The Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery (CSSS) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to advertise for new fellowship opportunities in spinal surgery with posts commencing in August 2026 and February 2027. The CSSS runs a two year fellowship programme best suited for orthopaedic or neurosurgical specialists who have recently completed their basic specialist training and are keen to advance their subspecialist knowledge and surgical skill in spinal surgery.
The fellowship structure is divided into two tiers, A and B fellowship. The B fellowship is an entry level, one year spinal fellowship with focus on research, emergency case management, complex clinics and assisting in complex spinal procedures. The A Fellowship is a one year, advanced surgical fellowship with significant focus on complex clinics and surgical exposure. The A fellowship has additional approval from the RCS of England and fellows who successfully complete it will get certificates from both the CSSS and the Royal College of Surgeons. Entry to the A fellowship from the B fellowship is based on satisfactory appraisal (6 monthly) and academic achievement.
Please indicate in your application if you are interested in an August 2026 or February 2027 start
CLINICAL DUTIES
Regular clinical duties include early ward round, daily board round and daily MDT where all acute admissions and operations over the preceding 24 hours are presented and discussed. After full training both Fellow As and Bs are expected to perform independent spinal injection lists. You will be attending and managing spinal patients in the spinal outpatient clinics under the supervision of the consultant. Both Fellow As and Bs will be expected to attend two whole day elective operating lists a week. In addition they are also expected to help the associate consultants in the emergency spinal theatres and clinics. The post holders will also be expected to help out with ward duties. These duties involve the reception, assessment and treatment of acute admissions under the direction of the consultants as required. The successful candidate will be expected to take part in an on-call rota.
The CSSS is based within Queens Medical Centre of Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust. NUH is a large university hospital trust, the regional Major Trauma Centre, and is a tertiary referral unit for all aspects of complex spinal pathology. The CSSS is a recognised AOSpine Training Centre and is the only spinal unit in the UK with 6 Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) approved and certified advanced fellowship posts. The team covers all aspects of spinal surgery with special emphasis on deformity (paediatric and adult), in addition to a busy spinal trauma and tumour practice. We are a very friendly department with close collaboration between the consultants and colleagues from other disciplines.
Within the CSSS, we have a research team with a trials coordinator, data entry clerks and research nursing staff. The unit runs a number of commercial and non-commercial studies in addition to a project-bank with support from the senior staff. Fellows are expected to complete at least one project culminating into a publication per year. Interested fellows can also apply for a higher academic degree (DM/PhD) through the University of Nottingham and can be mentored academically in house or in collaboration with a number of distinguished basic sciences academics. Journal club meetings, research meetings and formal teaching seminars are common practice within the unit and run on a programmed basis.
For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Khalid Salem Job title: Clinical Spinal Fellowship Lead Email address: Telephone number:
Interested applicants are encouraged to visit the department in advance. To organise a visit or get more information please get in touch with our department administrator Lynette Leek ), or the fellowship director Mr Khalid Salem ).