Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACF)

Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACFs) provide both a clinical and academic training environment in your chosen specialty

Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACFs) provide a clinical and academic training environment in your chosen specialty. These posts can also lead to further academic studies like a Training Fellowship or postdoctoral fellowship.

Applying

When applying you will need to meet the criteria in both the clinical and ACF person specifications. You are also required to demonstrate appropriate competence in both an academic and a clinical interview for the specialty to which you are applying.

If you currently hold a National Training Number (NTN) or Deanery Reference Number (DRN) which required clinical interview in the General Medical Council (GMC) specialty associated with the ACF, at the same level of training, you will not be required to attend a further clinical interview. You will only be required to attend the integrated clinical-academic interview as you will have met the requirements of the clinical interview previously.

If you hold a DRN for core training, and are applying for an academic post at a higher training level, you must attend and be deemed appointable at a clinical interview at the level that matches that of the ACF being applied for. Where there is no national clinical recruitment process at the appropriate level, you will only be permitted to apply if you already hold a NTN or DRN in the specialty.

You will be asked in the clinical application form what posts you wish to be considered for - academic only or clinical and academic posts. It is important that you understand the implications of your response to this question as you will not be permitted to change your answer at a later date, even if you realise that you have made a mistake. It is therefore important that you check your application answers fully, prior to submission.

If you state in the clinical application form that you only wish to be considered for academic appointments, you will not be considered for clinical training programmes, regardless of your performance at selection.

Shortlisting

If shortlisted, academic applicants will be required to attend an integrated academic interview. This consists of both academic and clinical questions and assessors. If you are considered appointable at the academic interview and do not hold an NTN or DRN in the specialty, you will be invited to attend a clinical interview in the same specialty, at the same training level, providing you have also completed the associated clinical application form. Any academic offers made will be conditional upon meeting the appointability threshold at the clinical interview.

Further information is available from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) website.

Clinical benchmarking preferencing

Prior to offers you will be invited to preference the clinical programmes for which you wish to be considered for. How you respond will depend on whether or not you are applying to clinical programmes.

How those applying to be clinically benchmarked should respond will depend on whether or not they are in contention for clinical programmes.

If you are applying to academic posts only

If you are only applying to academic posts, there is no need to take any action when invited to preference programmes. The clinical benchmarking preferencing process has no bearing on your ACF application.

If you are applying to academic and clinical posts

If you wish to be considered for clinical programmes you will need to complete preferencing in the same way as any other candidate.

After the clinical benchmarking interview

Once the clinical benchmarking interview has been completed and scores confirmed, your ACF appointing region will be notified of the outcome so they can confirm any offer made. This is the case whether you are in competition for ACF programmes only, or also clinical programmes.

If you are applying to academic posts only

If you are only applying to academic posts, once your scores are confirmed your ACF region will be notified of your clinical benchmarking outcome. You may be withdrawn from the clinical recruitment process at this stage and your clinical benchmarking application will proceed no further.

If you are applying to academic and clinical posts

If you are applying to academic and clinical posts, your clinical benchmarking application will not be withdrawn and you will be considered for clinical posts during the clinical offers process.

If you have decided you are happy with your ACF programme, you should withdraw your clinical application to enable offers for other applicants to proceed as soon as possible.

Offers for clinical posts

It is possible to accept an offer for a clinical recruitment process, having already accepted an ACF programme offer. You should only do this if you have changed your mind about taking up the ACF programme and wish to take up a clinical programme instead. You must contact your ACF appointing region as soon as possible if this is the case as you will be leaving the programme unfilled. 

Feedback

Regardless of whether you are applying for ACF only, or ACF and clinical, you will receive feedback regarding your benchmarking interview scores and interviewer comments at the end of the round when all other candidates do. Feedback will be made available regardless of your status.