University of Bristol and Severn Foundation School
Why Severn?
The University of Bristol offers world-class research opportunities, linked to training in a number of excellent clinical teams. The range of programmes and the quality of research teams make the Severn Specialised Foundation Programmes (SFPs) stand out. This is recognised by the testimonials from our current and past foundation doctors and also indicated by the degree of competition to secure these posts (6 - 10 applicants per post).
The Programmes
The Severn Foundation School and the University of Bristol offer 15 Specialised Foundation Programmes. Our research opportunities are unbundled from the clinical rotations allowing successful applicants to competitively select the most suitable combination of research area and clinical rotation. There are a wide variety of research opportunities encompassing a range of academic subjects. Thus the SFPs in Severn offer a great opportunity for future academic clinicians to start their career and develop a good grounding in clinical research.
Currently the academic component of the job is in the second year (F2 year) which consists of:
- A 4 month academic post
- Based at the University of Bristol with a day release for service work
- 2 x 4 month service posts
- University Hospitals Bristol / North Bristol NHS Trust
- Each with a day release for academic work
The training offered allows our SFP doctors to be competitive to obtain Academic Fellowship posts and similar. During the F2 year SFP doctors will have a four month protected block of time to undertake a research project (with 1 day clinical service commitments). In order to maximise the benefit of this project time they will also have 1 day research time in the remaining 8 months of their clinical training to turn the research into outputs.
North Bristol - Protocol for Academic F2s (Clinical Shifts)
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston - Protocol for Academic F2s (Clinical Shifts)
Full programme details for 2024 entry:
Severn SFPs 2024 (all posts are subject to change)
Research Areas and Leads
The posts are research orientated and details of the academic programmes can be found from the links below:
- Anaesthetic, Pain and Critical Care Sciences (Professor Tony Pickering)
- Cardiology (Dr Angus Nightingale)
- Clinical Epidemiology / Public Health (incl. Nutrition) (Kyla Thomas)
- Emergency Medicine (Dr Edward Carlton)
- Haematology and Genomic Medicine (Professor Andrew Mumford)
- Neurology (Dr Elizabeth Coulthard)
- Obstetrics and Neonatology (Dr Christy Burden)
- Ophthalmology (Dr Denize Atan)
- Paediatrics (Professor Ether Crawley and Professor Richard Coward)
- Primary Health Care (Professor Debbie Sharp)
- Psychiatry (Dr Helen Bould)
- Renal (Professor Simon Satchell)
- Respiratory (Professor Nick Maskell)
- Rheumatology (Professor Neil McHugh, University of Bath)
- Surgery (Miss Natalie Blencowe)
The Curriculum
In line with the syllabus outlined in the Rough Guide
- Complete F2 competencies in 2 service blocks
- Day release in service blocks for academic work
- Day release back into service in academic block
- Generic research methods course
- Half day/week in block 1
- Complete a piece of academic work - 4 months
- Literature review
- Practical project in lab
- Data collection - survey, interviews, etc.
- Write a paper
- Presentation at academic meeting
- Prepare an ACF application
Clinical Research Methods Course
Our taught programme is delivered by senior clinical academics and will include half-day sessions on:
- Epidemiology
- Health Services Research
- Statistics
- Critical Appraisal
- Good Clinical Practice & Ethical principles
- Good Practice in Laboratory Research; Translational application
- Writing a grant proposal.
- Producing the first paper draft
- Communicating with confidence
- Presentation skills training
- Designing clinical trials
- Involving patients in research
- Careers in Academic Medicine
Supervision/Mentorship
- Clinical supervisor / educational supervisor (Trust based)
- Academic supervisor (University of Bristol)
- Member of group of 15 F2 trainees
For all enquiries regarding the Specialised Foundation Programmes please contact Professor Tony Pickering, Specialised Foundation Programme Director or the individual programme leads.
For details about the clinical rotations please contact:
Dr David Evans (Director of Medical Education, North Bristol NHS Trust)
Dr Kieron Rooney (Director of Medical Education, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust)
For information regarding Specialised Foundation Programmes in the Peninsula Foundation School, please contact Suzanne Maddock, Peninsula Foundation School Manager, or visit the Peninsula Foundation School Website here.
Important Note about Selecting Severn SFPs
Applicants will be asked to rank the clinical programmes on application. If shortlisted for interview, applicants will also be asked to rank the academic research projects. Applicants successful at interview will be matched to clinical and research preferences based on their interview score, and receive offers accordingly.
If you apply for an Specialised Foundation Programme and are unsuccessful (or do not accept an offer), you will automatically be entered into the main national recruitment round for general Foundation posts. If you have been successful and have accepted an Specialised Foundation Programme, you will not be entered into the general recruitment round.
For further details, please go to the UKFP website.