Clinical Fellowship

Clinical Fellowship 2025

The application will be open from 01 August - 31 October 2024.

Objective

The objective of the “Clinical Fellowship Programme” is to provide a well-defined clinical observational experience in a department with recognised expertise in a specific field.
With this programme, neurologists that are still in the process of training, or recently qualified and setting up a new service/practice can learn from observing the usual practice in that new department, including any or all of clinical practice, service structures or specific techniques conducted in the hosting department. 

Grant

The programme is designed for a minimum stay of 6 up to a maximum of 12 weeks in a hosting department outside the country of residence (with a minimum frequency of 5 days/week in each week). 

Starting from 2021, the number of granted weeks will be increased from 210 weeks (35x 6 weeks) to 300 weeks. The granted weeks per application are based on justification for the length of the stay and the grades of the 3 separate reviewers .
The grant for the programme will be €425 per week, plus travelling costs (up to a maximum of €300 for the trip to the host department and back home).

Travelling costs will only be reimbursed after the end of the Clinical Fellowship, upon receipt of the final report and a confirmation from both the clinical fellow and the mentor at the host department, as well as the evaluation forms.
The fellow’s final report should include a summary of all activities during the fellowship and the achieved knowledge/skills.

Ideally, the grantee has knowledge of the language at the host department, as not all patient-rounds can be held in English.

Support for neurologists in training from Ukraine

In 2023 and 2024, five additional Clinical Fellowships have been made available to RRFS members from Ukraine to support six to twelve weeks in another European neurological department.

New in 2024

Buddy programme:

Your host department will provide the name of a resident who can act as a buddy to help with typical everyday life questions and matters related to the department/hospital. The buddy would receive a free EAN RRFS membership for the upcoming year (the year after the applicants stay at the department) as a reward for supporting the fellow before and during his time at the host department.

  • RRFS member working in EAN Member countries with more than 2 years of clinical (residency) training in neurology at the time of the fellowship
  • RRFS member working in Corresponding Institutional Member countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco, Nepal, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria)
  • Full member working in EAN Member / Corresponding Institutional Member countries, up to a maximum of 5 years after their latest degree in neurology, applying for this special programme to learn a new application or technique not available in their home department
  • fluent in English or in the local language of the hosting country
  • have been accepted by an approved host department

Please be aware that you must have an active RRFS or Full membership in order to apply for this fellowship. Approval of your membership may take up to 10 working days and we advise that you submit your complete membership application at least 3 weeks before the deadline for applications for this fellowship.

RRFS members are listed in the RRFS membership section, Full members are listed in the Full membership section.

Awardees from previous years are no more qualified.

All application documents must be submitted by the deadline via the online application form. Original documents and/or fresh copies may be requested where felt necessary, so they must be retained by the applicant until a notification of the outcome of their application has been received.

Application procedure

The registration link is only visible to EAN members.
Please make sure to log into your MyEAN account to gain access to registration.

Application material

  • Application form (see link box, only visible after login from 01 August – 31 October 2024) including:
    • Explanation of why and how the Clinical Fellowship in that particular host department is relevant. Applicants are encouraged to clearly explain their objectives in the context of their usual practice, specifying the gains that are expected from the fellowship as this information will be a major factor in the rating of the applications. 
    • Information and reasoning on the length of the stay is needed.
    • Declaration of eligibility (included in the form).
  • Acceptance by host department form, including a supervisor who is expected to have at least weekly direct contact with the applicant during the fellowship.  
  • Evidence of training/experience: confirmation of current length of training as proof of minimally 2 years of clinical experience in neurology, plus declaration of hospital where the training was/is being conducted.
  • 2 letters of recommendation from two individual neurologists

Applicants and hosts are expected to have consulted and worked together on any application to maximise the likelihood of success.

For questions please contact: fellowship@ean.org

Reviewing process

The annual EAN Clinical Fellowship is set-up in a way that 300 weeks of support can be granted. The number of grantees depends on the support of weeks each applicant asks for.

Each application is reviewed by 2 experts in the field from the Education Committee.

In order to have a reliable grading system, EAN has created a “scoring sheet” which enables and facilities the reviewing process. 
The score for each application is a result of 3 separate scores:

  • 1 score for the application
  • 1 score for the CV
  • 1 score for the overall impression

See scoring sheet

  • Start early: Check programme websites for deadlines and requirements for the application process. 
  • Contact us and ask about the programme you are interested in. Find out more if you have questions related to your possible application. 
  • Think about your career goals: Why a fellowship? What kind of fellowship? How long can you be on leave from your current residency programme? What specialty are you really interested in and want to learn more about that is relevant for your future?
  • Get informed: Consider the job market of your specialty, in your country and abroad, talk to other applicants or previous fellows, speak to your mentors (very important!) and obtain input from professors. Where is the field going and where will it be when you are done with your training?
  • Draft a personal timeline: Create a timeline of when to submit your application and prepare yourself for interviews with possible host departments. 
  • Check your membership status: Apply early enough for an EAN membership (RRFS or Full Member) if you are not an EAN member yet. 
  • Organise your application: Prepare necessary certificates with all dates, necessary forms and documents (e.g. letters, see below) for the fellowship you are interested in. Use your university address rather than your personal email, if possible.
  • Recommendation letters: Obtain strong letters that are well-written and inform the fellowship selection committee about your professional and personal skills. 
  • Keep in contact: If you have not received a note of reception for the fellowship documents, or heard anything in the given timeframe, you may always contact us for questions.

Information about host departments

Please find below an Excel file of all accepted Clinical Fellowship host departments for 2023/2024 . In order to find the right department for your fellowship/project, please download the file and sort according to your needs either by topic and/or country.

EAN supports European neurologists in training in deepening their professional experience and expertise. 

The EAN Education Committee takes great care in contacting all neurological departments situated in EAN Member countries every two years, asking them to be part of this network and verify their status as approved EAN hosting department and receive updated information.

The grantee should have knowledge of the language at the host department, as not all patient-rounds can be held in English. Hosting departments cannot influence the selection of grantees. Applicants and hosts are expected to have consulted and worked together on any application to maximise the likelihood of success.

We are looking for neurological departments who would be ready to accept a visitor for a stay of 6 – 12 weeks.
Applicants for the EAN Clinical Fellowship grant have to submit a confirmed letter of acceptance from the hosting department which is on the list of approved departments.
The term of the visit depends on your mutual agreement with the visitor, according to your and his/her possibilities.
If you decide to accept Clinical Fellowship applicants and that your department should be included in the list of our approved hosting departments, please send us your department access form (see download link below) to: fellowship(at)ean.org

In the department access form, it is obligatory to name the responsible contact person for the department, as well as the mentors (by field).

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If your department is not on the list of approved departments, and you wish to participate in the Clinical Fellowship Programme 2024, please send your department access form until September 15, 2023. All forms that are received after this date cannot be considered for the 2024 reviewing process.

EAN has awarded 29 Clinical Fellowships for 2024.

Additional fellowships have been made available to RRFS members from Ukraine.

List of winners  2024