College roles

What to think about when considering a College role

There are many roles that give you the opportunity to represent the College and your colleagues, allowing you to help guide and develop our views on a wide range of topics. These elected and appointed posts include:

  • College Officers (President, Registrar, Dean and Treasurer)
  • Associate registrars and deans
  • College leads
  • Specialist advisers
  • Leadership positions in our Faculties, Divisions and the Devolved Nations

We recognise the commitment in undertaking these posts and are extremely grateful to all trusts and other employers who support requests to undertake work on our behalf.

If you are considering one of these roles, here is some information on the benefits and things to think about when discussing the idea with your employer.

What are the benefits of taking up a College role?

Our roles offer a unique opportunity to:

  • Develop and refine your leadership skills 
  • Share and improve knowledge 
  • Gain a greater sense of perspective on issues
  • Gain insight and motivation to tackle local challenges
  • Improve your communications skills
  • To learn from the experience of others, including experts by experience
  • Access CPD courses beyond your usual expertise
  • Network with your peers
  • Influence local and national policy 
“It provides a helpful external perspective that keeps me thinking, re-energising, sharing ideas with others I find stimulating.”
“Working directly with experts by experience has been valuable. This has helped open up ways of thinking about service improvements.”

How would this work help your employer?

  • It increases the likelihood of you taking up and being effective in senior roles in your organisation
  • It demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to attracting and retaining the best clinicians
  • It raises the profile of your organisation and provides the opportunity to promote its innovative work
  • It helps to ensure College policy and views reflect local and regional challenges
  • It allows you to bring back new ideas and information to your organisation

“Networking through the College means I have access to national and international advice and experience in clinical and managerial issues. The College has helped me to develop as a leader and as a clinician and the trust has benefited from this.”

Things to consider

  • Who in your organisation do you need to discuss this idea with to gain support?
  • Who is the main decision maker?
  • How can you reasonably support your employer in maintaining service provision and finding cover arrangements?
  • Make sure you are clear on who will be paying travel costs and what these might be
  • How can you demonstrate the benefits of this work to your employer?
  • Think about how this could be incorporated into your job plan during the appraisal process