Career and training
What a fellow year can—and cannot—do for a career
A local role may let you test a specialty, gain UK systems experience, develop teaching or research, and collect relevant supervised evidence. It cannot by itself promise a training post, CREST sign-off, exam exemption or a CCT.
Exploration or consolidation
Choose a post with the patient group, case mix and senior supervision you need. A highly specialised unit can be fascinating but may not cover broad competencies needed for your next application.
Moving into specialty training
Check each future programme's person specification and competence evidence. A CREST may be required for foundation equivalence; NHS England says 2027 accepts the 2024 and 2027 versions if the specialty's conditions are met. Arrange genuine supervised assessment early.
Building a longer non-training career
Some doctors remain locally employed, move into a SAS role if eligible, or later pursue another route. The 2026 England SAS framework has specific service-length, seniority and experience tests; an FY3 fellow does not automatically qualify.
Appraisal and revalidation
Ask your designated body or responsible officer how appraisal, supporting information, scope of practice and revalidation will work. A fellow post does not mean there is an ARCP; keep appropriate records as a licensed doctor.
Choose a destination, then verify the route
Turn a fellow year into a plan you can review
Decide whether the immediate aim is to test a specialty, consolidate clinical work, apply to training or build a longer career outside training. A job can support more than one aim, but its title does not establish that it meets any particular recruitment requirement.
Before accepting: inspect the next application's rules
For national training, read the person specification for the exact specialty, entry level and recruitment year. Check required experience, any limits on experience, competence evidence and deadlines. Record what this job could demonstrate and what it will not cover. Recheck when the next cycle's rules appear rather than assuming last year's requirements continue.
At the first supervisor meeting: agree evidence opportunities
Bring a small list of capabilities to develop and ask who can observe the work, which settings are available and when progress will be reviewed. If CREST is relevant, read the current form and signatory requirements with the supervisor. Agree assessment opportunities; do not seek a promise of a signature before the capabilities have been demonstrated.
At review: test whether the role is delivering
Compare actual supervised experience with the agreed aims. If service duties repeatedly displace needed exposure, discuss a practical adjustment and review date. Keep a plan for continued safe employment and development if training recruitment does not produce an offer. For longer LED or SAS plans, ask medical staffing and a career adviser about your own eligibility rather than treating another doctor's transition as a precedent.
Keep appraisal separate from recruitment evidence
Ask the employer's revalidation team about your designated-body connection, appraisal arrangements and records across your whole scope of work. A file assembled for an interview may omit material needed for appraisal. Conversely, an appraisal is not proof that a particular specialty recruitment criterion has been met.
From understanding to practice
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