumni):

The Porter Intensive Seminar is held on an annual basis at the Harvard Business School. It is run by Professor Michael Porter, author of the book ‘Redefining Healthcare’. The course is based on the principle of value-based healthcare delivery and uses case studies, mainly from the US and some international examples. It focuses on value – based on patient outcomes, patient experience and cost of the healthcare. The course also looks at different ways of delivering healthcare and the importance of measuring outcomes. The course is very interactive and all students are expected to prepare for the discussions and actively participate.

The course intake is on a competitive basis and applications open in September.  You can join the Diagnosis group on Linkedin, which advertises application dates for the seminar.

If you are accepted on the course, tuition fees are paid by Harvard Business School.

This is a fantastic opportunity, one which I would highly recommend. It helps develop alternative ways of thinking about value and outcomes for patient and different approaches to healthcare delivery.

Risk Management  

International Association of Risk Management in Medicine 
American Society for Healthcare Risk Management

I am undertaking a fellowship in Yorkshire & the Humber which is not part of the FLP. Can I attend your meetings and access courses?

You are welcome to access FLP bimonthly meetings for networking opportunities – please contact  england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net for upcoming dates and links.  Priority for all of our courses will be given to felows whose post is part of the FLP.  If places are avilable there may be opportunities for you to attend so please enquire with the future leaders team at england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net

Publications / conferences / press

 All fellows are expected to submit an abstract and poster towards the annual FLP conference and will be supported to do so.  

When Fellows write up their leadership work for other publications, you should acknowledge the source of funding and the FLP. 

In the instances where:

  • You have your work accepted for national or international conferences / publications. 
  • You have any discussion with local, national or international press.

Please email details to:

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