Chief Registrar in Medicine

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated trainee physician (ST4 or above) with an interest in leadership and management to join the Division of Medicine at North Bristol NHS Trust as a Chief Registrar.

The Chief Registrar role provides higher specialty trainees with the opportunity to develop valuable skills in leadership and management, with 40% protected time to put these skills into practice by developing initiatives that address local challenges.  Chief Registrars have a tangible impact on service improvement, workforce transformation, engagement and morale, education and training, and work to deliver better outcomes for patients, colleagues and organisations.

The successful candidate will benefit from a flexible training model that enables them to develop a portfolio of skills and experience that will benefit future consultant posts, leadership roles and build a profile that marks them out as a future clinical leader.

Main duties of the job

The role will suit trainees who:

• Are comfortable working in uncertain environments and across traditional boundaries
• Relish the opportunity to develop their own ideas and initiatives
• Are committed to and passionate about improving the NHS

The Chief Registrar will receive support locally from the Clinical Director for Medicine, a General Manager and an educational supervisor for specialty within North Bristol Trust, and nationally from the bespoke leadership and management development programme provided by the RCP.

The RCP development programme commences in August/September 2026 and will involve some travel.  Travel and accommodation expenses will be available.

Applications are open to trainee physicians:

• At ST4 or above (currently in a training scheme or outside of a training scheme can be considered)
• Working full time or part time
• Competent to work on the medical registrar rota
• With full GMC registration

This is a fixed-term role for minimum of 12 months.  The role can be undertaken in programme or out of programme (training or experience). Clinical day work will be within core medical specialties, related to applicants training experience.

Applications must be discussed with the educational supervisor and training programme director (TPD), and permission to apply must be granted by the TPD prior to application.

Chief Registrar Programme | RCP London

www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/chief-registrar-programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key priorities of the Chief Registrar role include:

• Providing a ‘bridge’ between the junior doctor workforce, senior clinical leaders and managerial staff to improve engagement.
• Quality improvement (QI) and service development/redesign to improve outcomes for patients, for example coordination of medical care.
• Planning, developing and improving the quality of education and training activities, and supporting/motivating other trainees.
• Involvement in workforce planning and transformation, and the deployment of medical staff and allied health professionals to meet healthcare challenges.
• Working across teams and boundaries to engage stakeholders and influence change.

Clinical responsibilities

The amount of time spent undertaking clinical commitments will be 60%. Time will be protected at 40% for Chief Registrar responsibilities