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General Information and Expectations 

What is expected during my Fellowship year?

As a Fellow you are not just doing your own project, you have joined a programme.  This means you are expected to contribute to the wider Fellowship cohort.  This includes:

  • Attending the FLP bimonthly meetings.  Dates of these meetings will be given in August and Fellows need to do their upmost to attend.
  • Attendance and engagement with the courses provided by the FLP.  Each fellow will have different learning needs and may therefore wish to book either a select few, or all of the courses on offer.  The courses are costly to run and difficult to source elsewhere, so we suggest making the most of the opportunity to access such courses for free.  Attendance at courses is monitored and waiting lists are in place.  There is an expectation that you contact the facilitator as well as the future leaders admin team well in advance if you are no longer able to attend, so the place can be offered to another fellow.  
  • Contributing to and attending the FLP conference. 
  • The FLP is a large fellowship scheme and we cannot know how your fellowship is going unless you tell us.  We expect all fellows to advise us promptly if there is a change in personal circumstances interfering with your ability to do your work, eg a change in your supervisory relationship, a significant change in your project, a change in your health status, so that we can offer appropriate support.

By the end of your first month, Fellows need to:

For the FLP annual conference:

  • Fellows are expected to submit an abstract (summary) about their project and state what format they would like to present (usually poster or spoken presentation).  The conference is usually held in February / March – details will follow nearer the time.  

On completion of your Fellowship year, all Fellows are expected to:

  • Email the Post Summary form to the Fellows to the FLP.  This document will be used within the FLP annual report, which is published on our website.
  • Email a summary of any clinical work that has been undertaken to england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net  For medical, dental and public health registrars in training, Fellows must declare all locums undertaken on their Form R, as this is the formal record of their whole scope of practice.
  • Complete an online evaluation survey (a link will be emailed out) - this is anonymous and all feedback is used to develop the programme.  
  • We encourage all Fellows to sign up to the FLP Alumni Network which is hosted on the Future NHS Collaboration Platform. All communication from the FLP to Alumni is now via this platform.
  • Your host Trust and/or Educational Supervisor may have specific requirements about how your project work should be summarised (for example, via a project report). To ensure you are clear about expectations, you should discuss whether there are any specific requirements with your Educational Supervisor well before the end of your Fellowship.

You may also with to join our informal Future Leaders and Alumni Facebook group by clicking on the link, to keep in touch with peers and for the most up to date information about upcoming activities.

For medical, dental and public registrars in training: We advise all Fellows who are completing the programme via the OOPE route to read the following guidance. You may also wish to take a look at the Supported Return to Training (SuppoRTT) webpage.

Unless otherwise stated, documents need to be emailed to england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net

Please be aware that there are a range of documents & resources to guide Educational Supervisors in their role as ES.  These are available to view and download on our Information for Educational Supervisors page.

A word about Adult Learning: What does it mean to be an adult learner ?

One of the core principles of the FLP is that you are an adult learner.  What do we mean by this?

Adult learning refers to the process of you gaining knowledge, skills and competence during the year.  During your Future Leaders Fellowship we facilitate a range of learning opportunities: some formal & academic via your PGCert, some additional via the FLP curriculum, some informal through networking and your bimonthly meetings, and some through working practically on your project(s).  Rather than following a set curriculum with learning outcomes and workplace based assessments, during your fellowship you are responsible for identifying your own learning needs and how you are going to address them.  You will do this in discussion with your Educational Supervisor.  You may also want to discuss your development with a coach, mentor, peer mentor or FLP colleague.  The main ask here is that you are engaged in your own learning and responsive to your own needs.  Please also note that educational courses during the FLP are like any other professional activity, and therefore:

  • you are fully present, prepared and committed to learning
  • you are punctual and aware of the start and finish times
  • you are generous with your contributions and feedback, mindful that your input might help a fellow participants learning
  • you are clear and timely in your communication, particularly if your circumstances change affecting your ability to participate
  • you practice good stewardship of the resources given to you: you have your own study budget for the year and are considered in how you use it

Can I work clinically during my Fellowship year?

Fellows must be mindful of the fact that they are employed to undertake a Fellowship and that is their primary responsibility.  The whole of their employed time is to be spent in this Fellowship, irrespective of the funding of the post.  Normal hours of work should be clarified at the outset of the year with the Fellow’s Educational Supervisor.

It is not permissible to undertake any clinical sessions or other form of employment during normal hours of work.  Undertaking additional/alternative employment during normal work hours of a Fellowship is fraudulent behaviour and Fellows doing so may be subject to disciplinary procedures by their employer, Health Education England and their professional regulator.

Some Fellows express concern at spending a year away from clinical work and may wish to take steps to mitigate this concern and maintain their skills, e.g. through locum or bank work. Locum or bank work is permitted as long as it is undertaken in a Fellow's own time, i.e. during evenings, weekends or annual leave. Locum or bank work must not interfere with a Fellows’ ability to carry out their Fellowship role.

All Educational Supervisors and Fellows need to sign the Locum-Bank-Clinical Work Whilst Undertaking FLP agreement form by the end of August.

All Fellows must declare any clinical work undertaken at the end of their Fellowship year.  For medical, dental and public health registrars in training, Fellows must declare all locums undertaken on their Form R, as this is the formal record of their whole scope of practice.

Indemnity

In terms of indemnification of work undertaken by Future Leaders, cover is provided under the NHS Resolution scheme for Fellows undertaking service evaluations.  This would normally be through the Fellow’s employer.  Where however the project primarily benefits NHSE rather than the employing NHS trust, it has been agreed that NHSE indemnifies the employer and that NHSE will take the lead in the unlikely event of any litigation arising from the Future Leader’s work.  

However, where the project primarily benefits NHSE rather than the employing NHS Trust, it has been agreed that NHSE indemnifies the employer.  Therefore, NHSE will take the lead in the unlikely event of any litigation arising from the Fellow’s work.  

What do I need to do at the end of my Fellowship year?

On completion of your Fellowship year, all Fellows are expected to:

  • Email the Post Summary form to the Fellows to the FLP.  This document will be used within the FLP annual report, which is published on our website.
  • Email a summary of any clinical work that has been undertaken to england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net  For medical, dental and public health registrars in training, Fellows must declare all locums undertaken on their Form R, as this is the formal record of their whole scope of practice.
  • Complete an online evaluation survey (a link will be emailed out) - this is anonymous and all feedback is used to develop the programme.  
  • We encourage all Fellows to sign up to the FLP Alumni Network which is hosted on the Future NHS Collaboration Platform. All communication from the FLP to Alumni is now via this platform.

Your host Trust and/or Educational Supervisor may have specific requirements about how your project work should be summarised (for example, via a project report). To ensure you are clear about expectations, you should discuss whether there are any specific requirements with your Educational Supervisor well before the end of your Fellowship.

You may also with to join our informal Future Leaders and Alumni Facebook group by clicking on the link, to keep in touch with peers and for the most up to date information about upcoming activities.

For medical, dental and public registrars in training: We advise all Fellows who are completing the programme via the OOPE route to read the following guidance. You may also wish to take a look at the Supported Return to Training (SuppoRTT) webpage.

Do I need to have an Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) during my FLP year?

For medical, dental and public health registrars in training:

ARCPs have to be conducted on a roughly 12 monthly basis with a maximum of no longer than 15 months between two ARCPs.  This is regardless of whether a trainee is out of programme.  As a medical, dental or public health registrar in training you will have taken an OOPE for this Fellowship year.  Your TPD should conduct an ARCP in the timescale outlined above.  This can be in abstentia (you do not have to attend) if you and the TPD are happy with that.  You are not required to upload evidence or work based assessments (WBAs) during your OOPE to your training program portfolio as your out of programme leave is not counting towards your training.  Should it be beneficial to your training progression to do so you can do this at your own choice. You must however provide an Education Supervisor report using template to provide the panel with an update on your OOPE.  The e-Portfolio based tempate will not be applicable so you may upload a report in a format that best serves you and your ES.  It is essential that all resident doctors must complete a Form R and declare any clinical practice and locum work they have undertaken in the period since their last submission.

You should be given an outcome 8 if you under go an ARCP whilst out of programme.

For further information see the Gold Guide, available here: https://www.copmed.org.uk/gold-guide/

What Information is provided to my Educational Supervisor?

Educational Supervisors are provided with an induction handbook and other resources to help guide them in their role in providing their fellow(s) with a positive and meaningful fellowship experience.  These are available in the 'Information for Educational Supervisors' section of our website.

Research Ethical Approval

Do I need research approval for my project?

During your FLP year you will carry out a quality improvement or service evaluation project. These projects should NOT be ones that are classed as research, or which require NHS Research Ethics approval. This is because the research approval process takes several months to obtain, and you are unlikely to be able to complete a research project within the remaining time available.From August 2024, we will be asking the named link for the host institution to check this before a bid for a fellowship project is submitted.

You can check and see if your project is classed as research using this ‘Decision Tool’ from the HRA http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/

This tool also has a useful table with explanations about the difference between research and service evaluation

Can I publish my project?

If you intend to publish your work in a traditional academic journal then it is important to identify a journal that can publish this, e.g. one that publishes service evaluation work with a new methodology. A good example is BMJ Quality and Safety.

If you wanted to publish work that was specific to a specialty (e.g. Psychiatry, Paediatrics or Public Health) it is worth contacting the journal to see if they would publish these sorts of initiatives under the service evaluation umbrella.

What if my project changes and it is now classed as research?

Things can change throughout a fellowship, and your project may evolve into something that is research. In this situation, you need to have a discussion as soon as possible with your supervisor about whether the project is suitable for completion within the FLP year. Your supervisor is responsible for ensuring that you have access to the necessary support, whether academic or service evaluation.

I want to attend a job interview or recruitment day – can I do this during my FLP time?

As this activity is not directly related to the FLP you are required to request professional leave to attend a job interview just as you would in your substantive/training post. You should seek approval from your FLP supervisor and should inform the FLP team via email  england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net This is in keeping with BMA guidance (Study, professional and special leave (bma.org.uk)). Whilst the BMA guidance is limited to doctors, this should be applied to all fellows regardless of their clinical background.

What IT resources are available to me?

If you are working solely on behalf of NHSE, you will be given full access to the NHSE network for the duration of your Fellowship.  In order for this to happen, HR must put a temporary secondment agreement in place to facilitate network access for governance purposes.  You will be contacted before your start date setting out arrangements for the secondment and the steps you should take to fulfil the requirements set out by Human Resources.

Hot desks with access to PCs are available at Don Valley House, NHSE Leeds Office (Blenheim House) and the NHSE Hull Office (Health House, Willerby). This can be booked via the online Matrix booking system available from an NHS England linked email account.

Useful policies and documents

A range of useful forms and documents are available here for Fellows to download.

We have also put together a range of resources and documents for Educational Supervisors - these can be accessed on our Information for Educational Supervisors page.

Useful contacts and links

Contacts

For more information about the Future Leaders Programme, please contact the team at england.futureleaders.yh@nhs.net

Links for interest

NHS Leadership Academy

Kings Fund

Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management 

Clinical Skills Network (Yorkshire & Humber)

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