Leadership and Fellowship structure of the forthcoming College of Sport, Exercise and Musculoskeletal Medicine

In response to enquiries received by Fellows and Members of FSEM, we would like to offer additional clarity regarding the medical leadership of the CSEM. In addition, we would like to further clarify the Fellowship structure especially in relation to Fellowship by CCT, Fellowship by election and Honorary Fellowship. This information has previously been set out in the outcome document. However, further clarity is necessary following these enquiries.

The College Steering Group and both FSEM and BASEM Boards remain committed to supporting all the multi-disciplinary and multi-specialty Members and Fellows of our organisations. We firmly believe that, in order to raise standards in our three pillars, we must speak with a unified, multi-disciplinary and multi-specialty voice. Musculoskeletal medicine, sports medicine and exercise medicine are all huge agenda which can only be properly served at both a clinical and leadership level by a strong, unified and cohesive team approach. It is right, therefore, that leadership of these agenda, through our organisation is multi-professional. We are therefore excited to welcome an increasingly diverse membership of people committed to advocate for and raise standards across our three pillars. We are also proud to be forming a College council which represents the diversity of our professions.

Our College will be strongest together.

Medical Leadership

It is essential that we maintain medical leadership, as this underpins the identity and credibility of our College, just as it does across all medical Colleges. In accordance with the requirements of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), the College will be medically led. This means that the President and two Vice-Presidents of CSEM must be GMC-registered Medical Fellows (by CCT). This ensures that at the highest level of governance, CSEM remains medically led, with its direction and strategy shaped on that foundation. Therefore, all Fellow positions on Board and council will be for GMC-Registered Fellows (by CCT).

Fellowship

We would like to provide further clarification regarding the different Fellowship types of CSEM. Fellowship of the College will be achieved by the following:

Fellowship by CCT is awarded to doctors who have gained the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Sport and Exercise Medicine. This is the standard, and frequent pathway for those who are on the GMC’s specialist register in SEM.

Fellowship by Election provides an alternative route for individuals who have not followed the standard CCT pathway, but who are making an active and ongoing significant contribution to Sport and Exercise Medicine and to the College. This recognition is reserved for a very small number of individuals who have shown exceptional breadth and depth of involvement across all three domains of SEM, combined with a demonstrable commitment to advancing and supporting the specialty.

Nominees for Fellowship by election must be assessed by the Standards and Membership Committee, which will define and uphold rigorous criteria to ensure a deliberately high threshold. This committee, composed of Fellows (by CCT), will set standards that reflect this achievement. It will also include a non-voting representative from both SEM Resident Doctors and Allied Health Professionals groups of College Members. 

Nominees must be proposed by two Fellows (by CCT); show a sustained and meaningful commitment to advancing SEM; and meet strict criteria established by the committee.

Eligibility extends to individuals from other medical specialties or non-medical professions whose exceptional contributions have significantly advanced SEM.

The new College Standards and Membership Committee will discuss further the possibility of alternative postnominals for different routes to Fellowship.

Honorary Fellowship (Hon.FCSEM) is a special award that recognises influence and legacy rather than current active contribution. Honorary Fellows are proposed by the President and approved by Council, and the award is usually limited to two individuals each year. Honorary Fellowship does not confer voting rights, or eligibility for Council. It is generally awarded later in a person’s career as a lifetime honour acknowledging their long-term impact on the specialty, rather than as an indication that they are part of the current specialist workforce.

Governance

We wanted to highlight the College’s governance structure. The College Board of Trustees will focus on the charitable objectives and overall organisational oversight, while the Council will concentrate on the medical specialty, ensuring representation and voices from across all membership categories.

Board – the CSEM Board will be made of 5 elected Office Bearers (Fellows by CCT) and 4 Lay Trustees who are appointed for their expertise and skillset to support the charitable objectives.

Council – the CSEM Council will preserve a medical majority and will be comprised of the following elected positions: All these positions will hold one vote on council.

In addition, there will be one medical undergraduate representative who will be non-voting. This may extend in time to non-voting undergraduate representation from other disciplines.

Election Process:

Council – Elected positions on Council are filled through elections within each membership category (e.g. all Fellows of CSEM will vote to elect the 8 Fellowship positions). To preserve the Fellow by CCT majority on council, Elected Fellows voted onto Council will represent the category they originally came from (i.e., a Diplomate Member awarded Fellowship by Election will still represent the Diplomate category on Council).

Office Bearers – the College President and Vice Presidents must be Fellows (by CCT) and have served as a Council Member; and are elected by Council. The Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary must be Fellows (by CCT) and are elected by Council.

FAQs

We hope this provides some additional clarity regarding these key points. While we have endeavoured to set out both the medical leadership and the Fellowship structure in some detail, following the outcome document, there are remaining details which are best left to the new Board, Council, and Standards and Membership Committee of CSEM through due process and wide consultation.

As part of our effort to provide clear and ongoing communication with our members, we have also opened a question form. We will aim to answer each question and update this on FSEM and BASEM websites, to provide clarity with any queries surrounding the new College.