King’s International Fellowship Programme

International doctors with postgraduate medical qualifications can benefit from King’s International Fellowship Programme in a medical or surgical field. This allows candidates to obtain registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) through professional sponsorship by the Royal Colleges and high-quality training at the Trust.

Launched in 2016, the King’s International Fellowship offers a hands-on training approach. This covers a wide variety of surgical and medical specialities at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s sites at King’s College Hospital and Princess Royal University Hospital.

The one- to two-year programme provides training and development under the supervision of a leading consultant and an educational supervisor. It also helps clinicians to develop a range of valuable transferable skills such as leadership and management.

Key Activities:

  • First class training at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the provision of and supervision from a leading medical consultant and an educational supervisor
  • The opportunity to develop a range of transferable skills including leadership, management, developing guidelines, conducting audit, research activities and understanding clinical governance
  • The opportunity to form a lifetime network with healthcare professionals and other fellows

King’s International Fellowship specialties

King’s College Hospital site

Surgical Fellowship

  • Colorectal surgery
  • Fetal medicine
  • Major trauma and acute care surgery – King’s Major Trauma Centre
  • Metabolic and bariatric surgery
  • Vascular surgery

Medical Fellowship

  • Clinical immunology and allergy
  • Critical care medicine
  • General paediatrics
  • Metabolic, bariatric and obesity medicine
  • Paediatric hepatology
  • Radiology
  • Respiratory

Princess Royal University Hospital and Orpington Hospital sites

Surgical Fellowship

  • Exposure to general orthopaedics
  • Orthopaedics, foot and ankle
  • Orthopaedics, hip and knee
  • Orthopaedics, upper limb

One to two positions in each specialty are available on a competitive basis each year.

The Surgical Fellowship programme is delivered in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) International Surgical Training Programme (ISTP).

If your desired specialty is not listed above, please ask a member of our team and we will check with the relevant department regarding King’s International Fellowship availability.

Admission criteria

  • Admission to the King’s International Fellowship Programme requires the support of an applicant’s overseas employer, their government or other recognised sponsoring body
  • A primary medical qualification recognised by the GMC
  • A postgraduate qualification and/or evidence of satisfactory completion of a recognised training scheme (applicants must have board certification or board eligibility or have satisfactorily completed residency)
  • Between three to five years’ experience in a specialty
  • Applicants must also satisfy the GMC’s English language requirements:
    • an overall score of 7.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (academic version) test, with a minimum of 7.0 in each area of the test obtained in the same test – the certificate is valid for two years and must be valid at the time of submission to the GMC, OR
    • a minimum score of B in all four domains of the Occupational English Test (OET) (medical version), obtained in one sitting – the certificate is valid for two years and must be valid at the time of submission to the GMC

The application process

  • A full and detailed CV, including a logbook of procedures to demonstrate the level of experience
  • Valid OET/IELTS certificates
  • Provide a letter from the sponsoring overseas organisation confirming the availability of funding and that the fellow will secure employment following completion of the programme
  • Interview with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • All applicants are subject to a selection process, satisfactory references, background checks and occupational health clearance.
  • Secure an honorary contract with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Subject to meeting the criteria of the GMC, the successful applicants will be sponsored by the Royal Colleges for registration with the GMC and provided with a supporting Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange) visa.
  • Placement and administration fees apply

Certificate of Completion

  • Each successful candidate will receive a Certificate of Completion of Clinical Fellowship from King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and King’s Commercial Services
  • For the surgical fellowship, each candidate will receive a Certificate of Completion of Clinical Fellowship from King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and King’s Commercial Services and a Fellowship and a Certificate of Completion Fellowship of the ISTP from the RCS (optional)

Why King’s Commercial Services and what can we offer you?

Guided by the Education and Training Services Team, a dedicated KCS fellowship lead will assist and give guidance and recommendations at every step of the pre-arrival process, ensuring a smooth transition into the new role. This includes providing support for interview, a learning objectives discussion, and advice on relocation, accommodation, visa, opening a bank account and local induction.

If you are interested in the King’s International Fellowship Programme please contact us at kch-tr.EnquiriesKingsCommercial@nhs.net

I have just finished my three-year paediatric gastroenterology fellowship in Saudi Arabia. I came to King’s College Hospital to gain more experience in my field by completing a one-year fellowship in clinical nutrition, intestinal failure and rehabilitation, in the paediatric gastroenterology and nutrition department. I chose King’s as it is one of the leading hospitals in England in paediatric intestinal rehabilitation.

During this advanced fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with a diverse range of cases in both inpatient and outpatient settings. I participated in clinics such as the IRaT clinic (intestinal rehabilitation and transplant), feeding clinic, IBD and general gastroenterology clinics. I also enjoyed the weekly parenteral nutrition (PN) ground round where all the team would discuss patients on PN, including consultants, fellows, dietitian, PN pharmacist and the intestinal failure specialised nurse. Additionally, I gained valuable experience by preforming scopes on several patients with intestinal failure with stomas.

This year had a profoundly positive impact on both my personal and professional development as a doctor. I am grateful to have been part of such a great team. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr Oscar and Mrs Jirina for their invaluable assistance, as I wouldn’t be in this position without their support.

Zainab, Fellow