CSP urges physios to apply for NICE fellowship and scholarship programme

NICE recruits 10 fellows and 10 scholars each year. The fellows, who are usually senior health and social care leaders, serve as ambassadors for the institute for three years and work to support implementation of its guidance.

The organisation also offers one-year scholarships, which allow qualified health and social care professionals to undertake projects that aim to improve the delivery of care or evidence-based practice.

Appointed scholars and fellows receive support from NICE, via a series of workshops, and have access to an allocated adviser. They also benefit from development opportunities and get to work with like-minded colleagues from different disciplines across the UK.

Recruitment for next year’s programme is now open for both fellows and scholars, and the deadline for applications is 28 October 2019.

Successful applicants carry out their roles alongside their existing jobs and their NICE duties are unpaid.

Feedback from a current fellow

Last year, NICE awarded a three-year fellowship to Emma Salt, a physiotherapist with a special interest in persistent shoulder pain.

Dr Salt, a consultant physiotherapist at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, told Frontline: 'I have attended all the workshops and training that NICE has provided over the last year.

‘This has helped me understand the breadth and scope of the organisation, how NICE guidance differs from NICE standards, how the institute interacts with other organisations such as NHS England and NHS improvement and some of the political challenges around this.

‘This knowledge is helping me in being an effective ambassador for NICE as well as providing a good platform to ensure that AHP professions generally, and physiotherapists specifically, are recognised as important contributors in regulating health care'

Apply to be a NICE Fellow

Apply to be a NICE Scholar