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Planning an Academic Career. Prof Mark Pritchard Professor of Gastroenterology / honorary Consultant Gastroenterologist Academic lead for ICAT, University of Liverpool 15 th September 2012. What is a clinical academic?. +. =. What is a clinical academic?. +. =.
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Planning an Academic Career Prof Mark Pritchard Professor of Gastroenterology / honorary Consultant Gastroenterologist Academic lead for ICAT, University of Liverpool 15th September 2012
What is a clinical academic? • Fully trained Consultant (or GP) • Any medical specialty • Employed by a University Medical School • ~50% time clinical work in NHS • ~50% research (+ teaching) in University • Aims to sit at crossroads between basic scientists and clinicians • Translates research findings into clinical practice
What does the research part of being a consultant clinical academic involve? • Supervise (postdocs, PhD and MRes students, academic foundation doctors, clinical research fellows) • Write grants and papers • Referee others’ papers and grants • Meet with collaborators • Perform experiments occasionally • Attend conferences • Deal with bureaucracy – Home office licences, ethics applications etc
Training pathways Standard (Deanery) Academic (ICAT Board) Medical school Foundation Core training Specialist training Consultant ~10 years Medical school ?Intercalate Academic foundation Academic clinical fellow PhD Clinical lecturer Senior Lecturer Professor ~15 years
Intercalation • 1st real exposure to medical research • Opportunity to learn things in more detail, develop practical and analytical skills • Close supervision by academic staff • Lots of people ‘catch the bug’ and carry on with research throughout their careers • Important on CV for applications for Academic Foundation, ACF and Research Fellowship posts • You’ll probably enjoy it!
BSc vs MRes/MPhil • BSc • largely taught courses, usually include 1 project • MRes/MPhil • more project work (e.g. 3 x 10 week projects) • more similar to work in a PhD and as a clinical academic doctor • learn generic research skills rather than detail about 1 scientific discipline
What do the various posts involve? • Academic Foundation programme • 4 month academic placement in F2 • Some time to prepare for attachment in F1 • 15 ‘research’ posts (6 RLBUHT, 6 UHA, 3 Alder Hey) • 6 ‘education’ posts (3 RLBUHT,3UHA) • Designed to be a ‘taster’ for clinical academia
2. Academic Clinical Fellowships • 75% clinical training, 25% research training • Max 3 years • 8-10 per year in Mersey (specialties vary) • Prepare application for research training fellowship • (Some cases involve Masters degree)
3.Clinical research training MD - part time (minimum 2 years) PhD - full time (minimum 3 years) - more stringent requirements Clinical research training fellowships (MRC, Wellcome): • 3 years • Cover salary (± on call), PhD registration fees, consumables (approx. £15,000/yr) and travel • Up to 2 half days clinical work per week
4. Postdoctoral research training (a) Clinical Lectureships • 50% clinical training, 50% research training • Max 4 years • Post PhD or MD (b) Clinician Scientist Fellowships • 4 years • Cover salary + research assistant’s salary + consumables + travel + equipment • Total value approx £0.5M • Up to 2 half days clinical work per week
Is being a clinical academic the job for me? • Are you an academic high flyer? • Do you enjoy research? • Do you enjoy studying? • Are you prepared for longer training and competition? • Potential for making major impacts long term