Aims The Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellowship (SCLF) is a one-year programme which aims to develop future clinical leaders in NHS Scotland, within medicine and dentistry. The Fellowship is supported by NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the Scottish Government and multiple host-partner organisations. A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the SCLF programme was conducted to identify the key learning and reflections of participants, and to ascertain the long-term impact on Fellows upon recommencing clinical training.

Methods A total of 52 individuals, including current and all previous Fellows, were invited to complete an online questionnaire which asked participants to identify key learning from their SCLF experience, and explored their personal reflections of the Fellowship. The questionnaire also aimed to ascertain what barriers Fellows had encountered upon returning to clinical training, and how their attitudes to medical leaders and organisations had been influenced by the programme.

Results 25 individuals responded to the questionnaire. Free text comments detailing each Fellow’s key learning and reflections from the SCLF programme were themed according to the NES Leadership Capabilities Framework. Fellows described an overwhelmingly positive and far-reaching impact across a series of domains, notably ‘Self-Leadership’ and ‘Collaborating & Influencing’. Distinct components within the SCLF programme were felt to be especially useful; namely ‘Leadership Development Days’, Coaching and the shadowing of medical leaders. The evaluation identified a need to provide ongoing support for Fellows returning to clinical training, with many Fellows citing time constraints, a lack of colleague understanding and unsupportive workplace cultures as particular challenges.

Conclusion The evaluation will help inform the future development of the SCLF programme and may offer useful learning regarding the format and content of similar clinical leadership programmes.