Information for trainees
Are you experiencing imposter feelings?
If you are experiencing self-doubt about your abilities, you may be experiencing imposter feelings. If this is you, we have a number of resources available which may help you manage these feelings.
On the NHS Learning Hub we have a short presentation by Sally Clee, Education Training Manager at the National School, introducing imposter feelings and how you can manage them.
View recording of the presentation ‘Managing imposter feelings’
HSST trainees have been sharing their experiences of managing imposter feelings as part of our Sharing Good Practice series.
View the Sharing Good Practice catalogue
Information for trainees and supervisors
HSST Sharing Good Practice webinar series
We are pleased to announce the following Sharing Good Practice webinars, featuring talks delivered by current HSST trainees. Although aimed at other HSST trainees, some topics have a universal focus; for example, managing imposter feelings and reflective practice. If any interest you, you are welcome to attend.
Sharing Good Practice: Skills and behaviours of a Clinical Scientist
Wednesday 12 February 2025 – 2pm to 3pm
View further details and register for this webinar (expired link)
Sharing Good Practice: Skills and behaviours of a Consultant Clinical Scientist
Monday 31 March 2025 – 10:30am to 11:30am
View further details and register for this webinar
Sharing Good Practice: Skills and behaviours of a Consultant Clinical Scientist
Thursday 10 April 2025 – 10:30am to 11:30am
View further details and register for this webinar
The webinars will be recorded and made available on the School website.
Browse our catalogue of Sharing Good Practice resources
The Academy for Healthcare Science’s HCS Leadership Journal
Owen Driskell, the School’s Deputy Training Programme Director for the HSST, recently had the privilege of joining the editorial board for the Academy for Healthcare Science’s HCS Leadership Journal.
Recognising the importance of developing scientific leadership the Academy founded the Journal in 2021. It provides a publication where a broad spectrum of leadership perspectives can be shared from experienced to developing leaders. It has proven a successful journal with Higher Specialist Scientist Trainees regularly contributing articles about their contributions to the NHS and their leadership development journeys.
One of those successes is a current HSST, Usman Lula, who has taken on the role of co-editor for the Journal working alongside a diverse and dedicated editorial team. The Journal is published twice a year and is advertised in the AHCS Vox newsletter and HSST Monthly Memo.
View the latest and previous editions of the HCS Leadership Journal
Changes to NIHR research award schemes
If you are considering an emphasis on research in your career after the HSST, you will need to know about upcoming changes to research career development opportunities at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
What’s changing?
Since 2018, the NIHR Academy has been working to break down barriers to career progression in research. However, their portfolio of opportunities have grown over the years and become complex. To make these opportunities more accessible and easy to understand, they are simplifying their fellowship offering to a single award at predoctoral, doctoral and postdoctoral levels.
By simplifying their awards, but keeping their background-specific funding committees, they aim to improve the experience for applicants and maintain the level of funding and background-specific support that is currently available.
Important upcoming timelines
The Predoctoral Award will be the first to launch in January 2025. Doctoral and Postdoctoral awards will run twice a year.
Predoctoral award
Application window – 29 January to 20 March 2025
Postdoctoral award
Application window – 26 March to 21 May 2025
Doctoral award
Application window – 9 April to 10 June 2025
Further details about the changes are available on their website or by emailing academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk. All other NIHR research career development opportunities will be unaffected by these changes and will continue as normal.
If you have colleagues who are also interested in moving into this area, please signpost them to this information.
Visit the National Institute for Health and Care Research website
Are you interested in sharing your practice?
If you or your network have developed practice that you feel could be valuable to share with your peers, please express an interest in sharing your practice via the form linked to below.
Express an interest in sharing your practice
March 2025 NSHCS Education and Training Collaborative
We have held 5 successful Education and Training Collaborative meetings since November 2022. All the meetings have enabled the School to develop because of valuable input from our stakeholders.
One of the activities that has arisen out of the Collaborative is the Sharing Best Practice Webinar series. As of today we have had 21 webinars and have many more booked in.
The independent review of the School that is currently being conducted will conclude in the spring, around the same time when we would normally hold the March face-to-face Collaborative.
We will be working through the recommendations of the review around the time the next Collaborative is due to happen. Around the same time we will be asking for further and considerable input from stakeholders around the STP final assessment.
We have therefore decided to cancel the face-to-face Collaborative in March. Currently, we plan to run the November Collaborative online – where we anticipate we will be able to communicate the developments that arise from the recommendations from the independent review.
Missed a previous edition of the HSST Monthly Memo?
You will find previous copies of the HSST Monthly Memo on our website.