Medical Student Placement – Policy Team

NHS Confederation medical student-selected component opportunity

We are offering medical students with an interest in healthcare policy and how the health service works the opportunity to undertake their student-selected component of their studies in our strategic policy team. Successful candidates would work alongside a team of policy professionals in spring-summer 2025 to influence, analyse, test and communicate national level health and care policy. 

The student will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of the whole health and care sector and how they fit in as well as understanding of how decisions at a national level impacts their future role as a clinician.  

In addition to gaining a current big picture perspective of the challenges facing healthcare in the UK, students will get more insight into what works in the sector and to get involved in how we support our members through policy and improvement to set the service on a more sustainable path. 

As the NHS Confederation is a membership organisation, the student will be exposed to healthcare leaders implementing policy on the ground. They will also be able to work with the government, NHS England and other national and local stakeholders to contribute to develop, analyse and communicate policy and strategy. They will get opportunities to engage directly with healthcare leaders as well as colleagues with a variety of expertise. 

Applicants should: 

  • Have a demonstrable interest in UK health policy and how the health and care sector works, beyond their medical degree course. 
  • Have some understanding of challenges facing healthcare in the UK and how national policy can influence its future working. 
  • Have an aspiration to use the time at the NHS Confederation to seek to use their experience to explore what works in the sector and to get involved in how we support our members through policy and improvement work. 
  • Be self-motivated, willing to complete independent research, work across multiple teams in the NHS Confederation and share their findings. 

  • Chibuchi Amadi-Livingstone

    During my elective, I gained a deeper understanding of structure of the NHS to a level I ought to have been taught at medical school. This included understanding the responsibilities that integrated care systems (ICS) have in delivering the health services within their regions to how they partner with their local authorities to improve the health of their local population. 

    At Confed, I attended meetings across various networks, where I had the opportunity to listen to and sometimes engage with healthcare leaders, ranging from chief executive officers of trusts to clinical officers of major UK companies. It was particularly enlightening to observe that the challenges faced by one organisation are rarely isolated; they are often systemic issues experienced universally. 

    Confed is uniquely positioned to bring leaders together through meetings and roundtables, enabling it to discuss these problems and share best practices and innovative solutions that have been successfully implemented. 

    Placements like these are essential is equipping the next generation of clinicians with the tools they need to understand and possibly influence the landscape of healthcare policy

    I also had the opportunity to assist in several projects, including a report about artificial intelligence in healthcare as well as working closely with the organisations lead on work and health. Work and health has become a critical national topic, as successive governments seek to reduce the strain that health-related economic inactivity places on public resources and economic productivity. At Confed I was able to meet and discuss with individuals who are at the forefront of designing and implementing national schemes aimed at tackling health-related economic inactivity.

    My time at Confed taught me that the country yearns for individuals with frontline clinical experience who are also interested in policy. Clinicians who can offer real-world perspectives to the innovative ideas generated by policymakers, and who can combine their clinical expertise with policy knowledge in order to develop creative solutions to the challenges facing our health and care system. Placements like these are essential is equipping the next generation of clinicians with the tools they need to understand and possibly influence the landscape of healthcare policy.

About us

The NHS Confederation is the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The members we represent employ 1.5 million staff, care for more than 1 million patients a day and control £150 billion of public expenditure. We promote collaboration and partnership working as the key to improving population health, delivering high-quality care and reducing health inequalities.  

Interested in applying?

Please contact Richard King to register your interest in the role or for further information by 10 January 2025. Interviews will take place in January - February 2025.