Resident Doctors are on strike from 7 - 13 April. Please continue to attend appointments at the hospital unless you are contacted directly to rearrange. Our hospitals will be busy, but we are still here to provide emergency care when you need it.

Medical Observerships

A Medical Observership (formerly known as a clinical attachment) is an unpaid period where a graduate is attached to a clinical specialty with a named supervisor.

The broad aim is to gain an appreciation of the nature of clinical practice and observe the role of the clinical team within the NHS. 

This is an Observership role only. A doctor doing a Medical Observership will not have any direct ‘hands-on’ patient contact or take on any patient responsibility.

Medical Observerships are suitable for medical graduates only, and available for the following:

  • Doctors who have qualified outside of the UK & do not hold a GMC registration with a licence to practise, who would like to gain some experience of an NHS organisation & UK culture
  • Doctors returning to practice following a break (e.g. maternity leave or ill health) who may already have a GMC licence, with or without a licence to practise.

The maximum duration of a Medical Observership is 12 weeks and there is a one-off administrative fee of £350, payable at the time of application.

First, you will need to liaise with the department you are interested in visiting, as it is at their discretion if they would be happy to support your request and host you. Read more about clinical services at LTHT.

If you do not hear back from your chosen Consultant or CSU team within 4 weeks, please assume your application has not been successful.

Please note, should your application be successful, no references, clinical, personal or otherwise, will be provided at the end of your Observership and we are not able to issue certificates of attendance.

Fees

If your Medical Observership request is successful, you will be required to pay a £350 administrative fee. Payment details will be sent to you after your application form has been submitted by your hosting team and reviewed by the honorary contracts team.

Your Medical Observership request will not proceed until the fee has been paid and we can confirm receipt of payment. Please note, if the fee is made via bank transfer, your bank may apply a charge. You will be required to pay any difference to LTHT to ensure the full £350 fee has been paid.

  • Page last reviewed: