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ACFs in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G)

Our three-year programme provides an entry point for doctors aspiring to a research-based career in women’s health.

Our ACF programme is based in The Women’s Centre, a purpose-built hospital for women adjacent to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. The hospital is a tertiary centre for feto-maternal medicine, pre-natal diagnosis, endometriosis, reproductive medicine, IVF and gynaecological cancer.

Please check availability of posts each year, as this varies.

Academic environment

Research facilities and laboratory space are within the Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health (WRH), Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM) and the Institute of Reproductive Sciences.

NDOG, which is one of the largest academic and clinical O&G departments in the UK, benefits from a strong combination of clinical practice and basic science to inform its research, teaching and clinical expertise. 

The Department encompasses multi-disciplinary research across the full spectrum of women’s health. Our work has four overarching themes: cancer; global perinatal health; maternal and fetal health; and reproductive medicine and genetics (see the Women's Reproductive Health website).

Fellows will have blocks of dedicated academic time without service commitments incorporated into their clinical training programmes. This will amount to blocks of three months (25% of time) each year.

In Year 1, academic milestones will focus on the development of generic research methodologies. They then move on to performing preliminary work (Year 2) that supports the submission of an application for peer-reviewed funding (Year 3).

Each trainee will have extensive support to identify a research opportunity that they wish to pursue within Women's Health.

There is a continuous assessment process and mentorship programme, with input from peers, colleagues and senior academics. Also, an academic mentor is assigned and meets the trainee and his/her clinical education supervisor.

This structure maximises the chances of ACF doctors developing a successful application for a higher-degree training fellowship or, if applicable, a post-doctoral award.

Last reviewed: September 2020