A clinical attachment may also go by the name ‘observership’. Essentially what you would be doing is following a team of healthcare staff at a hospital in a department you’d be interested in working in the future. Ideally, this would allow you to understand how that particular specialty or department worked, as well as get an idea of the NHS infrastructure as a whole.
This can also be a good way to get a small refresher of what the medical field is like if you’ve had a significant gap or just feel nervous about starting in the NHS.
This should be a balanced decision made after consideration of your situation and expectations. While many feel that a clinical attachment in the UK is a golden ticket to getting a job, it may not always hold true. A hospital is under no obligation to offer you a post just because you have done an attachment with them.
This can vary greatly depending on what you’ve signed up to do. Some hospitals may only allow you to take on ‘observer’ status, especially if you do not yet have GMC registration (most clinical attachments come with the stipulation of having registration, but a few will take on those who have at least passed PLAB 2). Typically clinical attachments in the UK last from 4-6 weeks.
You can more or less expect to start out with limited responsibilities under the watchful eye of a consultant who may then slowly delegate minor tasks to you as they see fit such as:
- Clerking (admitting) patients
- Attending ward rounds
- Speaking to patients/taking their history
- Directly observed clinical examination of patients
- Observing surgical procedures.
The easiest way would be to contact the HR of any hospital you’d be interested in pursuing the clinical attachment at.
Email a consultant
If you personally know a consultant in the department you wish to be in, that would make your work easier.
Google!
Just by typing in ‘clinical attachments in UK’ or ‘NHS clinical attachments in ’ will get you many results.
Ask a Friend or Colleague
If you know someone who has done an attachment, ask them how they got it. Otherwise, you can post in the Forum for International Doctors in the NHS Facebook group and ask others there.
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