ABS Fellowships and Observerships

Association of Breast Surgery Educational Fellowships 2022

The ABS offers educational fellowships with the aim of raising the standard of breast care in the UK through supporting the education and training of its members. Fellowships can be used for a variety of educational purposes and are at the discretion of the Trustees.

Educational Fellowships are for a maximum of £2,000. 

Possible uses of the fellowships might include:

• Visits to the UK or international breast units of good standing to observe/ learn new techniques or practice
• Visits to low and middle-income countries to experience perspectives of the management of breast disease in other areas
• To support attendance/ presentation at breast focused scientific conferences (e.g. San Antonio, ASCO, ESSO etc.)
• To support attendance at recognised breast educational meetings (applicants from LMI countries may apply to attend the ABS Conference or an ABS Course)
• Other novel or innovative educational initiatives will be considered with an appropriate and detailed application
• Applications for fellowships will NOT be considered for examination or degree courses.

Eligibility criteria:

• Educational projects NOT otherwise funded through the usual routes (Trust study leave allocations/ industry grants/ Deanery etc)
• Membership of the Association of Breast Surgery for a minimum of 3 months
• Clear evidence of a breast special interest/ practice
• Agreement to present a report (within 3 months of completion of the fellowship) of how the award was used, detailing what was learnt and how this applied to future practice

Applications should be submitted in the following format:

• A personal statement detailing the project/ initiative and the benefits you will obtain from the fellowship and how you will translate these into improving the standard of breast care in your place of work
• Details of any other source of funding (e.g. sponsorship/ scholarships) already secured for the same purpose
• A summarised breast focused CV (2 pages maximum), detailing attendance at breast meetings, conferences etc over the last 2 years
• A letter of support from an independent referee/ supervisor as to your suitability for this fellowship
• A letter of invitation from the unit/ institution to be visited, if applicable, showing that approval has been given for the intended programme
• Applicants should state the amount they are applying for (up to a maximum of £2,000) 

Applications should be submitted by e-mail to mbartholomew@absgbi.org.uk

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS: 30^th September 2022

For any queries please contact 020 7869 6853 or mbartholomew@absgbi.org.uk

The 2021/2022 round of applications for TIG Oncoplastic fellowships will open on the 8th November and close on 6th December 2021.

Posts will begin in August 2022.

For further details go to https://severndeanery.nhs.uk/recruitment/training-interface-groups/oncoplastic-breast-surgery/

To find out more about how ABS Fellowships have been used, please click here to read reports from ABS members who have previously been awarded, fellowships. 

Mihir Chandarana - ABS International fellowship

Bashar Zeidan - ABS fellowship, Belgium

S. Masooma Zaidi - ABS fellowship, France

About

The Association of Breast Surgery (ABS) Education and Training Committee has been working with members of the ABS to identify centres prepared to offer local observerships.

On this page you will find a list of centres across the UK that are prepared to offer observerships for UK Consultants, Specialty Doctors and Trainees wishing to gain further knowledge on various surgical procedures.

The ABS are only acting as an information point and are not responsible for any accreditation of the observerships undertaken and stress that this is a local arrangement to be made between the host and the observer.

If you have any questions about these observerships or if you are interested in becoming an observer at any of these units, please contact Margarita Bartholomew (mbartholomew@absgbi.org.uk) or telephone 0207 869 6853.

Observership Centres

TIG FELLOWSHIPS

The Fellowship program is overseen by the Association of Breast Surgery and the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons through the Training Interface Group in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery. The aim of these training posts is to produce surgeons fit to practice in modern oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgery. Applicants from general surgery and plastic surgery are encouraged to participate.

The specialist breast units provide high volume interspecialty experience to meet the trainees individual educational needs. Access to breast and plastic clinical experience for each of the posts is highlighted in the job descriptions. Exposure to surgical techniques is comprehensive in all posts, but may vary in volume of cases between units.

An annual recruitment round runs each year with the fellowships starting on 22 July each year.

please visit JCST website for more information about the application process.