Junior Clinical Fellow
Regular day
The day usually starts at 9 AM for medicine and 8 AM for all other specialities. The day starts with a review of patients on your ward, looking at new admissions, reviewing any sick patients or patients where there has been a significant change overnight. At 10 AM there is usually a board rounds which is a virtual ward round to plan the day. This is followed by a regular ward rounds of all patients on the ward. After you finish, you can attend clinic, study for your exams or do private study. You are still expected to be contactable by pager. It is possible for you to get through the whole of your two years by just focusing on clinical for. However you are expected to do beyond your clinical duties to demonstrate personality traits that will serve you well as you progress.
On Call day
This will start at 9 AM and you will have to carry the on call bleep for 12 hours and 30 minutes till the end of the shift. You are normally exempt from regular ward work. You will be based on the Acute Medical Unit where you will see patients who are referred by GP or A and E. These patients will require clerking (history and examination) formulation of a management plan, discussion with your seniors if required, and presentation of these patients on post take rounds. In the unlikely scenario of you not having any patient to review , you will be expected to help out with other work including routine ward rounds and discharge summaries. You may get called for cardiac arrest calls, urgent reviews of deteriorating patients. You are expected to get senior review for any patients you are concerned about.
Off Days
Zero days (Approx 16 days per year)
These are days you get off for long working on your on calls you will get days off which are called zero days. Generally you will get 3 to 5 days every 8 – 10 weeks. (Each completed cycle). Each cycle will consist of regular working days, 14 days and nights on calls . You are free on those days, but you might choose to use these days for clinics, audits or training for your exams. More importantly, you can use these days to work towards your speciality.
Annual leave (approx 28 working days per year)
These will be your entitled leave, please plan your leave early and put in early so that your leave is granted. A minimum of 6 weeks notice is required. If you are on call, you are expected to swap these days. Please understand that there are busy periods, where you may to be granted leave (e.g. christmas, Easter).
Study leave (approx 10 days per year)
These are discretionary and will be granted for attending courses, private study and preparation for your examinations. Please book in early by planning well in advance.
Sick leave (up to 6 months per year)
This is a closely monitored leave and if you call in sickies, you will be refused and asked to put in a GP leave form. Most doctors take 1 -2 days of sick leave per year. On average, among all the staff, sickness stands at 5 days per year. Your supervisor will be asked your your sick leave record when you apply for your next job.
Carers leave/ emergency leave (up to 5 days per year )
This is at discretion and will be given if a person whom you care for is admitted to hospital or unwell. (e.g. child). This is not an entitled leave and your manager can ask you to take annual leave)
Other responsibilities/ Balancing the books
You will need to prepare for your exams and get through your membership exams. This level usually lasts for 3 years and you will need to prepare quite hard to get through all three sections during this time.
You will have to balance the books, ensuring that you have some savings at the end of the day
Starting off
Starting in a new healthcare set up is stressful and probably the first time you have been separated from your extended family. This is usually a gentle start with a couple of days of induction to the NHS and good trusts will provide you with a mentor to seek out when feeling low. There are so many non UK doctors that you will be accepted quite easily into the group. you will suddenly find time to pursue goals and games that you were finding difficult, (e.g. going to the gym, playing badminton and reading).