Overseas Guidance

The principles, application process and funding allowance within the guidance takes precedence over any categorisation of any named course on the course list. 

One overseas conference/meeting, providing all other curriculum requirements are met, will be considered for each Resident Doctor for any one programme, which can be defined as Foundation, Core, Higher or otherwise every three years (so as not to disadvantage doctors on a run-through programme). 

Overseas Study Leave should align to the Resident Doctors curriculum or PDP. 

If service requirements prevent attendance at a UK based educational opportunity, an international alternative/equivalent could be considered. 

Funding for overseas study leave will only be considered if there is a documented discussion with the ES about the clear need of the course/conference to meet curriculum requirements, the course/conference provides a clearly stated curriculum outcome and one of the following criteria is met:  

• For conferences, when the applicant is the first author and sole presenter of a paper which has been accepted for a poster or presentation. This poster or presentation must be based on the Resident Doctors own research undertaken as part of a clinical training programme or an NIHR recognized academic clinical fellowship or clinical lectureship. 
• For other courses or activities when there is no equivalent course or activity in the UK. For example: an international conference for a very small specialty which does not have a conference. 

When the funding required is less than that of attending the cheapest equivalent activity in the UK it is the Resident Doctors responsibility to provide evidence of this when applying for funding. 

For clarity except for criterion 3, funding will be limited to one overseas activity per training programme or one overseas for any one programme as defined above. 

Course fees: 

Where there are different ranges of fees for the event and approval is given to attend, Resident Doctors will only be reimbursed for the early bird fees.  

Membership fees which are included in the event fees will not be reimbursed.  

Accommodation: 

Requests for reimbursement of overnight accommodation costs will only be granted where it is not reasonable to travel on the day of the event or end of the event.  

Overnight accommodation is in alignment with the UK agreed rate. 

Subsistence expenses will not be reimbursed by NHSE SW. 

Travel within the UK: 

Travel to the airport in the UK will be reimbursed at the most economical rate, which may be the equivalent to standard rate train fares or coach.  

External Funding: 

If an external body such as a Medical Royal College suggests a Resident Doctor attends an international conference, NHSE SW will expect that body to contribute at least 50% of the costs. 

Resident Doctors cannot claim for any reimbursement to an overseas event if they are using annual leave.  

Any costs incurred by the Resident Doctor without having prior approval will be borne by the Resident Doctor. 

Subsistence and travel whilst abroad must be met by the Resident Doctor. 

Travel within the UK: 

• Airport car parking  
• Taxi fares  

Overseas revision courses will not be approved. 

If an individual wishes to fund a period of International Study Leave by other means, the ES/equivalent should still ensure the activity aligns to the curriculum or PDP.  

In this instance, the Resident Doctor should ensure that they follow their Trust’s Study Leave application process. 

Courses that include leisure activities will be scrutinised. Only the educational component may be supported.

An overseas conference/meeting where the individual will attend remotely (not in person) will usually not be considered as International Study Leave.  

However, the suitability of the specific conference/meeting and remote attendance fee should be discussed between the Resident Doctor and their ES/equivalent and will be categorised as appropriate for the speciality course list.  

The TPD/equivalent should also be consulted to confirm the impact factor/quality of the specific international conference/meeting proposed. 

Resident Doctors should not commit to the costs of international events until approval has been received. Study leave applications for overseas activity must be approved by the Southwest Postgraduate Dean or the nominated deputy BEFORE applying for reimbursement.  

It is the Resident Doctors responsibility to ensure the application is submitted to the correct email addresses and in time for it to be processed by both the employing Trust and NHSE SW. 

It is important to ensure that Resident Doctors provide all the information required in order for NHSE SW to make an informed decision. 

Resident Doctors will be expected to provide a clear and descriptive supporting statement explaining why competencies gained from an activity cannot be achieved from local and/or regional programmes, what will be their personal gain, as well as how it will enhance the needs of the wider NHS agenda. 

The Resident Doctor must ensure that the application has been signed by the ES/TPD or HoS, whichever is appropriate to the needs of the request. Confirmation from the sponsor’s email will be accepted if a signature is difficult to obtain stating they support the application under the terms of the overseas guidance requirements.  

Events where Resident Doctors require longer than 4 days attendance will need to be agreed by the HoS. In some cases, funding may only be reimbursed according to the involvement of the postgraduate doctor at the conference. 

Resident Doctor’s Initial Actions: 
Application for funding should be submitted to the NHSE SW Study Leave inbox with the costs, full agenda/conference details attached. Costs for accommodation and travel should also be included.  
The email subject heading should read “Overseas REQUEST for Study Leave” and sent at least a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the event. 
Application for time will also need to be submitted through your employing Trust.

NHSE Study Leave Team Actions: 
Upon receipt the application is logged and discussed at the next Study Leave Weekly Approval Panel.  
Where a decision will take longer than 10 working days, the Resident Doctors will receive an email acknowledging receipt. 
The Study Leave Approval Panel aim to return a decision within 10 working days from the date of submission. 
If approved a copy of the outcome and reference number will be sent to the Resident Doctor and the employing Trust in order to facilitate a smooth process for reimbursement. 
If a Resident Doctor meets the application criteria and their application receives approval, NHSE SW will consider funding  the lower amount of either the cost of the conference/course or the accommodation and travel. 

Reimbursement after the activity: 
Resident Doctors will need to ensure that they provide the reference number for the application to the Trust along with any other documentation required by their Trust when submitting a claim. 
The Trust will include this on the Monthly Study Leave Return.  
Trusts are unable to reimburse a Resident Doctor without the allocated reference number. 
Resident Doctors should not send any claims for reimbursement to NHSE SW as they are unable to process these.  

Applications will be returned if there are any details missing or if there is insufficient information. This may delay a Resident Doctors application and fail to meet the required timescale.  

It is the responsibility of the employing Trust to manage any requests for retrospective claims.  

NHSE SW are unable to support retrospective claims under any circumstances.