Clinical Attachments

Clinical attachments is a four week, unpaid, work placement and are a useful way for international medical graduates to get a taste of the working lives of doctors and other health care professionals in the NHS.

You will be attached to a particular department and supported by a named supervising consultant.

What can I do?

Clinical attachees have observer status only, similar to that of a medical student and must work under the supervision of their supervising consultant, or a trained member of the multidisciplinary team.

You are permitted to:

• take a medical history
• perform a clinical examination under their supervising consultant or a member of the consultant’s team.

You are not permitted to:

• perform intimate examinations on patients
• perform catheterisation of male or female patients.
• request investigations
• prescribe any treatment or administer any medication.

Entry requirements

You will need to meet the following conditions:

• successful completion of a criminal records check
• documents giving your proof of identity
• if you are not a native English speaker, you will need an IELTS or OET certificate at level 7.5 or an equivalent level of English that you can demonstrate
• occupational health clearance from the NHS trust
• attendance at the doctors' induction day before the attachment commences, if applicable
• satisfactory references from referees cited in the application form.

The Trust charge £500 for a clinical attachment, which is non-refundable.

Accommodation

The Trust has a very limited supply of accommodation, which currently operates on a waiting list system. Therefore we cannot guarantee accommodation on site.

Where accommodation is available, a charge will be payable. The Trust holds single occupancy accommodation only, and is unable to accommodate any family members.

How to apply

For more information, or to apply, please email clinical.attachments@dchft.nhs.uk

When applying, please provide the following information:

• An attached CV
• Your preferred specialties 
• The dates/months you can do the Clinical Attachment - please be as flexible as possible.

Clinical Attachments run from September until July.