GP Academic Fellowship Scheme

General Practice remains a tremendous and dependable resource for both patients and the Health Service, despite the waves of change that go on around it within the NHS. Facilitated by the unique structure of primary care and its component parts, GPs are increasingly broadening their work and utilising their skills in ways that go beyond the valuable clinical work they do.

The AF scheme offers an attractive opportunity to newly qualified and more established GPs who are increasingly looking to diversify and take on portfolio careers. A full-time Fellow would be seconded to a different practice for each of the two years, each for 4 sessions per week. One of these sessions is reserved for the Fellow to engage in Practice Development Projects (as agreed between the Fellow, the practice and the Scheme Leads). The remaining six sessions would be spent at Swansea University pursuing opportunities in education and research and a qualification in higher education.

In addition to an attractive salary that competes with a GP employed in full time clinical work, an AF could benefit from the following added bonuses:

General Medical Practice Indemnity (GPMI) cover for clinical negligence claims.
£500 study leave budget to attend educational events and promote the fellowship programme.
Payment to cover the costs of an overnight accommodation in cases where an AF may be placed in practices further from Swansea University than is feasible to travel to and from each day.
Funding for postgraduate qualifications in the fields of medical education or research.
Conference fees of up to £1500 (as well as travel expenses) to present educational and academic research nationally/internationally highlighting Wales as a centre of excellence in research and medical education.

All the AFs who have started the scheme have completed it and along the way they’ve enjoyed rich experiences in the fields of medical education, research, or both. Each fellow has chosen to take advantage of the funding available for postgraduate qualification and each has acquired training and skills which have afforded opportunities for their careers which may not otherwise have been possible.

The GP practices involved have embraced the ethos of the scheme and have made the fellows welcome during their time there. Both the practices and the fellows have benefitted from the practice development that their placement has offered whilst the ongoing clinical exposure has been so important to the fellows and highly valued by the practices. An indication of the Fellows’ enjoyment of their clinical placements is that half have returned as partners to one of the practices they were seconded.

Please take a look at the testimonials page for more.

If you are a GP interested in applying to become an Academic Fellow or you represent a practice which may like to host an Academic Fellow, we would love to hear from you.