Applying for 'Junior Clinical Fellow'/ F3 Jobs...what I learnt and top tips for success

Dr Megan Pode - JLED (F3) in Paediatric Emergency Medicine

I always knew I wanted to do an F3 year, so I didn’t apply for training during foundation training. I had my eye on a local trust’s Clinical Teaching Fellow role, which I’d wanted to do since medical school, however I later found out these were only being recruited internally- so I needed to set my sights a little wider!

I started applying for roles around March/April and had four interviews in total. I was lucky enough to receive an offer for my dream job: a year in paediatric emergency medicine at a large tertiary centre. Before this, however, I interviewed for a range of roles including urology, palliative care, and a teaching fellow post in a specialist cancer hospital.

I wanted to write this blog post to share what I learnt from the process and hopefully make it feel less daunting, whatever type of F3 role you’re applying for.

Pre-application: Getting Yourself in the Best Possible Position

Use your F2 study budget

Having ALS and a relevant course or qualification can really help you stand out.

For example:

• APLS for paediatrics

• An ultrasound-guided cannulation course for ED

• ATLS or BSS for surgery

If you haven't done a course yet but have one booked, you could mention this in the long answer box at the bottom of the application. Your trust may also offer free internal teaching or simulation sessions - all of which you can draw on in applications and interviews.

If you haven’t rotated through your chosen specialty, do a taster week

This is a great way to gain experience you can reflect on.

Keep notes on and/or update your portfolio with:

• skills you learn

• presentations in different settings e.g. acute vs clinics vs elective lists

• conversations with seniors

• what you enjoy (and don’t!)

  
  

These reflections are useful for both written applications and interviews.

QI and audit matter, breadth helps.

You’ll have completed a QI project during foundation training, but if possible, I’d strongly recommend doing an audit as well. Questions about QI and audit came up in almost every interview I had.

If you do fairly broad projects, it makes tailoring applications much easier and these are still impactful topics.

For example:

• an audit on DNACPR documentation can apply to medicine, ED, or palliative care

• an audit on VTE prophylaxis is relevant to almost all surgical specialties

• developing an induction or learning resource shows you are proactive and engage in making the department accessible for medical students/ trainees

This doesn't need to be huge, and both can be easily “looped”, demonstrating sustained impact. It’s far better to have a completed, reflective project than a large one that hasn’t progressed or been finished.

TIPSQI have a great guide on QI projects: https://tipsqi.co.uk/guide/ and there is also some e-LFH modules. Different specialities also have guides on QI specific to their field, which may be helpful to read and reference.

If you do a more specific project in say, anaesthetics, but are applying to an unrelated JCF, highlight key skills you learnt and the impact it had e.g. changing a guideline to local practice. This demonstrates the fact you understand the methodology and will be able to apply it in a new setting, impacting change.

Teaching and education are key

Most person specifications emphasise teaching, so I tried to build a range of experiences.

Consider the different types of teaching:

• simulation, virtual, in-person, bedside

• small group and large group

• delivering teaching to patients, medical students, peers, MDT members, seniors, or aspiring medics

This way, you can flexibly evidence your skills depending on the role you are applying to.

👉 Top tip: If you’re sitting ILS or ALS, ask to be assessed for Instructor Potential. Formal teaching training is a great addition to your CV. Similarly, if you’re applying for teaching fellow roles, volunteering for OSCEs or medical school interviews often comes with training that’s very useful to reference.

This is a blog post about applying for clinical teaching fellow roles that is comprehensive and very helpful: https://www.stemlynsblog.org/so-you-want-to-be-a-clinical-education-fellow/

Widening participation, mentorship & leadership experience

Through Medics&Me, volunteers can take part in mentoring, leadership roles, teaching, QI, audit, and networking opportunities. The work I’ve done with the charity came up repeatedly in interviews and was often very well received, as it demonstrated proactive mentoring and a commitment to widening access to medicine.

If you’re looking to mentor, or take on a voluntary role whilst building transferable skills, you can check out our current vacancies on the 'Mentors' page or email hello@medicsandme.com with your experience and the kind of role you are looking for.

Decide how selective you’re going to be

Before applications open, think about your boundaries:

• a plastics JCF anywhere in the UK?

• any acute/medical job in the North West?

• or one specific hospital only?

When jobs are released in high volumes, knowing your limits saves time and prevents unnecessary applications.

Speak to people who’ve done the job.

If you have a specific role in mind, reach out to:

• previous post-holders

• people currently in the role

They can offer insight into timelines, interview style, and what the job is actually like.

Finding Jobs

Jobs are commonly advertised on:

• NHS Trac Jobs

• NHS Jobs

• LinkedIn

• Indeed

Turning on notifications is helpful... you can filter by grade, role, and location so new jobs land straight in your inbox. I’d recommend applying within 24 hours where possible. This can be tough if you’re on-call (I learnt the hard way when an application closed after one day while I was halfway through!), but once you’ve done one application, tailoring becomes much quicker as you can work off your previous application.

Word of mouth matters too

If you’re interested in a specific specialty or trust, consider emailing a consultant to ask whether roles are likely to come up. Consultants often have wide networks and may know about posts before they’re formally advertised.

Preparing Your Application

Most applications included boxes for:

• employment history

• qualifications and courses

• teaching experience

• posters and presentations

• awards and prizes

• research

• management and leadership

• QI and audit

The job sites save this information, so you don’t need to rewrite everything each time- but do double-check that each section is relevant to the role you’re applying for.

It’s completely okay to leave boxes empty if you don’t have experience in that area and you could maybe write in the large text box at the bottom what you plan to do to address that gap.

The ‘additional information’ box

This section is really important. I’d recommend not using AI here- this may be the only part of the application where your personality comes through as it is not set questions/ specific boxes.

I structured mine by:

• working through the person specification for that exact role

• providing short, direct evidence for each point

• finishing with a brief paragraph on why I wanted that specific job

I had four interviews in total, and I genuinely think this section contributed the most to being shortlisted.

The Interview

My interviews felt very similar to what friends describe in specialty interviews, so the process itself was great preparation for future applications. I had two Zoom interviews and two in person.

A helpful structure for answers on why you/ why this job is:

• Clinical (previous roles, rotations, courses, key skills, specialist interests)

• Academic (qualifications, conferences, teaching, teacher training, research, posters, oral presentations)

• Management (leadership, audit, QI, governance)

• Personal (why this speciality/ location/ hospital, future career plans)

👉 Top tip: I memorised a few direct quotes from my TAB and PSG. This allowed me to evidence specific skills using senior feedback and showed engagement with the portfolio.

These roles are often equivalent to ST1 level, so study the specialty person specification closely. You can find these here:https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications/person-specifications-2026

Clinical stations

Don’t forget to prepare for clinical scenarios, especially for acute specialties. A structured A–E approach is essential, and practising with a friend helped me with this aspect. Having someone to prepare with makes the process feel less isolating and enables you to refine your structure.

Situational judgement & ethics

Most interviews included “what would you do if…” scenarios. After two years in the NHS you’ll likely have a good instinct, but interview books are helpful for structure and key points (especially patient safety). Brushing up on Good Medical Practice is also important.

For difficult colleague or ethical scenarios, the mnemonic SPIES is a useful framework:

• Seek more information

• Patient safety is the top priority

• Use your initiative

• Escalate to a senior

• Offer your support

Offer (or No Offer)

Rejection can feel gutting, especially when others around you are getting jobs. My dream job was my final interview, and I didn’t receive the offer until July- it really can be a waiting game. Try not to compare yourself to others (easier said than done I know) and remember everyone’s path is different. Often taking a slightly longer route or going through applications can introduce you to people, highlight gaps in your CV and open doors to exciting opportunities that you may not have recognised previously. Be kind to yourself, make sure to speak to friends/ family and keep up with whatever you do to relax in your free time.

I’m so glad I took an F3 year. Being in one department for 12 months has allowed me to develop my skills and confidence, build my portfolio and continue training with the support of an ES and study budget... while also giving me space and time to consider my specialty choice. Now being in the busy period of speciality applications I am grateful to have had this year, work with amazing colleagues and everything the role has brought.

Wishing you the best of luck if you do decide to apply!