Applications for Cohort 4 of the NHS Fellowship in Clinical AI are open.
Successful applicants will be fellows in clinical AI from August 2025 - August 2026, per the role description document
Prospective applicants can read the curriculum, a suggested list of clinical AI resources and the background to the fellowship.
The Fellowship in Clinical AI and the GSTT International Clinical Fellowship are offered jointly in an exclusive dual fellowship programme in London, UK.
Dual fellows have an integrated programme of 2 parallel placements in world-class London hospitals, which includes the full programme of the Fellowship in Clinical AI plus a clinical attachment to hone complementary clinical skills and knowledge.
The webinar covered the features and curriculum of the fellowship, addressed frequently asked questions, and invited follow-up questions from applicants.
If your question is not answered below, please contact the faculty.
Workforce and geographical eligibility are not decided by the faculty of this fellowship. This is decided at a regional level by regional funding bodies, and this is not a uniform process across the UK. If you wished to apply this cohort but were ineligible, please email the fellowship faculty (gstt.aifellowship@nhs.net) so that we can identify priority areas for recruitment in future cohorts.
Why are only certain career stages within my workforce group eligible?Healthcare leaders with expertise in clinical AI are required for successful AI adoption in the NHS. The eligible career stages have been agreed by consensus with our sponsor organisations and the digital workforce leads for eligible professions to target individuals just about to enter positions of clinical leadership and service development, and thus best placed to deliver on the transformational benefits of clinical AI.
Is a doctor/dentist eligible if they are: a core trainee (e.g. including Internal Medicine Training), post-CCT, not in training, or not allocated a confirmed NTN at the time of application?No. Medical and dental trainees must hold a confirmed National Training Number on a specialty training programme leading to CCT in its own right for the duration of the post.
Do I have to know how coding, programming, or AI to be eligible?No. Prior experience of coding, programming, or AI is not an essential criterion of the Person Specification. Previous fellows have been recruited without such experience.
Can I apply if I almost meet the eligibility criteria?Applicants who believe they are borderline eligible should contact the faculty directly (gstt.aifellowship@nhs.net) to clarify before applying to avoid disappointment.
Can I do this fellowship more than once?No. Current fellows and alumni are not eligible.
There are 2 stages of recruitment: shortlist and interview. In the shortlisting stage, eligible applicants are scored according to their responses on the online Application Form. The highest scoring applicants from the shortlisting stage are then invited to a remote interview. The scores from interview are used to match successful applicants to their choice of project.
What is the format of the interview?Interviews are conducted remotely. The interview is a structured series of questions or problem-solving tasks designed to assess an applicant’s suitability for the fellowship per the role description document (see above: "Application Process", Step 1). The interview panel consists of fellowship faculty, AI supervisors, and regional education leads.
When will the interviews happen?The interviews are planned for 22-29 January 2025. Applicants proceeding to interview will be sent a link to book their interview slot.
How should I prepare for the interview?Interviewees are assessed according to the Essential and Desirable criteria of the role description document. Consider how to show evidence of meeting these criteria with real-world examples, particularly through participation in digital transformation projects in healthcare.
Yes. The deadline is the same as listed in the Key Dates above.
What if I cannot get the appropriate person to submit my Approval In Principle Form?Applicants who do not have the relevant submitted Approval In Principle Form will not be shortlisted. This is because we can only make offers to applicants who have evidence of being able to take up the post. The submission portal closes automatically and late submissions are not accepted. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure this has happened.
No. Projects and hosting teams in the NHS are proposed to the faculty by AI supervisors. Successful applicants are matched to these projects competitively following the interview stage.
How does project matching happen?Applicants will rank the projects they are eligible to be matched to. The highest scoring applicant from the interview stage in each regional pool will be matched to their highest ranked project. The next highest scoring applicant is matched to their highest ranked project remaining, etc. until all posts are filled.
Can I be matched to a project in a different region?No. Each region’s fellows are eligible to be matched to projects within their own region only. An exception applies the case of the BSH Fellows in Clinical AI (see dedicated FAQ section).
Do I need to already work at a particular NHS Trust to be matched to a project based in that NHS Trust?No. You do not need to have an existing affiliation to an NHS Trust which hosts AI projects. You will hold an honorary contract or Letter of Access with the host NHS Trust for the duration of your fellowship in order to work on the project.
What should I do if I only want to do a specific project in the fellowship?To be matched to a specific project, an applicant should go through the normal application process. There will be an opportunity to rank projects by preference. The applicant should rank only projects they would want to do on the fellowship year. If the applicant scores highly enough in the interview stage, they will be matched to such a project. Otherwise, if there are no projects remaining that the applicant has ranked when it comes to the matching step, they will not have a post on the fellowship.
What if there are no projects that directly align with my clinical specialty or background?Many fellows work on projects outside their usual specialty area on this fellowship. Clinical AI is still a growing field and clinical specialties are not equally represented in the available projects. The experience from any project will involve significant amounts of transferable knowledge and skills which will equip you to adopt clinical AI in your own career.
No. Having a lower time commitment is not suitable for the learning objectives of the programme. The educational activities and project placements are structured to deliver the learning objectives of the fellowship curriculum based on a 0.4 FTE unbanded working pattern. If your Approver cannot confirm that this time can be released, your application is not eligible and will not be shortlisted.
Can I compress the fellowship into a shorter and more intensive placement?No. For the same reasons as above.
Can do the fellowship without reducing my training/working pattern, i.e. do it on top of normal working hours?No. Due to the time commitments of this programme, a fellow must not have a total working pattern >1.0FTE in total.
If I'm in specialty medical or dental training, will my time spent on the fellowship count towards my training?No. Fellows typically agree with their Training Programme Director to enter less than full time training for the duration of this fellowship. The time spent on the fellowship is then added on extend the expected duration of training. The educational content of the fellowship is not expected to align sufficiently with current medical/dental curricula to count towards competencies.
Is the fellowship free?Yes. The places are fully funded for eligible NHS staff.
Does the fellowship pay my salary directly?No. The fellowship is not your Employer. Your existing Employer is reimbursed for your salary (0.4FTE for 12 months) to release your time for the fellowship post by the regional or professional sponsoring organisation for your post. The salary that the Employer is reimbursed is determined by the Employer’s quote at the start of the fellowship.
Is there travel/subsistence expenses to support attendance at in-person workshops?Yes. This is paid up front and then reclaimed from your Employer or regional sponsor.
What happens if I move to a new employer (e.g. rotating through training) during the fellowship?Salary reimbursement for fellowship time is transferred to your new employer.
This fellowship is a time-bound opportunity that runs for 12 months between the dates specified. The educational activities and project placements hosted by AI supervisors are structured to deliver the learning objectives of the fellowship curriculum within this period. Project supervisors propose projects related to cohort dates and are not required to provide supervision beyond these dates. In general, interrupted time on the fellowship year cannot be added on beyond the end of the fellowship year. Individual situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the faculty.
Can I defer entry to the fellowship to a future cohort if I apply in this cohort?No. The offer for a fellowship post must be accepted for that cohort’s recruitment cycle. An applicant would newly apply for the following year.
Fellows receive a certificate of completion of the fellowship issued by the faculty.
The British Society for Haematology (BSH) is sponsoring posts for BSH members (full or associate members) in Cohort 4 of the Fellowship in Clinical AI. There are 2 sponsored posts in Cohort 4, and the appointees will be designated BSH Fellows in Clinical AI. These posts are reserved exclusively for applicants who are BSH members, and will link to projects relating to Haematology.
Are there Haematology themed AI projects available?Yes. The BSH and fellowship faculty have identified projects relevant to the specialty theme of AI in Haematology and details will be released during the recruitment cycle. These are “BSH-badged projects”, and first priority for them is reserved exclusively for BSH Fellows in Clinical AI.
Can any member of the BSH apply?No. BSH applicants also need to meet the professional eligibility criteria for workforce groups as specified in the role description document.
Can BSH applicants from any region apply for BSH-badged projects in any other region?Yes. BSH applicants can apply from any NHS region. However, in practice, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that they are able to commute to their project location through the fellowship year, and this is not resourced by the BSH or by the fellowship itself. The offer for a fellowship post may be withdrawn if the potential BSH Fellow in Clinical AI is unable to demonstrate a feasible plan for commuting to their project location. Please contact the faculty ((gstt.aifellowship@nhs.net) for more specific information on geographical availability of such projects.
How will BSH membership be checked?BSH applicants enter their BSH membership number in the application form, which will be checked against the membership registry of the BSH.
How does project matching for BSH Fellows in Clinical AI happen?Applicants will rank the projects they are eligible to be matched to. The highest scoring BSH applicant from the interview stage will be matched to their highest ranked BSH-badged project. The next highest scoring BSH applicant is matched to their highest ranked BSH-badged project remaining, etc. until all BSH-sponsored posts are filled.
Can BSH applicants only get matched to BSH-badged projects?BSH applicants who are appointed as BSH Fellows in Clinical AI will exclusively be matched to BSH-badged projects. BSH applicants who also meet regional criteria can be matched to projects in that region (whether BSH-badged on not) if they miss out on a sponsored post (they are automatically re-entered into the applicant pool of that region). BSH applicants who do not meet regional criteria for any of the participating regions are only eligible to be matched to BSH-badged projects as BSH Fellows in Clinical AI.
Can a non-BSH applicant be matched to BSH-badged projects?Yes. If there are BSH-badged projects that are still available after the BSH Fellows in Clinical AI have been appointed, these can be matched to either BSH applicants or non-BSH applicants as part of the regional matching process.
What happens if a BSH applicant does not obtain a sponsored post as a BSH Fellow in Clinical AI?BSH applicants who do not obtain one of the sponsored posts in this cohort are automatically re-entered into the applicant pool associated with their region. The applicant could be matched to a project in that region depending on their interview score. Entering the fellowship through this route will not carry the designation of BSH Fellow in Clinical AI, but will still be a fellow in clinical AI. It is possible to be matched to a BSH-badged project through this route, depending on regional availability.
No. Due to high volume of applicants, the faculty unfortunately is not able to help with this.
Can you accommodate a bespoke arrangement?Please contact the faculty directly (gstt.aifellowship@nhs.net) if you require a bespoke arrangement.