Global Fellowship Scheme - when you are in the UK

When you arrive in the UK, there will be plenty for you to think about and to get sorted as you settle into life in the UK.  In particular, we would remind you to:

• ensure you arrange and attend your ID check with the GMC (you will not be able to start work without this)
• provide any information as required by the HR department of your Trust
• comply with any instructions given to you by the UKVI (if any)
• provide the College with a scanned copy of your visa, and confirm the date that you will start your placement

 When you start your placement

When you begin your placement, there should be support mechanisms in place in order to assist you when you start. In particular you should receive:

• a hospital induction
• a departmental induction (this may be incorporated into the hospital induction, depending on local set up)
• an initial meeting with your named educational supervisor

If you do not receive any of the above, please contact us and let us know.

The College while you are in the UK

The College is here to support you whilst you undertake your GFS placement. We want to hear from you to know how your placement is going, so do keep in touch with us. In addition, we provide the following support:

• Access to simulation courses to help integrate you into the NHS.  Details of these courses can be found here
• the New to the NHS meeting is a free event organised by the College. The event helps newly appointed MTI and GFS doctors to understand their role and responsibilities within the NHS. The morning session includes the GMC's Welcome to UK Practice workshop and afternoon sessions include interactive workshops and discussions specific to GFS doctors. We will email you the dates of these meetings when they are arranged and would advise you to book on as soon as possible as these events are popular
• the College cannot advise individual doctors on specific episodes of clinical care or medicolegal issues. Support for individual practitioners is in the domain of the medical defence organisations and the College strongly advises anaesthetists and related medical professionals to obtain appropriate independent insurance cover and membership of a medical defence organisation. Useful links to support and wellness organisations can be found here
• we request that your progress reports, including six-monthly reports, be emailed to us (reports should be produced every six months). This allows us to see how you are progressing within your post, and to identify if there is any further information/support that we can provide to you. It also provides us with information about the post and hospital that you are training in
• we will run an annual survey for GFS doctors, where it is possible for you to provide anonymous feedback about your placement. We use this as part of our Quality Assurance (QA) mechanisms, so we ask that you provide as much information as possible, be it good or bad. We want to ensure that our GFS doctors are placed in supportive environments and have access to good quality teaching, and feedback received through the survey is used when approving placements in the future. We will run a similar survey which is sent to GFS hosts, where we look further at the support that we provide to host hospitals.
• as an GFS doctor, you will receive the discounted trainee rate to attend College events. We have a diverse events programme which we are sure will be of interest to you
• the College is here to support you. If you have any concerns regarding your placement, please raise these with your Educational Supervisor to begin with. If unresolved, please contact us as we have mechanisms in place to advise/deal with any issues you may have
• as well as support from College staff, we also have a GFS Leadership Group made up of clinicians who are available to provide support/advice as required. They can be contacted through the Global Partnerships team