Conferences/Competitions/News

·         NHSE London: Digital Education Showcase

·         Round 3 National Recruitment

·         Development sessions for clinical educators

·         Update on Inter Deanery Transfers

·         Subscribe to NHS England Bulletins

·         P1 Post Schedules

·         Meet the Next Wave of AI Innovators in Healthcare!

·         Faculty Development Events: Supporting the Neurodivergent Learner, 19 June

·         Faculty Development Events: Advanced Supervision Skills Course

·         Faculty Development Event: Bullying and Harassment, Thursday 16 October

·         Faculty Development Event: Introduction to Supervision in Primary Care for Shift Supervisors, Thursday 17 July

·         Faculty Development Events: London PSU Learning Lunches

As you will be aware, London employs a large number of doctors across the region. Of the doctors in non-consultant level posts, at least 50% are Specialty and Specialist (SAS) doctors or Locally Employed Doctors (LEDs), and of those around 65% are International Medical Graduates (IMGs). We are proud of the role our doctors play in the health service but recognise that for many, particularly the IMGs and SAS, the support and development needed may not always be available. We are therefore working on a resource for doctors – together with developing a brand – called, appropriately, CapitalDoctor.

This website will reflect the opportunities, support, and connections that working in London as a doctor offers. We aim for the site to give information to those thinking about starting their career (with links to medical schools) as well as those approaching consultant posts. All doctors, whatever their grade and background, will find something for them on the site, including a link to our educator sites for trainers. The site will be similar to CapitalNurse and CapitalAHP, and will be launched in August 2025.

The site is deliberately intended to curate other sites and signpost relevant information that might otherwise not be easily accessible. It will include specific opportunities such as academic training, improvement work, leadership, and more. Once the site is established we will enter Phase 2, which will look at opportunities for collaboration and project work in the Medical Workforce space. If you have any questions regarding the development of the site or any ideas for content, please contact the team.

We have also been working with NHS London to build on the work relating to enhanced induction for IMGs by setting up a network of IMG leads across our providers to share good practice. Alongside this is a network of LED leads, with a similar intention to share good practice and to fulfil the recently published document ‘Blueprint for Change‘ relating to LEDs. These two initiatives are in parallel to similar networks for SAS doctors, led by my colleague Dr Marion Norbrook.

Dr Ruth Brown

London is home to over 1700 SAS doctors, delivering frontline care across the region. SAS tutors and leads within Trusts play a crucial role in supporting their development along with distribution of resources from NHS England. This support can range from broad professional development programs to targeted guidance for progression through the Portfolio Pathway (formerly CESR or Article 14).

I am thrilled to have Ruth Brown by my side as Associate Dean for Locally Employed Doctors (LEDs). LEDs progress towards specialty doctor contracts or specialty training and both groups have a significant proportion of international medical graduates.

The Portfolio Pathway serves as the route to specialist registration for SAS and LED doctors. To support this, the CapitalDoctor page will have a Portfolio Pathway section and one for SAS doctors.

Recognizing SAS Doctors as Essential Contributors

SAS Doctors form a significant part of the NHS medical workforce, providing essential frontline care. They are a diverse and heterogeneous group with varying career paths. Their job plans include a minimum of one SPA (Supporting Professional Activity time), with access to study leave.

Additional roles, including educational supervision, appraisal, and management, are encouraged to support career progression. The introduction of the 2021 Specialist Doctor grade offers specialty doctors new career advancement opportunities.

Specialist doctors must have a minimum of 12 years of medical experience, with at least six years in their specialty. They work autonomously within their scope of practice, with development opportunities that include leadership roles and expanded responsibilities. For further details, refer to the NHS Employers guidance.

Advocating for SAS Doctors in Training & Policy

The Medical Training Review is well underway, and SAS doctors have been represented at major events, including the initial listening session, the London regional training review, and the SAS focus group.

Many SAS doctors have stepped out of medical training for various reasons, while others are considering returning to training or pursuing the Portfolio Pathway to gain entry onto the specialist register.

Raising the SAS Profile & Strengthening Networks

During the Supported Return to Training (SRTT) Conference, we examined how SAS doctors returning to work could benefit from the same offerings given on resident doctor support programs with minimal additional resource investment. Notably, characteristics of resident doctors who had negative experiences in SRTT strongly overlapped with those in the SAS group.

At the Good Medical Practice Day, discussions highlighted the regional and national success of SAS Innovation Bids. The winning bid focused on developing SAS doctors as educators and leaders, including tailored courses. The regional bid, meanwhile, has facilitated reverse peer mentoring with senior management, raising awareness and sparking crucial conversations.

One of the key actions in the London SAS strategy is to have a digital platform for SAS to encourage networking, development opportunities, and resources about the roles. I am pleased to share that we have now started work on this, which will also be signposted from the CapitalDoctor London website.

Together, we are shaping a stronger, more connected SAS workforce and ensuring their contributions are recognised, supported, and celebrated.

Dr Marion Norbrook

Applications open:

Date: Tuesday 29 July 2025

Time: 10 am

Applications close:

Date: Thursday 14 August 2025

Time: 4 pm

All applications must be submitted via Oriel and further information can be found on the Medical Training Recruitment Website.

Please note, not every specialty will be participating in Round 3, so you are advised to check Oriel and the Medical Training Recruitment Website for details of which specialties will be participating in the round.

The following sessions are available to view the recording and see the slides used:

·         Rotations

·         Programme management

·         ARCPs

·         Recruitment

·         Trainees Requiring Additional Support

·         Quality

·         Meet the Dean and PGMDE Funding

To stay informed, we strongly encourage you to subscribe to the IDT newsletter. Subscribers will receive the latest updates and be notified as soon as key dates are announced.

NHS England circulate monthly bulletins on a wide range of topics, including the Healthcare Leaders Update, Greener NHS Bulletin, HR and OD Bulletin, and the NHS IMPACT (Improving Patient Care Together) monthly bulletin. On the website you can choose which bulletins you wish to sign up to.

Period 1 2025-26 post schedules are now available on the EFA portal for Trusts in London. These post schedules give each Trust their established posts baseline for the 2025-26 financial year. The costing given uses the 2024-25 rates. The variance tab shows the financial impact of the year roll-over.

For any queries please contact the Post Issues team.

We’re thrilled to introduce the talented fellows of Cohort 4 for the NHS Fellowship in Clinical AI! These exceptional professionals will be at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into healthcare to improve patient outcomes and enhance NHS services.

Learn more about the cutting-edge projects they will be working on.

The workshop will cover:

·         developing an understanding of neurodivergence with a particular focus on common experiences, patterns and themes which may be suggestive of dyslexia, ADHD, and autism

·         considering the experience of neurodivergent doctors and dentists in training

·         approaching conversations with a resident doctor or dentist experiencing difficulties where neurodivergence may be unidentified and worth considering as a relevant context

·         supporting resident doctors or dentists with identified neurodivergence

The event will take place on Thursday 19 June, 9am to 4.30pm in LG15 (S), Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8UG). Register here.

Upcoming dates:

·         Thursday 18 September, 9am to 4.30pm (venue TBC). Register here.

·         Tuesday 9 December, 9am to 4.30pm (venue TBC). Register here.

Perhaps you have been asked by the trainer in your practice to supervise a GP or nurse learner clinic, or practical session or shift. Perhaps you are keen to discuss cases with learners or offer feedback on their performance, or maybe you’d like to lead a tutorial.

This fully interactive, face-to-face one day course introduces important concepts in medical education including workplace supervision skills, feedback, assessment, and enabling practice of these skills in a safe space.

This is not a course that leads to approval as an ‘educator’ for sign-off purposes, but aims to support those who are keen to start getting involved or developing their skills for supporting education in the workplace. Please note this course is for those with a supervisory role for postgraduate learners. Unfortunately, it is not suitable for those still in training themselves, such as GP Registrars.

Please note that to become a GP trainer/Educational Supervisor, the approved GP Supervisor Course is necessary.

Upcoming dates:

·         Thursday 17 July, 9am to 5pm in 5.10S Franklin (S), Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8UG. Register here.

·         Thursday 30 October 9am to 5pm (venue TBC). Register here.

These are interactive, supportive online sessions facilitated by the Faculty Development team that are about generating ideas and critically thinking about our education system. We meet on Microsoft Teams from 12pm to 1:15pm four times a year.

Recent topics have included: interprofessional supervision, generation theory, and uncertainty.

Contact the team for further information. Upcoming events include:

·         10 June, 1pm to 2.15pm (please note slightly later start time). Topic: “Why are we so busy?”

·         9 September, 12pm to 1.15pm

·         16 December, 12pm to 1.15pm

You can join each meeting using the same Teams link.