Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Press Release

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR FUNDED TRAVELLING FELLOWSHIPS FOR DOCTORS

As part of a partnership between The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, applications are now open for fellowships in the Medicine, Health and Patient Care Travelling Fellowship category, to travel overseas to look at best practice and innovative programmes. Upon return to the UK, the new ideas would be disseminated for the improvement of the participants’ hospital, organisation, community and society as a whole.

This is the second year of a three year partnership to award one Travelling Fellowship a year for a general medical project.

Professor Miriam Johnson, a Professor of Palliative Medicine from Hull, was awarded a Fellowship in 2015 and will be travelling to Australia to explore better research and better palliative care for people with disabling breathlessness.

Commenting on the fellowship, Professor Johnson said:

“Next year I will be visiting the world’s largest dedicated palliative care clinical trials unit, the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) in Australia led by Chief Investigator Professor David Currow, which is achieving large multi-centre national studies in this area.

“The knowledge and skills I gain will help me to increase the number and quality of successfully developed and well-funded, UK based but internationally collaborative trials which are needed to find better treatments for patients who live with this everyday burden.”

Dr Una MacFadyen, RCPE Council Member and a Consultant Paediatrician in NHS Forth Valley, has also previously benefitted from a WCMT Travelling Fellowship which allowed her to work in Cornell University with a neonatal psychiatry team and in Boulder, Colorado, on bereavement support for parents.

Dr MacFadyen said:

“The Travelling Fellowship provided a great opportunity and the experience gained has been invaluable in my work ever since both for direct patient care and in teaching.”

Successful applicants must demonstrate the commitment, the character and the tenacity to travel globally in pursuit of new and better ways of tackling a wide range of current challenges facing the UK, and upon their return work to transform and improve aspects of today’s society.

A travelling sabbatical for people with the drive, determination and desire to help others, can further their leadership and role model abilities.

Employees who are awarded Fellowships bring great benefits to their employers, not only in terms of the beneficial impact of their personal development, but also with the advantage of their enhanced knowledge, new ideas and examples of best practise that they bring back to the organisation.

Applications are judged purely on project merit, and these opportunities are available to UK residents over the age of 18, of any ethnicity, religion, or gender.

Successful applicants will receive an average Fellowship grant of over £6000, covering return airfare, daily living costs, insurance and travel within the countries being visited, for approximately 6 weeks overseas.

Notes to Editors

1. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established shortly after Sir Winston’s death in 1965, as his national memorial and living legacy. Since then it has awarded over 5100 Travelling Fellowships.

2. The application process for the 2016 awards is now open, and there are 11 varied categories in which people can apply.

3. Churchill’s beliefs and passions are still living on through the Trusts’s Fellows – who are remarkable yet ordinary individuals, representing a wide range of backgrounds, qualifications, interests and professions, but sharing the desire to do something for the improvement of British life and their fellow man.

4. The deadline for the 2016 applications is 5pm on 22nd September 2015.

5. In total 150 Fellowships were awarded in the UK in 2015, an investment of over £1.34 million. The Fellows are currently travelling to 58 countries between them, across 6 continents, carrying out a wide range of projects.

6. To maximise the impact of our Fellowships, the Trust has developed partnerships with other organisations, focused on specific areas of concern and relevance for the UK today. Lessons learnt from overseas travel are effectively coordinated and disseminated, and incorporated into best practice in the UK for the benefit of others in similar communities and professions.

7. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is an independent standard-setting body and professional membership organisation whose aim is to improve and maintain the quality of patient care. The RCPE has a strong UK and international presence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust: 020 7799 1660 www.wcmt.org.uk