The Role of the Clinical Academic

The Role of the Clinical Academic

April 2014

Contents

The Role of the Clinical Academic............................................................................................1

Foreword ....................................................................................................................................1

Executive summary ....................................................................................................................2

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1 The Essential Role ....................................................................................................5

Chapter 2 Responding to and shaping a changing world......................................................6

Chapter 3 Relationship with patients and the public .............................................................7

Chapter 4 The role of the clinical academic in education and training ................................8

Chapter 5 The role of the clinical academic in research.........................................................9

Chapter 6 The role of the clinical academic in leadership and management ....................10

Chapter 7 Safeguarding and promoting the role of clinical academics..............................11

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................12

Academic Role Models ............................................................................................................13

Foreword ..................................................................................................................................14

Categorisation of role models ................................................................................................16

List of role models ...................................................................................................................16

‘Next generation’ medical academic role models .................................................................17

Established medical academic role models ............................................................................29

Contact .....................................................................................................................................56

Other sources of information .................................................................................................56

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................58

Index .........................................................................................................................................59

Credit:A&E cover image: Brendan Howard/Shutterstock.com

Foreword

This document is a description of the role of the clinicalacademic doctor, combined with a showcase of particularlyfine examples of medical academics practising such roles. It has been produced by the BMA’s Medical Academic StaffCommittee (MASC) to highlight the particular skills andexperiences that medical academics bring to healthcare inthe United Kingdom. The aim of this report is to informmedical students, doctors in training and others about thework of clinical academics. We also hope that this reportwill further encourage those doctors with an interest inteaching and/or research to investigate the academic careeroptions open to them and to speak to someone abouttaking forward their ideas.

The Committee particularly wanted to build on its earlierwork on academic role models and, following the success ofour annual Clinical Academic Trainees’ Conferences, identifythe ‘next generation’ of such role models. As in our 2005report Role Models in Academic Medicine,

1the academic

staff in this report have all been nominated by their peersand colleagues for being inspirational. We wanted tohighlight staff from a range of backgrounds, at the earlystages of their careers, who already had a positive impacton others and are passionate about what they do. Hopefullythey will inspire you too!

If after reading this report, you feel that you would enjoyworking in academic medicine, speak to your medicalschool or deanery about the opportunities available. Pleasefeel free to contact the MASC office or me if these do notseem immediately suitable. Making the choice to move intothe academic sphere can occur at any time in a medicalcareer. Although it is easier to enter the world of academicmedicine earlier on, as latecomer to academic medicinemyself, I would emphasise that there are a range of entryroutes to academia available across the span of a medicalcareer. At any career stage, doctors can join in making theirown positive contribution to the exciting world of medicalresearch and education!

Professor Michael ReesCo-ChairMedical Academic Staff Committee

1British Medical Association The Role of the Clinical Academic

The Role of the Clinical Academic

1 Health Policy and Economic Research Unit, British Medical Association (2005) Role Models in Academic Medicine. London: British Medical Association

Executive summary

IntroductionThe purpose of this document is to highlight the distinctroles and attributes of the clinical academic, demonstratingthe particular importance of this group of doctors toMedicine and research, and to give their colleagues,patients and the public a greater understanding of theirroles in UK medicine.

Setting the scene This report draws upon an earlier BMA document, The Roleof the Doctor, written in response to Sir John Tooke’s reportinto Modernising Medical Careers (2008).

2

Chapter 1: The Essential RoleClinical academics are central to the development anddelivery of the curricula needed to impart the knowledgeand skills required by doctors, as well as instilling a highstandard of ethics in medical students and junior doctors.The clinical academic acts as both an educator and amentor, setting an example to future generations ofdoctors.

Chapter 2: Responding to and shaping a changing worldThe nature of illness in most industrialised nations hasresulted in corresponding changes to health care, whilst therate of scientific discovery and technological innovation overthe last few decades has been unprecedented. Clinicalacademics translate innovation into everyday practice,acting as a bridge between clinical and academic sectors.The clinical academic role has increasingly encompassedclinical leadership.

Social trends, policy initiatives and organisational change, aswell as the desire amongst doctors to achieve an improvementin their work-life balance, have also changed the shape ofacademic medical work today.

Chapter 3: Relationship with patients and the publicCollaborative arrangements between clinical academics,academic research projects, patients and the public gobeyond the normal doctor-patient relationship. The patientmust be at the heart of research. Clinical academics shouldlead in ensuring the probity of, and good practice in, thehandling of patient data and in the selection of participantsfor research programmes and clinical trials.

Chapter 4: The role of the clinical academic in education and trainingClinical academics focus on acquiring the knowledge, skillsand behaviours needed to ensure the effective teaching andtraining of medical students and doctors. Continuingprofessional development and the mentoring of lessexperienced colleagues are essential parts of their role.

Chapter 5: The role of the clinical academic in researchClinical academics are responsible for searching outevidence, evaluating it for scientific validity and assessing itspractical application in the development of new treatmentsand the evolution of medicine. Without clinical academics’‘spirit of enquiry’, healthcare delivery would stagnate. Thesedoctors disseminate innovation in the delivery of care andlong term efficiencies for healthcare systems.

Chapter 6: The Role of Clinical Academic inLeadership and ManagementLeadership is central to many of the roles undertaken byclinical academics in education and training, research andinnovation, mentorship management and leadership ofhealth services generally. Clinical academics have to manageresources in two sectors: clinical and academic.

In research, education and health care delivery, teamwork is essential. Nonetheless, the doctor remains the mentor, co-ordinator and leader of the team’s efforts on behalf of the patient.

British Medical Association The Role of the Clinical Academic2

2 Modernising Medical Careers Inquiry (2008) Aspiring to Excellence: Findings and final recommendations of the Independent inquiry intoModernising Medical careers. London: Modernising Medical Careers Inquiry

Chapter 7: Safeguarding and promoting therole of clinical academicsFor clinical academics, keeping up-to-date in their area ofexpertise requires that they engage in dialogue with peersand professional and scientific societies for the benefit ofpatient care, and develop curricula and programmes thatenable colleagues to acquire this new knowledge. Theymust keep abreast of cutting edge research and innovationin their field, and spearhead efforts to translate researchfindings into practical medical treatments.

Actions• The profession and its representative bodies need to cherish

the ‘spirit of enquiry’ that is at the heart of what it means tobe a doctor, and to value and encourage its expression inmedical research.

• Employers must ensure that doctors are given the timeand resources to undertake research projects, and thatthe clinical academic role is properly supported andacknowledged.

• Higher education and research funders should recogniseand value the particular qualities that clinical academicsbring to research projects and educational programmes.

• Governments have to provide financial resources toenable employers and Higher Education funders toimplement best practice in the recruitment and retentionof clinical academic staff.

ConclusionSufficient time and resources are required if clinical academicsare to continue to meet the high standards required to fulfiltheir role as leaders in the drive for quality and innovation inhealth care. More must be done to safeguard quality andprovision in this important area of practice.


Introduction

The purpose of this document is to highlight the particularroles and attributes of clinical academics (and other doctorsundertaking academic activity) within the wider medicalprofession. It aims to demonstrate the particular importanceof this group of doctors to the practice of Medicine and toprovide their colleagues, patients and the public with agreater understanding of their roles in UK Medicine.

‘The doctor’s role as diagnostician and the handler ofclinical uncertainty and ambiguity requires a profoundeducational base in science and evidence-based practiceas well as research awareness. The doctor’s frequentrole as head of the healthcare team and commander of considerable clinical resource requires that greaterattention is paid to management and leadership skillsregardless of specialism. An acknowledgement of theleadership role of medicine is increasingly evident.’John Tooke, 2008

3

Setting the scene This report draws upon previous work by the BMA on The Role of the Doctor, written in response to the TookeInquiry Report into Modernising Medical Careers (2008).

3

Amongst other things, the Report recommended that ‘acommon shared understanding’ of the role of doctors bedeveloped.

In the face of constant changes in technology, patientexpectations and NHS organisation, the Tooke Inquiry noteda growing lack of clarity regarding the role of the doctor.The Inquiry suggested that this threatened to erode doctors’valuable contribution to Medicine, compromise the futureof medical training and undermine the quality of patientcare. This spurred the creation of the BMA’s The Role of the Doctor report.

At the outset of the 20th century, Sir William Osler (‘TheFather of Modern Medicine’) identified two forces whichtogether shape the role of the doctor: Medicine’s constantevolution and the medical profession’s commitment to a setof long-lasting ideals. The constant evolution of Medicinerequires that doctors are adaptable and responsive,changing their practice in light of new knowledge regardingpatient care. This responsiveness is underpinned by theprofession’s commitment to a set of enduring values thatenable doctors to competently and compassionately meetthe challenges with which they are presented in theirpractice.

Clinical academics are key to the way in which theprofession inculcates its enduring values and acquires andretains the skills needed to adapt to an ever-changinghealthcare environment. Moreover, clinical academics arethemselves at the forefront of the evolution of Medicineand medical practice.

An added emphasis on partnership – especially withpatients – is a particular feature of modern medical practice.Clinical academics maintain their clinical practice whilst alsocarrying out research and teaching, placing them in aunique position which enables them to act as a linkbetween the evolution of Medicine and the changingexpectations of patients and the public.


3 Modernising Medical Careers Inquiry (2008) Aspiring to excellence: findings and final recommendations of the Independent inquiry intoModernising Medical careers, led by Professor Sir John Tooke. London: Modernising Medical Careers Inquiry.

When attempting to define the role of any doctor, let alonea clinical academic, it is important to recognise that doctorsshape their roles according to the requirements made ofthem, their particular strengths, and the interests they wishto pursue. In respect of competencies, these must be equalto the doctor’s responsibilities and will vary according to thedoctor’s role(s) e.g. trainee, general practitioner, intensivist,surgeon, academic, teacher, and so on. Ongoing learningthrough practice and continuing medical educationinevitably leads to doctors modifying their roles as theircareer progresses. This tradition of continuous learningleads doctors to define themselves in particular roles – asclinical leaders, mentors, trainers, researchers and managers.This diversity is crucial to delivering patient care, training thedoctors of the future, advancing Medicine and furtheringdevelopment and innovation.

The capacity to respond to the initial presentation of illness,to prioritise and synthesise available information and thenmake a clinical assessment is what differentiates doctorsfrom other healthcare professionals. Making a diagnosis,differential or otherwise, through a process of historytaking, physical examination, and appropriate investigationsis central to all doctors’ roles, and is the cornerstone toensuring that a patient receives effective care.

Closely allied to this capacity to make a diagnosis anddetermine an effective intervention is a doctor’s ability todeal with uncertainty. In their everyday roles, doctors mustmanage complexity and risk. The assimilation of scientificknowledge, manipulation of data, understanding of co-morbidities and recognition of changing circumstancesrequire doctors to exercise good judgement, beyond thescope of protocols and guidelines, in their practice. It isdoctors’ willingness and ability to assume this responsibilityand the expectations made of them in this regard thatunderline their real and unique value in contributing to, andleading, patient care.

Clinical academics are central to the development anddelivery of the curricula needed to impart the knowledge

and skills required by doctors. Their presence in the lecturetheatre, laboratory and clinical settings helps to inculcatemedical students with the attitudes necessary for asuccessful medical career.

Medical education instils in doctors the high standard ofethics that must always guide them in fulfilling their roles.This ethical foundation is formalised in the code of practiceestablished by the General Medical Council, which sets outthe principles and values on which medical practice shouldbe based. Instilling this high standard of ethics is central tothe work of many medical academics in their role as teacherof medical students and junior doctors.

Accepting that a high standard of ethics is central to theprofession, the BMA’s report Core values for the medicalprofession in the 21st century

4identified key values that

medical training confers and develops. Of the nine qualitieswhich were said to characterise the value-set of doctors,one which applies particularly to clinical academics is the‘spirit of enquiry’.

5It could also be argued that ‘competence’

particularly resonates with clinical academics, in light oftheir role in ensuring the competence of others. In theBMA’s 1995 and 2006 cohort studies of medical graduates,respondents stated that ‘competence’ [to practise medicine]was the most important attribute of doctors. Another valueof particular importance to clinical academics isconfidentiality, given their research activities.

These values do not in themselves define the role of aclinical academic or, indeed, of doctors in general. Rather,they provide a foundation upon which all doctors candevelop the skills and expertise necessary to enable them to carry out their work and to make their uniquecontribution to the medical profession. Clinical academicsexercise ethical values not only in their role as doctors, butalso in their role as educators, mentors and as examples tothe future generations of doctors with whom they comeinto contact.


CHAPTER 1 The Essential Role

4 British Medical Association (1995) Core values for the medical profession in the 21st century. London: British Medical Association.5 The full set of nine attributes included: commitment, integrity, confidentiality, caring, competence, responsibility, compassion, spirit of enquiryand advocacy.

CHAPTER 2 Responding to and shaping achanging world

The advance of Medicine, combined with better hygiene,greater relative affluence and the birth of the NHS have had a remarkable effect on health in modern Britain. Onaverage, life expectancy is 10 years greater than it was inthe middle of the twentieth century. This improvement,however, has been accompanied by an important change in the nature of illness. The UK, along with most otherindustrialised nations, faces a growing burden of chronicdisease resulting from changing diet, lifestyle, the fact thatpeople are living longer as a result of improved medicaltreatment and the effective management of formerly fataldisorders. Rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and depression areincreasing amongst the population, whilst arthritis,Parkinson’s disease and dementia are an increasing part of the disease burden in our aging population.

This requires the focus of health care to change from onedominated by acute care to one centred on preventativeand therapeutic care, emphasising ‘wellness’ and themanagement of chronic and long-term conditions. Theseillnesses require a new approach to improving the lives ofsufferers and also to empowering patients to manage theirown conditions, in partnership with health careprofessionals.

In the face of these challenges, clinical academics havecontinued to be responsible for, and responsive to, majoradvances in medicine. The rapid pace of scientific discoveryand technological innovation over the past few decades is

unprecedented. Medical practice is a dynamic synthesisbetween the application of new technologies and theenduring values of Medicine. The ability to develop newtreatments and to maintain the traditional patient-doctorrelationship is at the heart of the role of the clinicalacademic. By bridging the clinical and academic divide,clinical academics are crucial to the successful translation of innovation into day-to-day practice.

The vast scope for the adaptation of and improvements to clinical delivery has led to an increased emphasis onclinical leadership within medical academia, aiming totranslate innovation into better care and better health more effectively.

The external forces of recent social trends, policy initiativesand organisational change have all played a part in shapingdoctors’ roles. Equally significant in determining the natureof doctors’ roles is a range of drivers originating within themedical profession itself. Some are closely allied to changingsocial norms, such as the increasing mobility of womenwithin the labour market. Another trend is that of anincreasing number of doctors who seek to achieve a moreconventional work-life balance than has traditionally beenthe case in Medicine. Academic medicine can be onerous,but it can also provide doctors with more flexibility to workround other commitments.


Clinical academics are part of a wide range of collaborativearrangements between academic researchers, patients andthe public, which extends far beyond the standard doctor-patient relationship. Such links should ideally build upon thecollaborative nature of the relationship between a patientand his or her usual doctor.

Clinical academics must safeguard their patients’ interestswhen involved in basic and clinical research. Patients mustbe at the heart of research, advising and informing researchdesign and contributing to the measurement ofimprovements that meaningfully benefit their care. Clinicalacademics should take leadership roles in research ethics,act in liaison with patient groups and safeguard theirpatients’ privacy and data. This entails ensuring probity andgood practice when handling patient data and in selectingparticipants for research programmes and clinical trials.

The spectrum of involvement by patients and the public inthe work of the clinical academic includes:

• recruitment into clinical trials;

• input into study protocols;

• involvement in study design;

• involvement in research portfolio decisions; and

• involvement in scientific advisory boards.

In many cases, patients and their carers, family and friendsare also involved in the generation of income for researchstudies and can act as sources of advice and experience.


CHAPTER 3 Relationship with patients and the public

CHAPTER 4 The role of the clinical academic ineducation and training

Medical education and training are rigorous programmeswhich combine the acquisition and application of thescientific bases of Medicine with the subtleties of clinicalpractice. Doctors require a wide breadth and depth ofcomplex knowledge to become established as experts intheir understanding and application of both clinical andbasic sciences and elements of behavioural and socialsciences. From the outset of their career, as medicalstudents, to their final days of practice, doctors recognisethe importance of continuing professional development.Doctors’ commitment to the development of their abilities isa constant, ongoing process; an essential part of their roleand professional identity. Doctors’ capacity to interrogate,marshal and employ the scientific evidence base placesthem in a privileged position amongst fellow healthprofessionals, distinguishing them as sources ofauthoritative insight into the care of patients and promotionof health.

The General Medical Council’s The Doctor as Teacher6

statesthat ‘all doctors have a professional obligation to contributeto the education and training of others…’, and that ‘everydoctor should be prepared to oversee the work of lessexperienced colleagues’. Whilst all doctors are expected torecognise this imperative, clinical academics particularly

focus on acquiring the knowledge, skills and behavioursneeded to ensure the effective teaching and training ofmedical students and doctors. Clinical academics, in theircapacity as medical educators and clinical teachers, develop,deliver and manage teaching programmes. Furthermore,they engage in scholarship and research into all aspects ofthe medical teaching, learning, and assessment.

7

Doctors value the apprenticeship tradition of medicallearning, in which more experienced colleagues pass ontheir knowledge and skills. This ‘apprenticeship’ is alsoreflected in the wider aspects of a doctor’s responsibilities:teaching, clinical leadership, management and research.Mentoring their newly appointed and less experiencedcolleagues is viewed by clinical academics – in common with established general practitioners, consultants and otherexperienced doctors – as a professional duty which is centralto their role. Doctors endeavour to be available informally totheir colleagues as sources of advice, tutorship and support.Based on mutual respect and confidentiality, theserelationships promote confidence and trust within themedical profession and are a vital element of the roles ofboth the mentor and mentee.


6 General Medical Council (GMC) (1999) The doctor as teacher. London: GMC.7 Academy of Medical Educators (2013) About the Academy of Medical Educators.Web address accessed 1 August 2013.http://www.medicaleducators.org/index.cfm/about-aome/

A doctor’s practice is guided by the clinical evidence base,experience and compassion. Where evidence is not to hand,doctors – and especially clinical academics – are responsiblefor searching it out, evaluating its scientific validity andassessing its potential for practical application in thedevelopment of new treatments and the evolution ofMedicine. Doctors are responsible for the integrity of theirknowledge base, its proper application, expansion andtransmission to future practitioners and the public. Doctorsare required to be educated to a higher and broader level,and for a longer period, than most other healthcareworkers, in order that they may obey the three imperativesof discovery, evaluation and extension. These imperativesreflect the ‘spirit of enquiry’ identified by doctors and thepublic alike as a key element of their role.

Whilst not every doctor undertakes scientific enquiry withina formalised research programme, all doctors must at alltimes work in accordance with this ‘spirit of enquiry’. It canbe found as the driving force behind a number of otherimportant facets of a doctor’s role, especially in the work ofclinical academics.

Medical research, which includes clinical trials, experimentalmedicine, translational research, epidemiological and publichealth studies, and basic scientific laboratory research, isaimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms ofdisease. The ‘spirit of enquiry’ is especially evident in the

role of medical academics in questioning and criticallyappraising established knowledge. Without this questioningapproach, healthcare delivery would stagnate.

Clinical academics are vital in the field of medical research,as they combine clinical service delivery with research,teaching and/or administration. They are uniquely placed to use their expertise to make connections between clinicalresearch and clinical practice, and to pose new researchquestions arising from their clinical observations andexperience. The many NHS doctors who facilitate clinicaltrials or undertake aspects of research projects providecritical support to this work. Some of these doctors may not think of themselves as ‘academics’, but nonethelesshave an important role to play in formulating researchquestions, conducting research and disseminating researchfindings amongst their peer groups.

Medical research can generate improvements in the qualityof treatment, result in novel healthcare delivery, and includeliaison with patient groups (who can also help to disseminateresearch findings). All doctors involved in research activityare disseminating innovation in the delivery of care, anddelivering long term efficiencies for healthcare systems.


CHAPTER 5 The role of the clinical academicin research


The qualities described in the previous chapters ideallyposition clinical academic doctors to take on furtherresponsibilities and assume leadership roles within thehealth service. Indeed, leadership is central to many of the roles undertaken by clinical academics in education,training, research, innovation and mentoring.

In the running of education and training programmes,research projects (undertaken by themselves, their traineesor students), practices or departments, clinical academicscan generate improvements to local services and the widermanagement and leadership of the organisations in whichthey work. As a result, clinical academics are valuable tomanagement teams and the NHS and Higher Educationsectors more generally.

All doctors are required to exercise judgment on theeffective management of resources. This is particularly thecase in clinical academic work, as clinical academics mustmanage resources in the clinical and academic sector, whilst

also balancing the needs and interests of their currentpatients with those of the future. On a daily basis, clinicalacademics face complex dilemmas that require them toemploy their knowledge and skills to deliver the best carepossible, whilst being mindful of local and national resourceallocation issues.

Another key attribute of clinical academics is theirapplication of particular skills and expertise within thecontext of multidisciplinary, team-based approaches toresearch, education and health care delivery. New roles fornurses, clinician scientists and other health professionals,the utilisation of protocol-based care, and the growingcomplexity of technology and care management means that teamwork amongst health professionals is essential.Nonetheless, the doctor ultimately remains the mentor, co-ordinator and leader of these teams’ efforts on behalf of patients.

CHAPTER 6 The role of the clinical academic inleadership and management


CHAPTER 7 Safeguarding and promoting therole of clinical academics

All doctors have a responsibility to keep up-to-date in theirarea of practice in order to achieve optimum patient care.Consequently, continuous professional development andaudit are fundamental to doctors’ ongoing practice.

Clinical academics fulfil this responsibility by engaging indialogue with peers and professional and scientific societies,and developing the curricula and programmes that enablecolleagues to acquire new knowledge. Clinical academics’duties to disseminate and translate research into clinicalpractice are accomplished through their roles as educators,supervisors, mentors and through their management andleadership functions.

Clinical academics need to keep abreast of cutting edgeresearch and innovation in their field, spearhead efforts totranslate research findings into practical medical treatmentsand communicate those findings to fellow healthcareprofessionals, patients and the public. A clinical academicmust integrate his or her professional knowledge andexpertise with new scientific findings, in order to criticallyanalyse and apply new developments in Medicine.

By setting an example of good research conduct andenthusiasm for scientific enquiry, clinical academics help tofoster these important values in their students and teammembers.

Education and research are essential for the NHS to function.Encouraging all doctors to participate in healthcare researchand development helps to create a safer, more efficient andinnovative healthcare system; a system that implements thevery best practice in patient care.

Action

• The profession and its representative bodies need tocherish the ‘spirit of enquiry’ that is at the heart of whatit means to be a doctor, and to value and encourage itsexpression in medical research.

• Employers must ensure that doctors are given the timeand resources to undertake research projects, and thatthe clinical academic role is properly supported andacknowledged.

• Higher education and research funders should recogniseand value the particular qualities that clinical academicsbring to research projects and educational programmes.

• Governments have to provide financial resources toenable employers and Higher Education funders toimplement best practice in the recruitment and retentionof clinical academic staff.

CONCLUSION

Clinical academia is a vital area of medical practice. Despitethis, the size of the medical academic workforce has beendeclining, and clinical academics involved in teaching havebeen placed under pressure to reduce their teaching activityin favour of clinical duties. There is demand from currentand future members of the medical profession for high-quality education, and trainers need to be able to respondto this demand. More must be done to safeguard theprovision and quality of resources to medical academia. Only then will doctors be able to continue to meet the highstandards required for them to fulfil their role as leaders inthe push for quality and innovation in healthcare.


Medical Academic role models


Introduction to the role modelsRole models are people we can identify with, who havequalities we would like to have and are in positions wewould like to reach.

8Medical schools have traditionally

depended on good role models as part of an informalcurriculum of medical professionalism. Recent research

9

suggests that role modelling is an integral component ofmedical education and that role models affect the attitudes,behaviours and ethics of young doctors and medicalstudents.

10

Medical academic role models must demonstratecompassion for patients, integrity, clinical competence andenthusiasm for their subject. Inspiring by their example andconduct, they should:

• be well versed both in the art and science of medicine,highly skilled, with a broad perspective and commitmentto excellence in their work;

• be excellent teachers, committed to the development andgrowth of learners, inspiring and educating others basedon their own experience and wisdom;

• have the interpersonal skills to communicate and enthuseothers and establish a rapport with all whom theyencounter;

• have a positive attitude and willingness to helpcolleagues, however junior;

• have the necessary self-respect to gain respect fromothers, demonstrating leadership qualities.

The importance of medical academic rolemodelsAcademic medicine in the UK faces immediate recruitmentand retention problems. It must be a key aim to attractmore doctors into the areas of clinical academia andresearch, by making the academic career path moreattractive and achievable.

Role models influence the career choices of medicalstudents and doctors in training. Success in academicmedicine not only depends on intellect and a strong clinicaland research background, but also on making the rightcareer choices, especially given the wide range of career

options available in academic medicine. In light of this,medical academic role models are vital in order tostrengthen medical academia for the future.

A note about the difference between mentors and role modelsThere is a distinction between role models and mentors.While mentoring is seen as an ongoing process overtime, in which the mentor is actively engaged in guidingtheir junior colleague, role modelling is not necessarilyinteractive, and any single role model may impact on alarge number of individuals. Nevertheless, both arecrucial and aim to provide the best opportunities foryoung colleagues to realise their full potential.

Attracting more women into, and retaining them in,medical academia is another factor upon which thecontinued vigour of the sector depends. Female medicalacademic role models are of particular value and importanceas part of these efforts. Medical academic women often feelisolated and part of a fragmented group,

11and the provision

of examples of other women who have succeeded inforging a medical academic career help to offer reassuranceand motivation.

We hope that the examples of academic career set out inthis document will emphasise that there is no single ‘right’way to embark upon a successful academic career, and thatchoosing an academic path can be extremely rewarding fordoctors with a range of different strengths and abilities. Thedoctors highlighted in this document range from thosestarting out on an academic trajectory to those who haveforged successful careers against the odds; from scientificresearchers of international repute to those pursuing smallresearch projects alongside NHS commitments, directlybenefitting local communities; excellent teachers, and so on.

The role models in this report have been selected to showthe diversity of activity carried out by medical academicstaff, particularly early in their careers. They all share acommon thread of having inspired others through their

INTRODUCTION

8 Paice E, Heard S & Moss F (2002) How important are role models in making good doctors? BMJ 325:707-10.9 Wright SM & Carrese JA (2002) Excellence in role modelling: insight and perspectives from the pros, Canadian Medical Association Journal 167: 6.10 Paukert JL & Richards BF (2000) How medical students and residents describe the roles and characteristics of their influential clinical teachers.

Academic Medicine 64: 622-9.11 Health Policy and Economic Research Unit, British Medical Association (2004) Women in academic medicine: challenges and issues. London: BMA.


approach to their work, and we hope that through thisreport they will inspire even more people.

MethodologyNext Generation Role ModelsWe collected nominations for the Next Generation rolemodels between 2010 – 2012, aiming to highlight stafffrom a range of backgrounds, at the initial stage of theiracademic careers (no more than 2 years post-Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT)), who have had a positiveimpact on others and are passionate about what they do.

Following receipt of the initial nominations, we then sent a set of questions to nominees and those who nominatedthem, asking for more details about their careers to date.The resulting nominations were then considered by theMASC Executive subcommittee.

We hope that the Next Generation Role Models will showdoctors who are considering a career in academic medicinethat there are a variety of routes into the sector, and providea useful illustration of life as an early-career medicalacademic.

Established Role Models During the summer of 2006, nominations were invited from clinical academics and research staff to identifymedical academic staff who were both inspirational andwho demonstrated the qualities required of a role model.The response to our call was overwhelming, and wereceived in excess of 100 nominations. After a rigorous and lengthy selection process, we shortlisted nominees whonot only exemplified the characteristics of a role model, butwho had made significant achievements in their field, oftenagainst the odds, and would provide inspiration to futuremedical academics. This report illustrates the career pathsand achievements of these role models. For this document,at the start of 2013, we asked these nominees to updatetheir information where appropriate, and included theentries of all those who responded.

The following doctors have been nominated by their peersas role models in academic medicine and exhibit many ofthe qualities listed above. We do hope that you will beinspired!

The role models are listed in two sections – ‘Next Generation’ and ‘Established’. In order to enable readers to quickly locate rolemodels with the characteristics that they are most interested in, each of the role models’ entries have been marked at the edgeof the page to clearly show their specialty, gender, training route (‘Next Generation’ role models only) and whether they focus onEducation or Research.


CATEGORISATION OF ROLE MODELS

‘Next Generation’ Role Models Page Specialty Gender Training path Education/Research focus

Dr Laura Wastall née Gardner 18 Pathology Female Academic Research

Dr Chris Hughes 19 Sports Medicine Male Academic Education

Dr Amit Kaura 20 Cardiology Male Academic Education

Dr Kaivan Khavandi 21 Cardiology Male Academic Education

Dr Logan Manikam 23 Paediatrics Male Academic Education

Dr Anna Romito 25 General Practice Female Previous non-academic

Education

Dr Jayakara Shetty 26 Paediatric neurology Male Academic Research

Dr Craig Tipple 27 Genito-urinary medicine Male Previous non-academic

Research

Dr Tim Yates 28 Neurology Male Previous non-academic

Research

Research

Research

Research

Established Role Models Page Specialty Gender Education/Research focus

Mr Ian Chetter 30 Vascular surgery Male Research

Dr Simon Conroy 31 Geriatrics Male Research

Professor Peter Croft 33 Epidemiology Male Research

Drs Sarah Fidler and Graham Taylor 35 Genito-urinary medicine Research

Professor Irene Gottlob 37 Ophthalmology Female Research

Dr Robert Higgins 39 Renal Medicine Male Research

Professor Amanda Howe 41 General Practice Female Education

Professor Roland Littlewood 42 Psychiatry Male Research

Professor Marion McMurdo 43 Geriatrics Female Education

Professor Jim McKillop 44 Nuclear Medicine Male Education

Professor Sir Robin Murray 45 Psychiatry Male Research

Professor Irwin Nazareth 47 General Practice Male Research

Professor David Nutt 49 Psychiatry Male Research

Professor Rosalind Raine 50 Public Health Female Research

Dr John Rees 52 Respiratory Medicine Male Education

Dr Alex Scott-Samuel 54 Public Health Male Research

Sir Mark Walport 55 General Medicine Male Research

Research

Research

FemaleMale

Social Anthropology

‘Next generation’ medical academic role models

Initial nomination:Laura ignited my passion for theacademic Foundation Year posts, andhighlighted the appropriate contacts tobe made, all with a very personableand informal approach. Laura hashelped me make informed decisionswith regards to my career, offeringvaluable insight into things I might nothave ever known about myself! I’msure my sessions with Laura willcontinue to have a positive impact onmy academic life.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?My peers at Cambridge Universityencouraged me to pursue an academiccareer, in particular, to apply for theacademic foundation trainingprogramme.

My student elective involved a projectin research oncology supervised byProfessor Sarah Pinder and PhDstudent John Browne. This was my firstexperience conducting wet-benchlaboratory research. I really enjoyed theprocess of discovering something newand carrying out an experiment thathad never been done before. Workingwith them inspired me to pursue anacademic career.

What makes your job interesting?Thinking about molecular and cellularprocesses underlying pathogenesis anddisease is fascinating. Clinicalhistopathology requires a detailedknowledge of this area and academichistopathology involves researching todiscover more about areas andpathways not yet fully elucidated.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?I enjoy the variety of the work. As aclinical academic you are in a uniqueposition of being able to have directimpact on an individual patient’s care,whilst also generating research whichcould affect all patients with aparticular disease.

What are the challenges that you have faced?I have had to move from London toLeeds to take up an academic post inmy specialty of choice. It has taken time to settle in but now I feel it wasdefinitely the right move to make; it hascreated so many opportunities for me!

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?This is a tricky one. It can be difficultnot to always prioritise work whenthere are weekly deadlines. Making themost of times when work is quiet tolead a full and active social life is veryimportant. It is vital to be aware ofwhen work is taking over your life; thiscan be OK in the short term, runningup to a big deadline, but needs to bebalanced by spending time doingthings other than work once thedeadline has passed.

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?I was awarded run-through training in histopathology, which I began inAugust 2012, and I have also beenawarded Cancer Research UK fundingto complete a PhD that will requiretime out of programme. Post-PhD, I hope to take up a clinical lecturerpost for the rest of my training. Inabout 10 years, I would ideally like acombined clinical and academic post as a clinician scientist.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?Do it for the right reasons – becauseyou find it interesting and enjoy it, not as a way into education or foradvancement of a clinical career. Thereare other ways to achieve those goals.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?The integration of new molecular and genetic tests within traditionalhistopathological tissue examination isvery important. These techniques willnot replace histopathology, but workalongside it to provide more detaileddiagnoses and enable individualisedtherapy for patients.

Digital technology and image analysiscould have a big impact onhistopathology. In the future, certainaspects of the image analysis carriedout by a histopathologist could betaken over by computer programs,improving reliability and reproducibility.


DR LAURA WASTALL NÉE GARDNER

PATHOLOGY

FEMALE ACADEM

ICACADEM

IC TRAINING PATH

RESEARCH


Initial nomination:Chris has taken the time to providevoluntary extra-curricular support ofjunior academic fellows in positions of difficulty.

Have you experienced specificevents/incidents/outcomes which made you decide upon amedical/academic medical career?I decided on a career in Medicine at avery young age, and was inspired tocombine this with my interest in sport.

During my undergraduate training, I felt that there must be better ways of learning than attending so manylectures delivered in a didactic fashion,leading to exploration of alternativemethods of teaching and learning. This stimulated an academic interest in Medical Education.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?My wish to combine clinical practicewith teaching and research. I havealways enjoyed facilitating the processof learning for others, and have beenfortunate enough to meet, and to betutored by, a few particularly inspiringindividuals who have greatly influencedmy personal development as a ClinicalAcademic.

What makes your job interesting?My wide variety of roles. Also, mystudents make me think and questionmy own practice constantly – theykeep me on my toes!

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?The opportunity to share knowledge,facilitate learning, and to formulateresearch questions which will generatethe answers for improvement ofpatient care.

What are the challenges that have faced?Training in a young, poorly-establishedand developing specialty (Sport andExercise Medicine) before itsrecognition in the UK. I travelledoverseas to Australia and New Zealandin order to gain experience in Sportand Exercise Medicine, working for the New Zealand Academy of Sport(Central) for a time, and formulated my own training programme prior toentering a newly-established clinicaltraining programme in the UK whenthe specialty was finally recognised.

Being involved in so many differentroles at the same time means thatgood time management andorganisation is essential. I am alsolearning when I need to say ‘no’!

Finding the time to continue myacademic development as aneducationalist during my clinicaltraining in Sport and Exercise Medicinemeant that I had to attend some of myeducationalist courses during myannual leave, which was tough, butultimately worth it.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?This is a constant battle for me! I havefive different roles to manage. Anunderstanding partner is helpful, and I am getting better at taking myholidays. Combining my passion forsport with work allows me to spendtime at work whilst also enjoying myhobby!

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?I hope to continue my development as an educator and a learner. I amparticularly interested in the role of technology in education, and inteaching the new generation of tech-savvy students.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?Think about what you want to achieve,set your goals and work towards them.Make sure that an academic career willfit in with your lifestyle, as it is certainlynot an easy option.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?The establishment of Sport andExercise Medicine within the NHS. In addition, providing the OlympicLegacy for Health. In MedicalEducation – maintaining high standardsof teaching in the face of an ever-increasing clinical workload for myConsultant colleagues.

DR CHRIS HUGHES

SPORTS M

EDICINE

MALE A

CADEM

ICACADEM

IC TR

AINING PA

THEDUCATIO

N

Initial nomination:Nomination 1:I consider Amit an excellent ambassadorfor aspiring clinical academics. He isenormously enthusiastic and committed,professional in his manner and alwayskeen to share knowledge and skills withthose around him. He has achieved anumber of scholarships and awards toenhance his research experience andportfolio, including obtaining a highly-sought after place to undertake anelective at one of the world’s premiercardiology institutions (Harvard MedicalSchool). Amit’s energy and enthusiasmfor a research career is inspirational.

Nomination 2:Amit is a very popular member of staff amongst colleagues and medicalstudents alike. Impressively, he is ableto balance research with his clinicalworkload, significant teachingprogramme and various managementresponsibilities.

Amit somehow managed to find timeto solely write an entire book titledCrash Course – Evidence-BasedMedicine: Reading and Writing MedicalPapers during his FY1 training!

Despite his initial successes, Amitalways maintains perspective and isvery humble about his achievements.Amit has inspired us to believe that‘impossible is nothing!’.

What is your education/career path to date?• 2008 – Intercalated BSc(Hons) in

Physiological Sciences – University ofBristol;

• 2011 – Elective in Clinical Cardiologyat Brigham and Women’s Hospital –Harvard Medical School;

• 2011 – Medicine MB ChB –

University of Bristol; • 2013 – Academic Foundation

Training – Cardiovascular Medicine –North Bristol NHS Trust;

• 2014 – Core Medical Training –Cardiology/Acute Medicine, King’sCollege Hospital NHS Trust.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?I am delighted to have found a mentorand role model in Dr Andy Salmon, aMedical Research Council (MRC)Clinical Senior Lecturer/Consultant inNephrology, who has led by exampleand conduct, whilst always maintaininga broad perspective on life. He inspiredme to fulfil my potential and I feelprivileged to be passing on hisexcellent qualities by inspiring the nextgeneration of clinical academics myself.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?My academic post provides theopportunity to work alongside highlymotivated and talented medicalstudents and doctors. Research allowsme to progress, use my imaginationand face new challenges every day.Having the opportunity to contributeto research, which may one day betranslated from bench to bedside, isincredibly gratifying.

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in the future?In the future, I plan to couple acardiology consultant post with atenured university position, developingmy research and teaching programmealongside a number of worldwidecollaborations in the process.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?1. Find a role model who you admire.

Someone who is supportive,understanding and encouraging.

2. Having established your long-termgoals, set short-term objectives toassist you in achieving them.

3. Relish the intellectual challenge and enjoy all steps of the academicprocess; formulate a clinicallyrelevant question, secure fundingand see the project through to theend. Don’t let things go!

4. Most importantly, believe in yourself!

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?Despite significant progress in diseaseprevention and treatment, the biggestchallenge facing cardiovascularmedicine over the next ten years is theincreasing prevalence of cardiovasculardisease. Improvements in the survivalrates of patients who have had amyocardial infarction will inherentlylead to an increase in the incidence of chronic heart disease.

From a research perspective, theultimate goal of biomedical research isto discover new effective strategies forthe prevention and treatment ofcardiovascular disease. It is crucial thatwe accelerate the translation of basicresearch findings into clinical studiesallowing future generations to carrythe torch and bring us into a new eraof evidence-based medicine.


DR AMIT KAURA

CARDIOLOGY

MALE ACADEM

ICRESEARCH

EDUCATION

ACADEM

IC TRAINING PATH


Initial nomination:An enthusiastic and competentAcademic Clinical Fellow, who hasspent time arranging a course forprospective academic foundationdoctors at Guy’s and St Thomas’[Hospital] and inspired many to pursuean academic career. I have no doubtthat he will be leading his ownacademic cardiology department nottoo many years from now!

What is your education/career path to date?• MBChB, Intercalated MRes

(Cardiovascular);• British Microcirculation Society

Laboratory Grant; Wellcome TrustClinical Research Facility (Obesity &Hypertension);

• Elective; Cedars Sinai Heart Institute,Los Angeles (Cardiology);

• Academic Foundation Doctor(Cardiovascular); St. Thomas’Hospital, London;

• Isaac Schapera Scholarship;University of Illinois, Chicago(Pulmonary Hypertension);

• National Institute for Health Research(NIHR) Academic Clinical Fellowship(Cardiology), King’s College London(KCL);

• British Heart Foundation (BHF)Clinical Research Fellowship(Cardiovascular/Redox), BHF Centre,KCL.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?Dr Howard Jones was an outstandingphysician who had a big influence onmy training. Although he had noformal research position at theuniversity, he was very much anacademic – reading The Lancet, NewEngland Journal of Medicine, etc.religiously, and applying his extensiveevidence base to practice the highestquality medicine, and providinginspirational teaching (via his antique300-slide carousel projector!).

My research inspiration came as agroup; Professors Anthony Heagerty,Rayaz Malik and Adam Greenstein. All highly established leaders in theirrespective fields, they prioritised mydevelopment and were, and remain,inspiring mentors. As anundergraduate, they allowed me toshape and direct the research Iundertook, and with their guidance wewere fortunate to identify novel (andtopical) findings, which we presentedand published widely.

What makes your job interesting? I’ve always been interested intechnology and machinery and thehuman heart is an incredible piece ofbiological engineering. To dedicate mycareer to advancing our understandingof cardiovascular disease, treatingpatients individually as a doctor,learning complex interventionalprocedures, combined with educatingthe new generation of medics makesfor the most gratifying career I couldhope for.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?Academic medicine requires originalthought and provides a great degree of intellectual autonomy. Collaboratingwith a diverse group of trulyoutstanding individuals from all overthe world, with the combined goal ofimproving healthcare in the future, is a privilege.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?That’s still a work in progress!Academic training is flexible, and youhave the opportunity to slow thingsdown momentarily, so long as you canturn it up a gear (or two!) afterwards.There are always sacrifices to be madewhen trying to achieve somethingworthwhile, but if you enjoy what youdo, it’s worth it.

DR KAIVAN KHAVANDI

CARDIOLOGY

MALE A

CADEM

ICACADEM

IC TR

AINING PA

THRESEA

RCH

EDUCATIO

N

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?Ultimately I aim to run my ownresearch programme, undertakingtranslational, bi-directional research(mechanistic foci in redox signallingand inflammation), whilst practicingtertiary centre cardiology withsubspecialty interventional interests.Having edited a book to assist medicalstudents to realise their potential andco-founded Academic Frontiers – anorganisation which runs nationaleducation and training courses, I hopeto build on and expand educationalresponsibilities in the future.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?Identify your interests and strengthsearly, and start building your toolset.Find a good mentor, who will put yourinterests first. Have the endgame inmind, anticipating future changes intraining/practice. Do what trulyinterests you. Surround yourself withtalented people. Be proactive –personalising your training by investingin your career – both time-wise andfinancially (conferences, courses etc.).Be ambitious – don’t let people imposetheir own limitations on you.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?The technological innovations we’veobserved are truly astonishing, and willcontinue to advance exponentially(analogous to Moore’s Law forcomputing hardware). Advances ininterventional cardiology have allowedus to enjoy excellent outcomes forpatients reaching hospital withmyocardial infarcts. Sadly, manypatients succumb prior to arriving inhospital, before these interventions can be applied. We must place greaterfocus on prevention in the future,specifically therapeutic lifestyle and diet change, which are particularlyunderappreciated at present.


CARDIOLOGY

MALE ACADEM

ICRESEARCH

EDUCATION

ACADEM

IC TRAINING PATH


Initial nomination:Logan is hardworking and dedicated,academically very knowledgeable andskilled. Despite his strong focus, he’salways possessed an innate ability tobe a team player and an excellentlistener, paying respect to and regularlyseeking advice and wisdom from seniorand junior colleagues alike. He is keento involve students in his work andincredibly supportive, encouraging thenext generation of doctors to involvethemselves in academic medicine.

Logan has been involved in successfulUK national projects, includingSpotting the Sick Child. He has beenvery active in teaching juniorcolleagues, evidenced through hiswriting of teaching material for theLeicester Medical Student ResearchMentorship Programme and involvingfoundation doctors in his work at theNational Institute for Health and CareExcellence (NICE).

What is your education/career pathto date?• Qualified from Leicester University

in 2009;• West Midlands Academic Foundation

Programme; • Former Imperial College London

Paediatrics National Institute forHealth Research (NIHR) AcademicClinical Fellow (ACF);

• Now King’s College London (KCL)Public Health NIHR ACF & NICEScholar;

• Further study – Royal College ofPaediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)Diploma in Child Health & MScPublic Health at London School ofHygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM);

• Working groups involved – RCPCHSTIs Clinical Standards & South AsianHealth Foundation Children’s Group.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?As a student at Leicester [University],Professor Monica Lakhanpaul grantedme an opportunity to assist in datacollection for a research project. What was initially a simple task ofdisseminating questionnaires in anemergency department turned into co-writing an abstract, a nationalpresentation and publication. Duringthis I became fascinated by the worldof research and asked for more work...the rest is history!

Since graduation, despite being indifferent regions, I’ve continued to bementored and supported by ProfessorLakhanpaul (now Professor ofIntegrated Community Child Health at the UCL Institute of Child Health).

What makes your job interesting?Learning something new everyday, notonly about the specialty but reflectingand improving on one’s personal skillswith guidance from a mentor. Meetingeminent individuals who are willing to share their knowledge and support you; notable examples includeSir M Rawlins, Professors T Stephenson, A Schilder, P Littlejohns and Dr A Hayward. The frequentopportunities to travel both nationallyand internationally for presentations is a welcome bonus!

What are the challenges that havefaced? How do you tackle them?How have you overcome them?There are numerous hurdles inacademia. Getting in and staying in are two common ones. Patience,perseverance and delivering on time (tobuild trust, and thus get more projects)are key.

Notable examples include:1. Being a student with no academic

credentials (i.e. BSc), and having topersevere over 2 years by offering tohelp in projects, only to assist inunpublished audits or beingrejected, until I found a mentor.

2. Determination in resubmittingmanuscripts and revisions over 3years to get an accepted publicationfor a project.

3. Assisting in numerous projects, onlyfor a select one or two tomaterialise into noteworthy projects.

DR LOGAN MANIKAM

PAEDIATRICS

MALE A

CADEM

ICRESEA

RCH

EDUCATIO

NACADEM

IC TR

AINING PA

TH

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?An iPhone and its to-do lists!

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?Having recently changed specialties, I hope that my future job plan willincorporate both paediatrics and publichealth. In comparison with manyacademic posts, where subspecialtyresearch is encouraged, academicpublic health provides me the flexibilityto explore my interests. I’m additionallyhoping to be awarded an NIHR orWellcome Trust training fellowship inthe upcoming round.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?Firstly, do not underestimate the extrawork required to meet both academicand clinical demands. Ask yourself: arethe drawbacks (i.e. spending evenings& weekends meeting deadlines)outweighed by benefits (i.e. working inuniversity hospitals in major cities &funding for conferences in holidaydestinations)?

If yes, note that you will meet lots ofacademics through your career, ineither clinical or academic training. A select one or two will become afriend, mentor and guide in yourcareer. Hold on to them!

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?Public Health is facing the largestservice reconfiguration it has everknown. Whilst demoralising for some,it presents unique opportunities towork together with local authorities,clinical commissioning groups andacademic health science networks to improve population health.


PAEDIATRICS

MALE ACADEM

ICRESEARCH

EDUCATION

ACADEM

IC TRAINING PATH


Initial nomination:Anna was involved in education duringher own undergraduate training, andhas undertaken a higher degree inClinical Education, as well as researchinto medical ethics education.

What is your education/career path to date?I graduated in 2006 in Medicine from the University of Bristol with an intercalated BSc in Bioethics. I completed Foundation Training inBristol, before training in GeneralPractice at University College London.With a long standing interest inteaching, I studied part-time for aMasters in Clinical Education at theUniversity of London.

In 2011, I undertook out-of-programme research in Medical EthicsEducation at King’s College London.After this fascinating period as a full-time academic, I resumed my dual roleas a GP trainee and Masters student.After completing both programmes in2012, I now work as a GP in London. I am actively involved in teaching, theRoyal College of General Practitioners’North-West London Faculty and JuniorInternational Committee.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?The challenges arising from my ownexperiences of teaching made mecurious about the factors affectingeffective learning, inspiring me topursue an academic career withinmedical education

What makes your job interesting?The combination of clinical andacademic careers provides variety and abalance of working patterns. The twoare also mutually supportive: a deeperunderstanding of education helps mebe a better mentor for students andpatients; whilst my clinical practiceprovides continuous supply of topicsfor learning.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?This role allows for creativity – being able to dedicate attention to topics ofpersonal interest is highly rewarding. The subject areas are contemporary and progressive, and it supports thedevelopment of useful professional skills.

What are the challenges that havefaced? How have you overcomethem?Ironically, a major challenge wasobtaining ethics approval for myresearch in medical ethics! However,this proved to be a useful lesson inunderstanding the processes of clinicalacademia.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?Whilst stimulating, the combination ofacademic and clinical areindependently demanding and requirecareful planning, organisation andstamina.

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?I aim to promote excellence in medicalethics and law education and primaryhealthcare anthropology throughongoing academic work andcommittee roles.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?This is a fascinating and progressivearea of medicine. It can work as both a standalone career choice or beintegrated with clinical practice. Whilstchallenging, it confers a relativefreedom in work pattern and field,both of which can sometimes feelunder threat in modern training posts.

Have a clear goal, but keep an openmind. Prior planning in ample time isessential, as is enthusiasm. There canbe several hurdles along the way whichare significantly easier to overcomewith a proactive approach to problem-solving.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?Medical practice is changing rapidly,and it is vital that medical trainingkeeps pace. Clinicians need to developteaching skills throughout theirtraining, which will be a challenge toachieve. This is an exciting time to beinvolved in medical education!

DR ANNA ROMITO

GENERAL PR

ACTIC

EFEM

ALE A

CADEM

ICPREVIOUS N

ON-ACADEM

IC ROLE

EDUCATIO

N

Initial nomination:Jay has worked for many years as aClinical Lecturer at Dundee University,alongside his clinical work in paediatrics.He helped to co-ordinate theundergraduate teaching programme aswell as deliver lectures, seminars andclinical teaching. His impact was clear –students share his enthusiasm, andjunior doctors rotating throughpaediatrics remain enthused for thespeciality, fondly recalling the impactthat Jay had on their student life.

Jay is a man of great intelligence whohas a gift for sharing this, without everbelittling or talking down tocolleagues. He encourages studentsand colleagues to pursue their goalsand provides practical support andadvice far above what would bereasonably required of him. He willmake time for the smallest of concernsand seems always to be available. Heshares knowledge and experience atevery opportunity and is a greatsupport to all colleagues, from FY2swho have never worked in paediatricsto experienced consultants.

What is your education/career pathto date?• 1999 – graduated from University of

Mysore;• Worked for World Health Organisation

(WHO) and voluntary sector;• 2001 – moved to UK and began

academic and clinical training inPaediatric medicine;

• Spent two years as Clinical Lecturerat University of Dundee;

• 2009 – Paediatric Neurology gridtraining;

• Continued my research during mytraining;

• Currently in the third year of my parttime MD at the University of Dundee.

Have you experienced specificevents/incidents/outcomes which made you decide upon amedical/academic medical career?I was one of the lucky studentsselected to do a summer vacationresearch project for the Indian MedicalResearch Council. I received an awardfor my study The incidence ofcongenital malformations in MysoreMedical School Hospitals, which founda high incidence of neural tubedefects. As a result, public healthmeasures were implemented, wherebyfree folic acid supplementation wasprovided to a targeted population.

Who or what inspired you toembark upon an academic career?My supervisors, both at the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences (ProfessorBhan) and at the University of Dundee(Professor Greene and Dr Kirkpatrick),were inspirational. I enjoyed myresearch fellow job for the WHO, andmy interest in academic medicine wasstrengthened when I carried outresearch on Paediatric epilepsy. Inaddition, I am very interested inteaching, and decided to pursue anacademic career.

What makes your job interesting?The variety of work including research,teaching and clinical work.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?• My clinical research which will

directly influence our knowledge andbenefit patients.

• Teaching junior doctors and otherhealth professionals to improvepatient care.

• My clinical work.• Meeting new people, collaborating

with different researchers andsharing ideas.

What are the challenges that havefaced? How do you tackle them?How have you overcome them?Increasing pressure from clinical worknot leaving enough time for academicwork, which I have tackled by beingflexible and having effective timemanagement.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?Enjoying my work and havingdeveloped a great relationship with mycolleagues, the workplace is alwaysfun! I try to finish most things on timeso that I do not take work home.

What path do you think/plan/hopeyour research will take in thefuture?I intend to continue my research inPaediatric epilepsy and otherepidemiological aspects of paediatricneurology. I have been successful ingetting a consultant PaediatricNeurology job at the Royal Hospital forSick Children in Edinburgh, and willstart the job once finish my training.Over the next few months I will finishwriting up my work and then apply forfurther funding.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?It is great fun and you could make adifference to the future of medicineand patient care – but you need to getexcited by challenges and be able tosee beyond the European WorkingTime Directive (EWTD).

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?Workforce, funding and patientexpectations.

DR JAYAKARA SHETTY


PAEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY

MALE ACADEM

ICACADEM

IC TRAINING PATH

RESEARCH


Initial nomination:Craig Tipple was one of the firstAcademic Clinical Fellows (ACFs) inGenito-urinary Medicine (GUM) and isnow writing up his PhD.

What is your education/career path to date?I graduated from University CollegeLondon in 2004 and completed my pre-registration house jobs in Manchesterand Norwich. I then joined a FY2 pilotscheme (A&E and respiratory medicine)based in Barnet General [Hospital],before starting a medical Senior HouseOfficer (SHO) rotation at the Royal Freeand Barnet Hospitals (endocrinology,renal, haematology andgastroenterology). My rotation wascurtailed with the implementation of‘Modernising Medical Careers’ and theMedical Training Application Service(MTAS) debacle of 2006, at which pointI joined St Mary’s Hospital as a TrustMedical Officer in GU Medicine. Duringthis post, I was able to complete myDiploma of Membership of the RoyalColleges of Physicians (MRCP)examinations, and was introduced to arewarding and challenging specialitywhich offered a number of researchopportunities. The planets then alignedwith the advertisement of academictraining numbers in the specialtycoinciding with me gaining collegemembership. I applied, and wassuccessful.

During my two years as an ACF atImperial College London, based at StMary’s Hospital, I was able to revive aproject studying Syphilis, put togetherpreliminary data and apply successfullyfor a PhD training fellowship from theNational Institute for Health Research(NIHR). I have established acollaboration with a large syphilisresearch unit at the University of

Washington, Seattle, USA, and clinicalcentres in Sri Lanka and Uganda.Together, we are designing a newclinical study, which will form the basisof my post-doctoral studies.

Have you experienced specificevents/incidents/outcomes whichmade you decide upon amedical/academic medical career?Despite some previous researchexperience, the catalyst for combiningmy interest in the speciality with aresearch career was MTAS and theresulting unemployment.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?I find the life of a clinical academicrewarding and fulfilling. In addition tocaring for patients and teaching, I havedeveloped assays in the laboratory,which have been used on patientswhom I have recruited in studies that Ihave designed. I am not sure that anyother job provides such diversity andinterest.

What are the challenges that havefaced? How do you tackle them?How have you overcome them?Of course, there have been challengesalong the way. Convincing funders thatyou and your project are worthy oftheir money is not easy (especially inthe current economic climate, wherefunding opportunities are diminishing),and I have had my share of rejection.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?It can, at times, be difficult to reconcilework and home life. While checkingmy work email by the pool on holidayrecently, I realised that perhaps I stillhaven’t got this quite right yet, but amworking on it!

What paths do you think/plan/hope your research will take in the future?I plan to continue working as a clinicalacademic. I love being a doctor andseeing patients, but I also love beingpart of research that aims to improvethe treatments I can offer to thosepatients. I am currently applying forclinical lectureships, which will enableme to continue my speciality trainingwithout putting my research on hold. I see myself in three to four years’ timeas a Senior Clinical Lecturer with aresearch programme grant.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?I am testament to the fact that you donot have to have won all the prizes atmedical school to be a clinicalacademic, nor do you have to spendevery waking moment from the dayyou start Medicine planning yourcareer path. My advice? Find aspeciality you love; find a mentor; thinkabout what it is you want to researchand then go for it.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?The next 10 years are going to see alot of change in the specialty. HIV isfast becoming a chronic andmanageable condition and NHS reformseems set to change fundamentally theway sexual health and HIV care iscommissioned and provided. Rates ofsexually transmitted infections (STIs),however, continue to rise, presentingnew problems and new avenues forresearch.

DR CRAIG TIPPLE

GENITO

-URINARY MEDICINE

MALE A

CADEM

ICPREVIOUS N

ON-ACADEM

IC ROLE

RESEA

RCH

Initial nomination:Tim’s CV is impressive – an MA inNatural Sciences, a PhD in MaterialsPhysics from Cambridge [University],followed by a switch to Medicine. He is an inspiring leader of his cohort,passionate about science andneurology. I believe he is a future starof Academic Medicine!

What is your education/career path to date?I always wanted to do research, andpre-university I did RADAR physics atthe MoD. Growing up in a largely self-educated family, I wasn’t sure I had theattributes to be a good doctor, so Ipursued a basic science degree. I wasattracted by the graduate-entrymedical courses, but kept medicine onhold, as I wished to follow up someinteresting earlier work with a PhD,supervised by Professor Paul Midgley.

Finally, I joined medicine, carrying on inCambridge. I wanted to do neurologyalmost from the start and took up anAcademic Foundation Programme withDr James Rowe, looking at disorders ofmovement and cognition. I enjoyedexcellent Senior House Officer (SHO)rotations in neurology, neurosurgeryand neuro-Intensive Treatment Unit(ITU) at Addenbrooke’s [Hospital], andcompleted my Diploma of Membershipof the Royal Colleges of Physicians(MRCP) examinations. I taughtpreclinical neuroscience, clinicalmedicine and studied for a teachingqualification. Advised and inspired bysupportive academic and clinicalcolleagues, and convinced a career as a clinical academic was for me, anAcademic Clinical Fellowship was next.This took me to University CollegeLondon (UCL) and Queen Square forCore Medical and higher specialty

training in neurology. At the SobellDepartment of Motor Neuroscience, I continue looking at motor/cognitiveoverlap.

What do you like about being aClinical Academic?Academic medicine is alwaysfascinating at some level, necessitatinga wider perspective on what’simportant in your specialty. Clinicalacademic training is a privilege – itkeeps you connected to your patientswho inspire many early research ideas.

What are the challenges that havefaced? How do you tackle them?How have you overcome them?There have been late nights onmicroscopes, preparing specimens orwriting presentations, but the drive toanswer the questions, develop thediscussion or communicate the workalways spurs me on. Time pressures areever present, especially when balancingclinical training requirements. You justmake every moment count. Havingpapers rejected is disheartening earlyon, when you may not have fullconfidence in what you’re doing.Sitting down with a good supervisor toreview the work can strengthen yourconfidence and add to yourunderstanding.

How do you manage yourwork/life balance?I try, regularly, to take a step back, andto review how I feel about life, andmake sure I maintain a happy balancebetween work and everything else Ivalue. It helps to love your work, butspending time with friends and familyor doing leisure activities must beprotected. Taking on commitments thatyou cannot realistically fulfil canundermine everything.

What paths do youthink/plan/hope your research willtake in the future?My path will be atypical, as I alreadyhave a PhD in a non-medical subject.Happily, with many rivers leading tothe academic sea, the next stage iswork to secure one of the manyfellowships that offer a bridge to anindependent research career.

What would you advise someonewho is considering AcademicMedicine as a career?You must enjoy academic work andgive yourself a chance to meet thechallenges. Determination andcommitment, rather than intelligence,are required to get everything finished.It is a bad idea to research purely tofacilitate career progression. Whenchoosing a topic, it helps to focus on aproblem that is clinically important, buttractable, and a good supervisor willnavigate that minefield with you. It isbest to gain expertise in just a fewconditions or techniques, rather thanbeing a jack of all trades.

What do you envisage will be thechallenges within your specialtyover the next 10 years?Advances in basic and clinicalneuroscience are creating opportunitiesto tackle problems of enormous publicinterest. Disease classification willchange to reflect mechanisms, ratherthan taxonomy, bringing non-organicconditions into a coherent scheme.Treatments will target thesemechanisms.

DR TIM YATES


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Reason for nominationEnthusiastic, highly motivated andmotivational, rapid progressor and veryambitious.

Nominee’s responseExtremely flattered!

Career pathI qualified from Leeds Medical Schoolin 1990, before undertaking pre-registration training and basic surgicaltraining in Leeds. I undertook an MDthesis analysing outcome measures,clinical and cost effectiveness in themanagement of lower limb ischaemia,supervised by Professor R.C. Kester andProfessor Julian Scott, and funded by aNorthern and Yorkshire ResearchFellowship. This resulted in a HunterianProfessorship from the Royal College ofSurgeons of England. Higher SurgicalTraining in the Yorkshire regionincluded 2 years as Clinical Lecturer tothe Academic Vascular Surgical Unit inHull with Professor Peter McCollum. AVascular Fellowship, supported by theEthicon and Peter Clifford Foundations,took me to Professor Robert Fitridge’sVascular Unit at the Queen ElizabethHospital, Adelaide, Australia. When Ireturned from Australia, I took up apost as Clinical Senior Lecturer inVascular Surgery, Academic VascularSurgical Unit, Hull.

In 2009, I was appointed VascularTutor at the Royal College of Surgeons

and appointed to Surgical SpecialityGroup Lead and Executive Committeemember of North East Yorkshire andNorthern Lincolnshire ComprehensiveLocal Research Network. The followingyear I was appointed as a member ofthe Higher Surgical Training Committee,and made Surgical Lead (East) forAcademic Training for the Yorkshireand Humber Postgraduate deanery. At Hull York Medical School, I wasappointed Chair of Surgery andappointed to the Executive Committeeof its Centre for Cardiovascular andMetabolic Research. I was elected toCouncil and the Education Committeeof the Vascular Society of Great Britain& Ireland and appointed as TrainingProgramme Director (Vascular) at theYorkshire and Humber PostgraduateDeanery in 2012, and have recentlybeen appointed Associate ClinicalDirector of Research and Development,Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust.

I have also acquired post graduatequalifications in Medical Ultrasoundand Clinical Education.

My role as a principal investigator/coinvestigator has included a NationalInstitute for Health Research (NIHR)programme grant, and has beenvalued at over £10 million. I haveauthored over 70 peer reviewedoriginal research articles and 10 bookchapters, and supervised 20 higherdegrees.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerFind a role model; there are manydifferent characters in academicmedicine. Choose one who youadmire, analyse why and try to adoptthese traits, e.g. supportive,encouraging, understanding,intellectual prowess.

Never stop learning; try to learnsomething from every encounter.Whether this is writing a case report ona firm where you are a trainee, or doinga formal course, e.g. post graduatecertificate/diploma/degree. Ask advice;always obtain as many opinions aspossible regarding important careerdecisions – but don’t forget that yourown opinion on what is right for you isprobably the most important.

Work hard and stay positive; sorry, but there are generally no shortcuts inacademic medicine – you simply haveto spend the time writing grants,abstracts, papers.

Try to form working relationships;encourage interdisciplinary projects.

Believe in yourself and your ideas; ifyou don’t, no one else will.

Enjoy it; if you don’t, there’s no pointdoing it!

MR IAN CHETTER

Name: Mr Ian Chetter

Specialty: Vascular surgery

Current position: Senior Lecturer, Academic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull University

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DR SIMON CONROY

Reason for nominationSimon demonstrates the featuresneeded to become a top class clinicalacademic. He has shown extraordinarypromise and early success. Otherswishing to consider a career in clinicalresearch could benefit from hisexample and advice.

Simon is similar to good non-academicSpecialty Registrars (SpRs), in terms ofbeing clinically conscientious andskilled, but he differs in terms ofaspiration, innovation, enthusiasm anddedication. Instead of seeing SpRtraining and the acquisition of aCertificate of Completion of SpecialistTraining (CCST) as the limit of hisrequired achievements, he has a keeninterest in learning about and deliveringinnovation in teaching, research andservice delivery. He is studying forteaching qualifications and a PhD. He isclearly very gifted, being able todevelop a high level of expertise inacademic activities (research andteaching) while also achieving thehighest level of clinical achievement.

In short, Simon demonstrates thestrength of intellect and character and balance of interests to become asuccessful clinical academic. I haveevery confidence that he will becomea professor and one of the seniorfigures in the profession in due course –provided the necessary conditions that

we have tried to establish for him hereat this stage in his career are in place:this means recognition by the NHS ofthe value of a clinical academic in termsof leadership and influence, recognitionby the Research Assessment Exercise(RAE) [now the Research ExcellenceFramework] and university that not allthe important contributions aremeasured by grants and publicationsalone, and recognition by the fundingbodies that clinical research is a validscholarly activity.

Nominee’s responseDr Gladman is as generous in hispraise as he has been in his support.He knows very well the challenges thatI have faced and has been incrediblysupportive in helping resolve these. Ihope that his optimism for my futureis well-founded because my successwill be his success – and of course if itdoesn’t work out, it will be all hisfault!

Career pathI started my working life as a pre-registration house officer in theLeicester region and was lucky enoughto work for and be inspired by the lateProfessor de Bono. Senior HouseOfficer (SHO) training in Derby,Nottingham and Leicester wasaccompanied by the birth of mysecond daughter, which ensured thatwhile I kept focused at work I did not

neglect my family – a source of greatstrength. I deliberately spent a longperiod in the SHO post in order togain a wide range of experience,resisting the prevalent pressure tomove quickly into the SpR grade.Having sampled a range of specialties,I decided upon Geriatrics, whichoffered variety, but also a broaderclinical role and focused on patientsrather than procedures.

Specialist registrar training was initiallyin the Leicester region, then EastAnglia. While still keeping my eyeopen for an appropriate researchproject and managing some small-scale studies in parallel with my clinicalwork, it was only at the beginning ofYear Four of my training that thelectureship in Nottingham wasadvertised. I was appointed to thelectureship in 2004 and have notlooked back since. The lectureship,with a 50 per cent split between NHSand university, allows more freedom to develop interests and pursue theacademic training that I trust will serveme well into the future. The price thatI have had to pay is an extension ofmy training by two years, but it is wellworth it considering the long-termbenefits.

Name:Dr Simon Conroy

Specialty:Geriatrics and general internal medicine

Current position:Honorary Senior Lecturer, Geriatric Medicine, University of Leicester

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Research is the main thrust of theuniversity commitment, and I ammanaging a falls prevention project.Aside from project management, I am also being trained in researchmethodology, statistical analysis,economic analysis and writingreports/papers. All of this feeds intothe PhD that I am studying for, basedon the falls study.

In parallel with the research outlinedabove, I am able to develop otherresearch interests, such as work in thefield of ethics (advance directives) andnutrition. There is a huge amount todo, and I am never bored – but I mustemphasise the importance of workingin a team environment. It would beimpossible to do so much without theappropriate support. Dr Gladman hasbeen especially supportive and isincredibly selfless, ensuring that mytraining is a priority and not asecondary consideration. If I amsuccessful, then this is one of the key reasons – having a strong anddedicated supervisor.

Of course, clinical training continues(including General Internal Medicine(GIM) on-call duties) while in thelecturer post, which is in contrast toconventional research posts. This isimportant as the clinical work inspiresresearch and research is inspired byclinical experience. This is the strengthof the clinical academic system and itis pleasing to hear that there isincreased recognition of the value ofsuch posts by the NHS and trainingbodies. It remains to be seen if therhetoric becomes reality; in particular,the pressures of the ResearchExcellence Framework (REF) on theuniversity can at times work against

clinical academics, as opposed to full-time academics, especially as health-related research struggles at timeswith funding.

Certainly, there are difficulties; mainlytime pressures and wanting to be ableto do more – there is a real danger ofover-extending and time managementbecomes very important. Balancing theNHS service and training duties alongwith the academic duties is sometimeschallenging, but I have been fortunatein working in a supportive environment.Planning and early consultation helps agreat deal in this area. It is importantthat colleagues understand what weare trying to achieve and that all toooften university success is NHS success,especially in health services research.

In summary, I have learnt to beflexible, kept options open, and havenot been scared to take the plungewhen opportunities have presentedthemselves. It has all been worth it so far, and every day brings a newexperience and challenge. I have a verystimulating and exciting post and hopethat it will continue.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerThe most important person is yoursponsor or supervisor; it is also usefulto have a role model, who may not bethe same person. Without strongsupport, life as an academic in trainingcan be tough. There will be sacrifices –extended training, possibly financial(loss of on-call duties), but the rewardsare great. It is important not to rushinto the first project that comes yourway. Use your clinical experience todrive your research interest and findthe right person to support you inpursuing your goals. Be prepared to beflexible and do not be afraid to ask foradvice – none of us know it all! Thinkof your long-term aims and then setobjectives to help you achieve these,drawing on the advice of colleaguesfor guidance – do not try to do it allalone.

UpdateEight years on, I am older, wiser andgreyer! I moved to a senior lectureshipin Leicester – initially medicaleducation, but now NHS-fundedresearch. I am still enjoying the varietythat a clinical academic career offers. I have had a foray into leadership,where my academic skills have been a huge help. Not quite got theprofessorship yet, but realise that isnot as important as doing what I enjoyand making a difference!

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PROFESSOR PETER CROFT

Reason for nominationI should like to strongly recommendPeter, as he is an inspirational teacher,has the exceptional natural skills of avery effective person manager and hasbeen the key ‘catalyst’ in developing a new multidisciplinary centre ofnational and international repute.

Inspirational teacher: Peter has theability to simplify complex issues, thusproviding confidence to students; theability to focus on core ideas, thusproviding the skills to develop anddeliver; and the ability to ‘signpost’future questions, thus providing theability to think widely but effectively.From a personal perspective as aclinician student, I think Peter is anextremely unusual individual in theeffortless natural and thoughtful wayin which he has managed to teachand inspire people from a variety ofbackgrounds.

Developed a successful multidisciplinarycentre: From this small base, he hasmanaged to obtain grants from theWellcome Trust, Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC), Arthritis Research UK,National Lottery and National Institutefor Health Research to build a researchcentre which employs around 200people, was selected by ArthritisResearch UK as their Centre ofExcellence in Primary Care, and wasawarded Queen’s Anniversary Prize forits work on chronic pain, and

membership of the National Institutefor Health Research School of PrimaryCare Research. The Primary CareSciences Research Centre is now a keypriority field of research within thenew medical school. This centre isunique in having a trulymultidisciplinary function (researchers,GPs, nurses, therapists,rheumatologists) and is well placed tofully deliver its goals in musculoskeletalresearch.

Nominee’s responseI feel rather humbled by thisnomination, since the first thought Ihave in reflecting on my career is that Ihave been ‘a fortunate man’. There isa privilege to being in a job in whichone can pursue ideas and spend hoursthinking, writing, discussing anddebating the ways, means and resultsof asking questions about health andillness. Having this curiosity and a wishto pursue it has probably been themain driver of my career path. Ienjoyed life as a medical registrar andas a general practitioner, and theinstant rewards that clinical work canbring. But I was daily dissatisfied withthe lack of evidence and the uncriticalacceptance of received wisdom thatseemed to characterise so muchclinical medicine, and this, combinedwith the attraction and excitement ofconstructing questions and findinglogical ways to address them, fuelledmy switch to a research career.

I was fortunate in many ways. Myexposure to a range of disciplines,teachers and ideas from outsidemainstream clinical medicine: socialanthropology, social medicine andepidemiology. Great teachers who had‘big ideas’ that were elegant, simpleand inspiring. But perhaps the mostfortunate aspect of my own career hasbeen the opportunity for all thesescientific and scholarly influences tohave taken place in the context ofsome happy years in clinical practice,and in general practice in particular.The essential humanity of generalpractice and the experience of workingwith the people and the patients inthat setting helped to inform andshape the research I have done.

Career pathI was given the opportunity to do VSO(Voluntary Service Overseas) beforegoing to university, to squash a twoyear social anthropology course intomy ‘intercalated’ third year as anundergraduate, and to go toBirmingham for my clinical studentyears. This inspired me to want to dopublic health or epidemiology as acareer. Although I fell in love withclinical work and spent five years ingeneral medical jobs, I never lost theambition to do epidemiology. Myfailure six times in a row to pass theDiploma of Membership of the RoyalColleges of Physicians (MRCP) examseemed to rule out clinical

Name:Professor Peter Croft

Specialty:The Epidemiology of Pain

Current position:Professor of Primary Care Epidemiology, Keele University

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epidemiology as an option. I then metClifford Kay, GP Director of the RoyalCollege of General Practitioners’Manchester Research Unit, who gaveme crucial career advice – ‘do generalpractice first. It is a great place to doepidemiology.’ I left the meetingsigned up to a trainee GP year inClifford’s practice. My first job post-trainee was GP Principal, with twosessions a week as one of the first twoGP research fellows in the newPostgraduate Medical School at KeeleUniversity. Five years of generalpractice followed, alongside five yearsof enthusiastic unsupervised researchrunning a trial on a Saturday morningat the surgery. Still I yearned to be anepidemiologist, and then the goldenopportunity came – a year’s studyleave, on the rarely used butwonderful Department of Healthscheme for general practitioners, to do an MSc in Epidemiology at LondonSchool of Hygiene and TropicalMedicine (LSHTM). This was thesecond crucial career move. And what a privilege – age 36, a full-timestudent doing a subject I totally loved.But a decision had to be made duringthat year – return to practice or pursuea full-time academic career?

It was not really a choice, because bynow I was committed to research. Theletters and visits to epidemiology unitsbegan again. I visited David Barker,Head of the Medical Research Council(MRC) Epidemiology Unit inSouthampton, who wanted someoneto find out why farmers get so muchosteoarthritis. Despite no knowledgeof osteoarthritis, I accepted, courtesyof a Wellcome Trust Fellowship. It wasmy third crucial career decision and alesson that research training for adoctor is about high quality

supervision and not just ‘doing yourown thing.’

Then followed a golden period. Ijoined Alan Silman’s young band atthe Arthritis Research Campaign’s Unitin Manchester. They wanted a GP toresearch common musculoskeletalsyndromes. After five productive andenjoyable years, I returned to take upa Chair in Epidemiology at Keelefunded by the local health authority.Looking back, this was a very shakycareer move and one that, if I hadbeen cool and rational and cautious, I would not have taken.

And yet, I feel very fortunate that Iwas offered the job. It turned out tobe a fantastic opportunity to build upa research unit and a programme ofwork in a generous and supportiveenvironment. The Health Authorityand local GP fundholders funded ageneral practice research network.Keele made primary care a priority andat the same time were successful intheir bid for an undergraduate medicalschool. The team we pulled togetherat Keele grew into a lively and activeresearch unit with a new buildingbeside the medical school,emphasising that clinical research isultimately and importantly a teamgame, and that the real career rewardslie in working with the academic andclinical communities to which youbelong, including national andinternational colleagues andcollaborators. My contribution to allthis has rested firmly on three things:the breadth of my early interests, mystrong training in epidemiology with arange of units and teachers, and mygeneral practice background.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerIn the earlier edition I wrote“Understand that research is a careerin itself which needs strong andcommitted training, and that as aresearcher you are not the expert inclinical practice, and that being aclinician does not give you a god-givenright to assume that you have researchexpertise... What the combined clinicaland academic experience and traininggives me is a sense of being aprofessional researcher, but also ofunderstanding both the limitations and applicability of research in clinicalpractice and of being able to valuewhat clinicians do”.

One big change since then inopportunities for young cliniciansconsidering academic medicine as acareer is the boost given to research inthe NHS by the National Institute forHealth Research, and the structuredpathways of training and support nowavailable for those with talent andenthusiasm to pursue such a career.

This, though, leaves a dilemma ingiving advice. For those just emergingfrom Foundation Years burning to be a clinical academic, the advice is topursue the research path from theword go, and shape the training andearly clinical career towards academicfellowships that mix clinical work withresearch and training. But for thosewanting to immerse in clinical workbefore pursuing the academic track,there is time still to defer academicdevelopment until later, whilstremembering the golden rule thatbeing a good clinician does notdiscount you from the hard graft ofresearch training if academic medicineis the ultimate goal.

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Reason for nominationI would like to nominate a team ofacademics which include GrahamTaylor (for the depth of his knowledge,involvement with HIV in pregnancy andcalm professional manner withcolleagues and patients) and SarahFidler (for her brilliant rapport withpatients, in depth knowledge,enthusiasm and for combining her parttime job as a senior lecturer in HIV withbeing a mother of three).

Nominee’s responseSarah FidlerI am very pleased to have beennominated as a role model. It has beencrucial for me to have had over theyears a mentor and constant support,both practically and personally, toguide me through what has at timesfelt like an unachievable goal.

Career pathGraham TaylorI missed out on a formal Senior HouseOfficer (SHO) general medicinerotation, but managed to stringtogether a series of medical specialitySHO posts in the West Midlands whichhave stood me in good stead. I thenspent two years as a medical registrarin a District General Hospital in SouthWales and three years as a generalphysician in the Solomon Islands. It was

there that I first became interested inHuman T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLVs).My experience of research up untilthen had been of disgruntled anddisillusioned MDs. I was incrediblylucky, on returning to the UK, to find ajob at St. Mary’s hospital as a clinicalresearch fellow working on HIV clinicaltrials. Here I was given space, time andencouragement to develop clinical andresearch skills. I held on to my clinicalresearch post for 8 years throughvarious funding, until being appointedto Clinical Senior Lecturer.

Sarah FidlerI trained at King’s College London andcompleted a BSc in Immunology atUniversity College of London (UCL) withProfessor Ivan Roitt, who was aninspiration to Immunology and HIV at atime when HIV was first diagnosed inthe late 1980s. I undertook my SHOrotation at St Marys Hospital andBrompton Hospital, the Diploma ofMembership of the Royal Colleges ofPhysicians (MRCP) exam parts I and II,followed by GUM medical registrartraining. I gained a Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC) training fellowship toundertake my PhD in HIV immunologyat Imperial College. I then went on to apost graduate clinical Specialty Registraracademic lecturer post (part time) atImperial College, and then progressed

to my current position of Certificate ofCompletion of Specialist Training(CCST) Senior Lecturer in HIV/GUM atImperial College.

In this role I have had the opportunityto work with some inspiringcollaborators internationally and acrossinstitutions in the UK. It has only beenpossible to achieve academically andclinically with support from the hostinstitution, mentors and colleagues. I have had the support of an excellentclinical team who have enabled me totake the time from clinical duties topursue research funding and designtrials. I have been working with afantastic team of colleagues tocomplete an international randomisedtrial across eight countries. Throughthis work, there have been lastingcollaborations that have led to the next steps of an academic career,which involves large scale, high profileinternational trials, pertinent to worldhealth in the field.

Being able to continue to be aroundfor our children as they grow up is stilla really important part of my work-lifebalance, and I am very grateful for allthose who have supported my part-time role to allow this to work for ourfamily as well.

DR SARAH FIDLER AND DR GRAHAM TAYLOR

Name:Graham Taylor and Sarah Fidler

Specialty:GU/HIV medicine

Current position:Dr Taylor, Professor of Human RetrovirologyDr Fidler, ReaderSection of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Imperial College, London

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Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerSarah FidlerBe clear and confident that you areprepared to be different. Follow yourinterests and passion. The main pitfallsI experienced, of falling between theacademic and clinical requirements fortraining and general clinicalrequirements and commitments, aresurmountable. The SpR (SpecialtyRegistrar) training process does nottake into account anyone doinganything different, and the pressureson clinical academics are such that theymust achieve the same in terms ofpapers, grants etc. as non-clinicalcolleagues.

However, I think in many ways thechallenges for young clinicalresearchers are different from those Iexperienced. In the current economicclimate, where pressures on fundersare increasing, the best way towardssuccessful research awards is to be part

of a functioning research clinicalnetwork. To do this requiresengagement from early stages ofcareer development, with mentors,senior researchers in the field and ahigh level academic institution that cansupport research services andadministration.

The rigors of current specialist trainingprograms now better allow in someways for clear out-of-programexperiences, and academic trainingfellowships have been created in orderto try and bridge the gap, althoughthey have very tight time lines forsuccessful grant development, whichare often difficult to achieve. Given themany challenges facing the NHS, aclinical academic post is hugelyrewarding, and in my opinion, anexciting, challenging and stimulatingcareer.

Do not feel that for women – andthose women who wish to have afamily and spend time bringing theirchildren up – a position as a clinicalacademic is not possible. Whilst thereare many challenges, the more flexibleworking hours of academic work allowin some way better ability to be thereas children’s needs demand thanclinical commitments.

Graham TaylorDon’t expect to complete your CCSTwith your peers. Do have a passion fora project before you start. Be preparedfor disappointment, rejection and longhours. There is no end to research orthe number of hours that you couldput in. Don’t expect immediate results.Do expect a lifetime of fulfilment!

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PROFESSOR IRENE GOTTLOB

Reason for nominationShe is a scientific researcher ofinternational repute, and she worksrelentlessly against the odds to achieveher goals.

Nominee’s responseI am very honoured that someone hasnominated me. My guess is that oneof the junior doctors working inresearch with me has written this. I am glad if young doctors can see the positive sides of research, even if it is hard work.

Career pathI finished medical school and myprimary training in Ophthalmology at the University of Vienna. When Ifinished my studies, it was practicallyimpossible to find a training position inOphthalmology in Vienna, with manydoctors already waiting for severalyears for such a position. I thoughtthen that ‘this will give me theopportunity to do some research’. Iwent to Professor Kafka at theInstitute of Physiology and asked if Icould do some research, even if therewas no paid position, as long as itwould be in the field of vision. Shesaid yes immediately, showed me avery dark and slightly dusty lab andsaid ‘this lab is not in use at themoment; if you want you can starttomorrow and investigate the

influence of neurotransmitters on theisolated retina’. I started the next dayand worked there for one and a halfyears. Based on my research, I wasthen successful in being admitted into the training programme inOphthalmology in Vienna.

During my training, I was fortunate inobtaining a research fellow position atthe Max-Planck Institute for ExperimentalOphthalmology in Frankfurt, Germany.Upon my return to the University EyeClinic Vienna, I built up a clinicalelectrophysiological laboratory forpatients and research.

At a scientific meeting, I met ProfessorRobert Reinecke, whose specialinterest was paediatric Ophthalmology,strabismus and nystagmus. He workedat the very prestigious institution; WillsEye Hospital in Philadelphia. I askedhim whether he would accept me as afellow. Again, my research recordenabled me to obtain a fellowship andI moved to Philadelphia where I spentfour years; as a research fellow andthen as associated professor. Duringmy time at Wills Eye Hospital, I wasable to participate in many clinicalactivities, which allowed me to learndifferent ways to treat patients. I wasalso involved with many patients withnystagmus, a field which has becomeone of my clinical and research areas

of expertise. I thought it would beimportant to see how things are donein other parts of the world. My firstconsultant position was at theUniversity of Kiel in Germany, and Ispent one of the most fruitful years ofmy clinical development there, gainingclinical experience dealing with themost difficult patients. This experiencewas the basis of my future clinicalwork and I am trying to pass it on tomy junior doctors. Back at Wills EyeHospital, I did a fellowship inoculoplastic and orbital surgery.

Towards the end of this fellowship, I got a phone call from Switzerlandasking me if I would be willing toapply for the position of Head of theDepartment in Neuro-ophthalmologyand Strabismus in St Gall. They hadselected me on the recommendationof a paediatric neurologist and anelectrophysiologist who knew mypublications and had met me atscientific meetings. I was first a bitworried, having a baby daughter andbeing pregnant at the time. However,my husband encouraged me to lookinto it. The result was that I workedthere for more than six years. Myposition was very rewarding, mainlybecause of the clinical responsibility. I managed also to secure severalgrants and to keep the research going.However, I missed the intellectual

Name:Professor Irene Gottlob

Specialty:Ophthalmology

Current position:Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Leicester

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atmosphere of a university, since thiswas not an academic unit. One day,coming home late after a tiring day, myhusband said ‘I have found a positionfor you’. It was a professorship at theUniversity of Leicester. At the time I didnot understand much about the NHS,but it was again my research recordwhich helped me obtain the position.Since 1999, our family has been livingin Leicester. We were lucky because my husband was appointed as Chairand Professor of Neurology at theUniversity of Nottingham. In Leicester,I successfully built up a team of young,very bright and enthusiasticresearchers. This team is what keepsme happy in Leicester. It is extremelyrewarding to work with all the youngpeople and junior doctors. We alsohave increasingly young, very ambitiousand successful female academics in ourgroup.

Obviously there are a lot of difficultiesand worries, such as obtaining grantmoney to keep everybody employed,the pressure to produce high qualityresearch and papers, giving enoughattention to all lecturers, junior doctorsand students, splitting my own timebetween patient care, research andadministration and still having enoughtime for my family. But on the otherhand, this is what keeps me going.Research keeps my life very excitingand varied. I had a lot of inspirationfrom some of my professors, and thereis nothing nicer than giving some ofthis back to the next generation.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerIf you are interested in academicmedicine, you have made a veryexciting choice. Research will allowyou to keep progressing, to use yourimagination, and to always have newchallenges. If you are a clinician, it isalso important to be top in yourclinical field. Both research and clinicalskills often go hand in hand. It isimportant to take enough time foryour training. It might be difficult totrain for a long time, but the more youknow, the better it is for the rest ofyour career. Once you are at theconsultant level, it will be much moredifficult to find time for additionaltraining, but you should always maketime to keep up with what is new inyour field.

It is almost certain that it will notalways be easy, and you will gothrough difficult times. At times youwill be discouraged and feel down, forexample, if a paper is rejected orexperiments are not working.However, if you are doing good workand you persevere, you will get up thehill again and be successful. It isimportant not to give up. Overcomingdifficulties is part of research, but themore problems you solve, the betteryou will get at it. You will take hurdleseasier the next time around. If you aregetting discouraged, speak to amentor. A mentor can sometimes seeyour specific problem or your careerfrom a different angle. Choose yoursupervisor carefully. Look at his/herresearch record; speak to other peoplewho worked in the group, find outwhat the supervisor’s attitude toyoung researchers is, and how other

researchers in the group have beensupported in their career.

It is essential to work together withnon-clinical scientists. Many of thebest research teams are made up ofclinicians and non-clinical scientists,who learn from each other. On theother hand, it is important for youngclinical researchers not to allowthemselves to feel intimidated by non-clinical scientists and think that clinicalscientists cannot be as rigorous andknowledgeable as non-clinicians.

For many people, research is extremelyrewarding, and makes life varied andinspired and the job more enjoyable. It makes me enjoy every day at work.Having a good research record willalso open many new doors for you.For example, you will have access tofellowships and be sought after formany more jobs. In summary, I thinkacademic medicine is the mostrewarding job you can have. Itcombines patient care, usually at ahigh level because you are upfront inthe clinical research in your field, withall the positive parts of researchmentioned above.

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Reason for nominationDr Higgins is an exceptionally ableclinician and has become a leader within the UK for transplantation. He isalso able to combine clinical medicinewith a successful research programme,collaborating with academics at theUniversity of Warwick, and in particularthe new medical school. He has tutored several specialist registrars topostgraduate degrees. He epitomises the doctor able to be successful inseveral areas.

Nominee’s responseThe nomination is very kind andgenerous. In renal transplantation, I coordinate our programme of antibodyincompatible transplantation, receivingreferrals from across the country. Thisinvolves plasmapheresis before and aftertransplantation in those who havedonor-specific antibodies against theirliving donors. Each successful transplantis an immense reward for thepartnership between clinician andlaboratory. For example, in one month,we transplanted a mother of five andsomeone who’d been on dialysis formost of the last 23 years, both of whomhad a virtually zero chance of atransplant without this procedure. Thereis a laboratory programme, looking atthe sensitivity of transplant patients’lymphocytes to immunosuppressivedrugs, aiming to tailor their therapy

rationally. I also do research which isabout education, outcomes and qualityof life. This draws especially on the Cityof Coventry, with its significant southAsian population, and studies intoprevalence of renal disease and pain inpeople with kidney diseases are provingrewarding. Lastly, I am medical editor forthe National Kidney Federation; themedical information zone of its websiteis currently achieving about 400,000 hitsper year.

The philosophy behind all this is that Iwant continuously to improve the careof each patient I see. Of course, that’sno different from everyone else workingin the NHS and in academic medicine,but I do enjoy a particular focus onresearch that takes me no further than aquick three point turn away from thepatient. That means that I concentrateon seeing the patients, and collaborateendlessly with people who have thespecific skills to solve particularproblems.

Career pathI spent 10 years at the equivalent ofSpecialty Registrar (SpR) in London,Manchester and Oxford. Four of thoseyears were spent as a WellcomeResearch Training Fellow in the NuffieldDepartment of Surgery, Oxford, where Ilearnt some cellular immunology.Without an understanding of laboratory

immunology I could not haveprogressed, even though nowadaysI don’t often set foot in the laboratory.One advantage of a collaborativeapproach is that I have bumped intoenthusiastic people around Coventry and the University of Warwick, allowingdevelopment of interests I would nothave suspected 20 years ago, such aswriting patient information,epidemiology and quality of life.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerThe recipe is superficially simple. Get agood training in research methods andethics, do a higher degree, and never,ever fail to complete something youstart, which includes writing everythingup. Then, collaborate, collaborate,collaborate.

As an NHS employee with a researchinterest, as opposed to being a universityacademic, I have some great freedoms.For example, I do not have to work toresearch assessment exercise timetables[now the Research ExcellenceFramework], and am not formallyassessed on my success in grantapplications (fortunately). However, withthis comes the need to concentrate onsignificant goals; there is no point indabbling. Inevitably, some of theacademic work is done outside my strictquota of programmed activities.

DR ROBERT HIGGINS

Name:Dr Robert Higgins

Specialty:Renal medicine

Current position:Consultant Physician and Nephrologist, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

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However, the rewards are enormous.Everything in medicine is changing allthe time and the opportunities to bepart of that change are once in alifetime.

Update in 2013Over the last seven years since theoriginal nomination, I have been able tocontinue my research role. Collaborationwith University departments hasbecome more important. It is inevitablethat a primary role as a clinician soaks

up the top 10-20% of time and energy,so that support and help fromacademics becomes ever moreimportant. These collaborations, forexample with Bioengineering, are notwhat I would have expected, but arerewarding and educational for mepersonally. We have also been able toengage with industry, giving thepossibility of a product launch at somepoint in the future.

So it remains possible to work as anNHS clinical academic, so long as yourlocal University and Medical Schoolprovide support, and the value of yourresearch to your NHS Trust is apparent,allowing you the flexibility in jobplanning to be able to perform theresearch, and to go away to present the results.

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PROFESSOR AMANDA HOWE

Reason for nominationAmanda meets all of the criteria for arole model and more. She is a greatcolleague to work with and makes anexcellent role model for all consideringa career in academic medicine – andto all those making any contribution to research or teaching. Amandacombines a very successful academiccareer with her duties as a GP, andthose owed to her family and friends,and wants to encourage GPs all overthe world to make their specialitystronger.

Nominee’s responseThe academic capacity of generalpractice and academic careers are two hot topics for me. Since I startedworking in universities in 1991, I have led in establishing academicopportunities for primary care inundergraduate, postgraduate, andresearch settings – not only for familydoctors, but also other healthprofessionals and for layrepresentatives as well. It is a hugeresponsibility and privilege to work ingeneral practice in any role, and I havebeen very fortunate to work with somany brilliant colleagues and learnersto achieve a great degree of change inthe last two decades.

Career pathMy career remains an astonishment to me. I expected to be a full-time GPfor my whole career, but got involvedwith the higher education world viabecoming an active educator andadding a number of roles (GP trainer,undergraduate tutor, ContinuingProfessional Development tutor) to myday job as my family grew up. Theneed for medical schools to showchange allowed previouslyunacceptable ideas to creep into thecurriculum, and the passion I hadalways had for good education incommunity settings came to the fore.

It was the encouragement of the localGP professor to part-time teachingstaff to consider an academic trainingvia a Masters course that first re-engaged me with academic work: thiswas funded through a local capacity-building initiative. The other keyfactors were:• growing up with early role models

of women in medicine whosupported me to feel I had a right todo whatever I proved to be good at;

• finding consistent personal supportand encouragement from the RoyalCollege of GPs;

• being inspired by, and contributingto, the tidal wave of change createdby Tomorrow’s Doctors.

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Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a career• Don’t rule this out: being a good

academic means very hard work, butit needs persistent effort, consistentdelivery, thoughtfulness and visionmore than an exceptional IQ.

• You can effect huge changes viaeducation – while clinical work isdone at an individual level,education is done through largecohorts.

• Research provides an excellentcounterbalance to the rough andtumble of frontline contact, whetherwith learners, management, orpatients.

• The university world is aninternational one, where you makefriends and meet people: you cantravel and think outside the box andyour experience can help to growacademic capacity in othercountries.

• Always talk to people, try outdifferent options, and don’t betaken in by thinking that anacademic career only means a full-time university post.

• Political change can be destabilising,but people-centred values, student-centred learning, and critical rigoursustains practice and career choices.

Name:Professor Amanda Howe

Specialty:General practice

Current position:President-Elect, World Organization of Family DoctorsProfessor of Primary Care, University of East Anglia Vice Chair (Professional Development) Royal College of GPs

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Reason for nominationProfessor Littlewood is an inspiringteacher and intellectual of the old era.He has the ability to turn mundanedisciplinary issues (about cross-culturalpsychiatry) into intellectual questions.Sadly, he is part of a dying breed incurrent UK clinical academia. He hashad a major academic influence on theissues that affect UK black and ethnicminority populations, and also whiteBritons. He has also contributedsignificantly to the development ofmedical anthropology for clinicalacademics.

Nominee’s responseHow very kind!

Career pathAfter a rocky start (failed A-levelBiology and surgery finals), Iundertook my house officer training in

surgery at Barts [and the LondonSchool of Medicine]. Following a yearoff to pursue my interest in painting, I then completed my Senior HouseOfficer (SHO) and registrar training at Barts. During this time I also co-authored my first book (with my consultant, Maurice Lipsedge).I completed a Diploma in Social

Anthropology at Oxford University in1975, and this was followed by twoyears of fieldwork in Trinidad. I wasbased at Guy’s [Hospital] in London formy senior registrar training, and thenmoved to Birmingham University in1985 to take up a senior lecturer post.I moved back to London in 1987 totake up a senior lecturer position atUniversity College London, where Ihave been ever since. My currentposition as Professor of Anthropologyand Psychiatry involves a range ofresponsibilities. I was responsible for

initiating the M.Sc. programmes inCultural Psychiatry and MedicalAnthropology, and I am also Directorof the UCL Medical AnthropologyCentre. I have undertaken fieldwork inHaiti, Lebanon, Italy and Albania, andhave published several books. In 1988,I received the Wellcome Medal forAnthropology as applied to Medicine. I was President of the RoyalAnthropological Institute 1994 – 1997.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerDo not peak too early, and maintain atotal obsession with what is interestingfor you, and pursue that with acomplete fascination, going outsidemedicine if you have to do someadditional training (whether biologicalor social sciences).

PROFESSOR ROLANDLITTLEWOOD

Name:Professor Roland Littlewood

Specialty:Psychiatry/Social Anthropology

Current position:Professor of Psychiatry and Anthropology, University College London

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PROFESSOR MARIONMCMURDO

Reason for nominationI believe that Marion provides anexcellent role model for the followingreasons; she:• combines research with both a

substantial teaching duty and asubstantial clinical workload. She isan excellent example of how tobalance these competing demands;

• has always encouraged me todevelop and test my own ideas,even when these do not form partof the main thrust of thedepartment’s research work;

• has been an excellent source ofsupport and guidance during myPhD project and beyond;

• maintains the highest ethical andclinical standards, in research,teaching and clinical work, despitethe manifold temptations thatresearchers are exposed to;

• has taken care to develop my skillsas an academic, by encouraging andsupporting me through smallprojects up to larger projects, and byinvolving me in aspects of largerprojects (e.g. pilot work, ethicsapplications), allowing me to gainthe skills and experience that I needto obtain large grants and run largerprojects;

• is an excellent example of how tobalance work with the rest of life.She is highly productive, whilst notworking excessive hours, andmaintains a diverse range of outsideinterests;

• runs a small and friendly department,where everyone cooperates andassists each other. Much of this isdown to Marion’s example, andthose working in the department feelthat they are valued and cared for asmembers of the team.

Career pathI stumbled into academic medicinequite by chance, after having decidedthat Medicine for the Elderly was thespecialty for me. The first post thatcame up happened to be a ClinicalLecturer/Senior Registrar position, so Iapplied, without any particular burningdesire to do academic medicine. I hadalready completed the data collectionfor my MD degree while working in auniversity contract clinicalpharmacology unit, which undoubtedlyhelped in getting appointed.Somewhat to my surprise, but to mydelight, I have hugely enjoyed clinicalacademic life. Thereafter came moresenior posts, time overseas to broadenthe horizons, and the great goodfortune to work with both NHS andsenior academic colleagues, who havecontinuously supported my activities.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerClinical academic medicine is a greatcareer. Even after many years in post, I still get a thrill from a manuscriptbeing accepted for publication, orfrom a grant being awarded, or from

seeing a junior colleague promoted to a senior position. At a time whenmany of our full-time NHS colleaguesfeel less and less in control of theirworking lives, clinical academicmedicine still offers a degree of self-determination and independencewhich many would envy. This isdespite the hullabaloo over theResearch Excellence Framework andthe numerous other pressures felt byuniversities.

The trick for me has been to strike thecorrect balance between clinical work,teaching and research. Some weeksthis is easy to achieve, other weeks itis more difficult. There is a view thatexcellence in all three roles isimpossible, but for me the joy ofacademic medicine is the very diversitythat it offers. A continuing clinicalworkload is vital if your research is toretain its relevance. If your researchactivity doesn’t have the potential tochange practice in the real world, it’s probably not worth doing.

I don’t think that brilliant intelligenceis a pre-requisite for success inacademic life. Resilience,determination and focus areconsiderably more important. Don’t bedeterred by the initial rejection of thepaper or grant application, but dustyourself down, re-group and get onwith improving the resubmission.Good luck!

Name:Professor Marion McMurdo

Specialty:Ageing and health (Medicine for the Elderly)

Current position:Professor of Ageing and Health, University of DundeeChair of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Age and Ageing specialty group

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Reason for nominationProfessor McKillop is honest, fair, abrilliant clinician and is highly respectedby his peers, students, staff and colleagues.

Nominee’s responseI am flattered to be recognised in thisway for doing something which I enjoyand think is important.

Career pathAfter graduation in 1972, I undertook a series of NHS and clinical academictraining posts. I was a postdoctoralHarkness Fellow at Stanford Universityfor two years. I was appointed SeniorLecturer in Medicine in GlasgowUniversity in 1982 and MuirheadProfessor of Medicine there in 1989. Iwas Head of the Undergraduate MedicalSchool at Glasgow from 2000-2007,and Deputy Dean from 2007-2010. Iretired from the University and NHS in2011. I was appointed to the GMCCouncil in 2009 and to a second fouryear term from January 2013.

The main interests in my career included:• Nuclear medicine research, with a

particular interest in nuclearcardiology and thyroid disease. I hadthe opportunity to influence policy inthe specialty through holding office inUK and European specialtyassociations, and as Chair of theAdministration of RadioactiveSubstances Advisory Committee ofthe Department of Health for seven

years. I moved away from this field asmy education activities increased.

• Undergraduate medical education,initially as a teacher, then increasinglyas a course director/designer, andthrough involvement in UK nationalbodies. In the last 10 years, educationhas been the main focus of what I do.It is, of course, a particularly excitingtime to be involved in medicaleducation. Since the publication ofTomorrow’s Doctors, the interest inmedical education in the UK hasincreased greatly, a situation whichfortunately seems likely to continue.

• Clinical medicine. Until I became Headof Medical School, I continued tohave a substantial clinical load andwas grateful for it – I found itsatisfying, and good for keeping intouch with reality.

• General Medical Council (GMC): I ledGMC medical inspection teams from2003-2009. On Council, my mainroles have been as Chair of theUndergraduate Board and as theChair of the review of Good MedicalPractice and associated guidance,released in March 2013.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerEnjoy what you do, at least most of it!Academic medicine is demanding andthe demands (research, teaching,administration and clinical service) canconflict, though joint job planning andappraisal are reducing the degree of

conflict. If you don’t get a buzz out offollowing a career in academicmedicine, don’t do it! However, if youdo enjoy it, it is immensely rewardingand varied – after almost 40 years as aclinical academic I can’t think of anybetter career. For most clinicalacademics, retaining clinical expertise orits equivalent in your discipline isessential. It helps to keep your academicactivities relevant and maintains yourcredibility with clinical colleagues, whosecooperation you are likely to need inpursuing your academic interests.

At any stage in your career, try to befocused in your activities and resisttaking on too many things. However,always try to be aware of the ‘biggerpicture’, as it will make you moreeffective in achieving your goals. Also,try to be flexible about the path yourcareer may take. In comparison to mostNHS consultants, clinical academics have more chances to vary what they concentrate on as their careerprogresses. Administration and policyaren’t always immediately appealing,but they are important. If you don’tparticipate, you can’t complain whenyour views aren’t taken into account.The difference between a medicalschool and a research institute is thatmedical education is the core businessof a medical school, although research is also crucial. Even if you have nopersonal interest in education, don’tforget its importance.

PROFESSOR JIM MCKILLOP

Name:Professor Jim McKillop

Specialty:Internal medicine/nuclear medicine and medical education

Current position:Member of General Medical Council

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Reason for nominationNomination 1Through his razor-sharp intellect,extraordinary capacity for hard work,great personal charm and completeintegrity, he has been inspiring juniorpsychiatrists to enter academicpsychiatry for over 30 years. Thenumber of professors of psychiatry thathe trained must be at least 50. Hisgreatest strength is that despite beingthe most eminent academic psychiatristin the UK, and the most highly citedschizophrenia researcher in the worldsince the 1990s, he is never too busyor important to speak to even the mostjunior medical or nursing staff.

Nomination 2Professor Murray is an internationallyacclaimed scientist with a human face.He is always happy to speak with andadvise those who ask. He was a firstclass dean of the Institute of Psychiatryand has done much to advance ourunderstanding of the aetiology ofschizophrenia and to take forwardgenetic research into severalpsychiatric disorders. He has continuedto do research when his peers havebeen side-tracked into committees andgong-chasing. He is an excellentspeaker and communicator.

Nominee’s responseIt’s good to learn I have two friends! Itis always a pleasure to talk with

younger doctors and nurses becausethey can look at a research or a clinicalproblem from a fresh perspective, andcome up with ideas that would neverhave crossed my mind. I learn as muchfrom my junior colleagues as they dofrom me (but of course the professoralways gets the credit!).

Career pathI always wanted to do Psychiatry, butfirst I spent three years as a SeniorHouse Officer (SHO) in medicine inGlasgow. I worked for a veryextroverted renal physician, whodominated conversation in the pubafter work. Status in the pub wasdetermined by two things – one’sability at either golf or in research.Since I wasn’t any good at theformer, I had to try the latter. At thattime, working class Glasgow womenhad a habit of taking huge amountsof an analgesic powder called Askit,often washing it down with ‘IronBru’. The caffeine in the powder keptthem taking more, and thephenacetin it contained destroyedtheir kidneys. Although dependenceon Askit eventually killed many ofthese ladies, it was very good for me.I published one paper in The Lancet,one in the British Medical Journal,and gave an interview on top of ashipyard crane for the BBC’sprogramme Panorama. By that time Iwas hooked on research (and

sometimes people listened to me inthe pub!).

After gaining my Diploma ofMembership of the Royal Colleges ofPhysicians (MRCP) and MD, I switchedinto Psychiatry at the MaudsleyHospital in south London; this was agreat place, nobody ever mentionedgolf but everyone talked aboutresearch. I just loved it. My first projectexamined the hypothesis thatschizophrenics might be walkinghallucinogenic factories, so I spent six months collecting gallons of urine from patients to search for ahallucinogen called Dimethytryptamine.Then I received money from theMedical Research Council (MRC) to gooff to the USA for a year (NationalInstitute of Health in Bethesda) where Iheard the great neurochemist SeymourKety say ‘Studying the urine ofpatients with schizophrenia in order todiscern the neurochemical basis ofpsychosis is like examining the sewersof the Kremlin in an attempt tounderstand the policies of the Sovietpolitburo’. So much forDimethytryptamine! After that I didmore sensible research at the Instituteof Psychiatry, and eventually headedthe largest schizophrenia researchgroup outside the USA. Research hasalways been, and remains, fun for me.It has also provided a means to changethings – since traditional medical

PROFESSOR SIR ROBIN MURRAY

Name:Professor Sir Robin Murray

Specialty:Psychiatry

Current position:Professor, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

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beliefs are often nonsense, you can useyour data to attack the dogma (and ifnecessary, the dogmatic). Surprisingly, itis not as difficult as one might think tochange the way we look at disorders.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerFind out the best researchers locally inthe field that interests you, go and talkwith them, and offer to do a project.They will be flattered that you ask theiradvice, and most good researchers arealways on the lookout for an extra pairof hands to test their latest idea.

Having worked on a project (no matterhow daft), you will have learned a bitabout the field, and where the bestunit in the world is. Try to get there –it’s often easier than you think. Forexample, American research units areoften short of junior fellows as youngAmerican doctors prefer privatepractice. Focus on one area. You needa specific skill, not to be a jack of alltrades.

Spend most of your time learning fromyour contemporaries, and from peoplein related basic sciences. You will haveto listen to your seniors, but don’texpect them to have any novel ideas.Once you have junior staff, always findsomething about their work to praise.Encouragement gets you moreapplicants; criticism rapidly loses yougood researchers.

Learn how to give lectures. Don’t makethem full of tedious methodology. Tryto sprinkle jokes into the molecularbiology or factor analysis, and alwaysinteract with the audience. You will getyou message across more readily if atleast half of them are awake.

React to rejection of grant applications(or papers) initially in a totally paranoidway, and for 48 hours denounce thereferees as fools and idiots. Then calmdown and make sure your nextattempt is so good that not even yourworst enemy can stop it being funded(or published).

Do not be flattered into wasting yourtime on the committees whichmushroom at every turn in universitiesand the NHS. The way to become agood professor is to learn how to avoidthe nine committees that are a totalwaste of time, but to be able toidentify the 10th one that you reallymust go to because it can eitherachieve something, or alternativelytake away all your space andresources!

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Reason for nominationProfessor Nazareth has demonstratedhow a GP can be both a clinician and aresearcher. He still works as a part-timeGP, as well as an academic. He is anexcellent supervisor and is keen todevelop researchers. He puts in atremendous amount of time workingwith junior researchers and alsoprovides guidance and support. He isapproachable and grounded in reality.He is highly skilled and knowledgeable,and an excellent role model,particularly in academic primary care.

Nominee’s responseI am flattered by these comments andhonestly do not know how to respond.I am pleased to be nominated as a rolemodel but feel sure there are manyother academics doing as much, ormore than I do. I have always had akeen interest in supporting juniorclinical and non-clinical researchers andit gives me tremendous pleasure to seethem develop into independentpractitioners and/or researchers. This issomething most senior academicsshould aspire to do.

Career pathMy initial interest in research began asa Senior House Officer (SHO) inPsychiatry when I designed andcompleted a small study on the use ofBenzodiazepines in A&E medicine. This

was published in 1988, in the Journalof the Royal Society of Medicine. Mynext research project was undertakenas a GP trainee project. This eventuallyled to publications in the BritishMedical Journal (BMJ) (1993) and theJournal of Psychosomatic Research(1994). I started working as aresearcher at University College London(UCL) in 1989. These were the earlydays of academic primary careresearch. In my first year at theDepartment of Primary Care &Population Sciences, UCL, I securedfunding for a research fellowshipaward for two years from the Sir JulesThorne Charitable Trust (1990-92) andlater from the Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC) for another two years(1992-94). This allowed me to developa research programme on the care ofpatients with schizophrenia in generalpractice. The fellowship programmewas the foundation for a future careerin primary care research, and equippedme with the training and skills todevelop into a community clinicalresearcher. During this time, I workedas a retainer in general practice. Thisinvolved two to three sessions ofclinical work per week over the four-year fellowship period.

In 1995, I was promoted to a SeniorLecturer post in Primary Care at UCL.Having acquired some of the key

research skills, I felt empowered topursue clinical practice with a view toapplying these ideas to practice. I wasalso inspired by the training that I hadreceived in evidence based medicine(EBM) through David Sackett, and Idecided to develop a clinical practicewith a strong focus on EBM. In 1995,together with two other colleagues, I undertook to develop a small single-handed practice, with 3,000 patientsand four general practice staff, withthe vision of creating a practice thatoffered a high level of clinical care andserved as a research centre. I initiallyspent more than half my time in clinicalpractice (six sessions per week) and therest of my time in academic primarycare. Over the last 18 years, thepractice has grown in size to 10,000patients, with five GP partners and astaff complement of 100 people, and it is now recognised as one of theinnovative clinical and lead researchpractices in North London (the KeatsGroup Practice). While at the KeatsGroup Practice, I continued to developmy research interests in mental healthresearch, and the practice is veryactively engaged in the conduct ofresearch.

My interest in international researchbegan following the receipt of a BritishCouncil Grant designed to developservices and research in the black

PROFESSOR IRWIN NAZARETH

Name: Professor Irwin Nazareth

Specialty: Primary care and general practice

Current position:Head of Department of Primary Care & Population Health, University College of London

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homelands of South Africa. This grantattracted further funding from acharitable trust, and led to a largeepidemiological community study and a primary care morbidity study.Following the success of this work, I developed a grant application to runa large cohort study on depression inprimary care in six European countries.This was funded by the EuropeanCommission, led to over 20publications, and established a networkof research links across Europe. I havealso developed a portfolio of researchin India on coronary heart disease andcontinue to work closely with theWellcome Trust and the Public HealthFoundation of India on researchtraining.

In 2002, I was appointed to the Chair of Primary Care and PopulationSciences at UCL. To date, I have beeninvolved in the supervision of just over80 researchers, many of whom becameindependent researchers or clinicians.Over the years, I have worked ondeveloping the infrastructure forprimary care research in the UK,through my work with the north

London research network. I haveapplied these skills to the developmentof international research networks ineach of the non-UK based studies –namely the six European countries,South Africa and India.

In 2005, I was seconded to the MRCGeneral Practice Research Framework(GPRF) for eight years from UCL.During this time, I established closelinks between the MRC GPRF andnewly emerging National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) clinicalnetworks, and assisted thedevelopment and transfer of researchfunctions to the NIHR Primary CareResearch Network. I am now the Head at UCL of one of the leadingdepartments of primary care in the UK.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a career• Always pursue your true interests

and do not endeavour to dosomething that you do not feelpassionately about.

• Do not be timid about launching intoan academic career late in your

professional career (for example,after having worked for several yearsin clinical practice). Mature clinicianshave a lot to offer academicmedicine and future doctors.

• Try to clarify your area of academicinterest (e.g. teaching or research,and if it is research, ascertain thefield of research you would wish topursue) very early in your medicalcareer. If you are uncertain aboutwhat your true interests are, try arange of academic options beforesettling for what might be possiblyyour lifetime interest.

• Always maintain contact with clinicalservices that are relevant to yourspecialty. This will enhance youracademic work and allow it to befirmly rooted in clinical reality. Mostearly research ideas stem fromexperiences with patients and yourinteractions with clinicalprofessionals. It is essential that yourresearch eventually has directrelevance to clinical practice.

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Reason for nominationSince my arrival in his unit, David hasbeen an inspirational leader for me. He is intellectually generous to adegree one seldom meets. He hasshown almost boundless enthusiasmfor research. His egalitarian approachto recruitment has given many achance to those who would otherwisehave not considered a career inacademia.

Nominee’s responseI am delighted to have been able tofoster research interest in youngpsychiatrists – they continue to inspireand challenge me.

Career pathAs a medical student, I always intendedto work on the brain – hence I didPsychology rather than Pathology as an undergraduate. Post-qualification, I explored Neurology, but found thelack of interest of most consultants in

psychological issues too limiting, so Imoved into Psychiatry after completinga Diploma of Membership of the RoyalColleges of Physicians (MRCP). I hadthe pleasure of working with two verydifferent but leading Professors ofPsychiatry – Jim Watson at Guy’s[Hospital] and Michael Gelder atOxford [University], as well as spendingthree years in the Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC) unit of ClinicalPharmacology in Oxford.

After becoming a Wellcome TrustSenior Clinical Fellow and HonoraryConsultant in Oxford, I spent two yearsat the National Institute of Health [inthe USA] running the alcohol researchward as a Fogarty Fellow. In 1988, I obtained industrial funding fromReckitt and Colman to return to theUK to set up the PsychopharmacologyUnit in Bristol [University]. From this I moved on to become Head of theDepartment of Psychiatry and then

Dean of Medicine. In 2009 I wasfortunate to be offered an endowedchair at Imperial College London thatallows me to focus on brain imagingresearch related to neuropsychiatricdisorders in the new London imagingcentre (Imanova) at the HammersmithHospital.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerFollow your own path, always askquestions and search for answers toyour own questions, but also shareideas and support with your peers. But always remember the lesson ofSemmelweis - the establishment maymock you but, if you are correct,history will vindicate you.

PROFESSOR DAVID NUTT

Name:Professor David Nutt

Specialty:Psychiatry-psychopharmacology

Current position:Edmond J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London

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Reason for nomination:I worked with Rosalind for aroundseven years. In that time I saw hercomplete her PhD, lead the largest everstudy of consensus methods inhealthcare (on a Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC) clinician scientistaward), followed by a programme ofresearch on the impact of healthcareinequalities (on a Department of HealthCareer Scientist award), all of which Iwas involved with to some extent. Ihave been continually amazed at herability to complete everything she takeson in a professional way, to the higheststandards, and to deadline. She tookan active role in the life of ourinstitution (e.g. as a member of theBoard of Management) and workedwith the NHS (at North East LondonStrategic Health Authority). She actedas a mentor for my own careerdevelopment and her reputation issuch that others actively seek her outas a PhD supervisor and researchcollaborator. I strongly believe she is an excellent role model for doctors inacademic medicine.

Nominee’s responseThank you so much! I have alwaysbeen lucky enough to have hadmentors throughout my career. I now

see part of my current role as helpingtalented people to fulfil theirexpectations and their potential.

Career pathI graduated in Medicine (having takenan MRC funded intercalated BSc inPsychology) from UCL and was then aSenior House Officer (SHO) at theHammersmith [Hospital]. This wasfollowed by an SHO year, jointly at theDepartment of Epidemiology andPublic Health at UCL, and in theDepartment of Public Health atBloomsbury and Islington HealthAuthority. This was an incrediblyexciting and inspiring year, mainlybecause I was lucky enough to workwith charismatic, welcoming, andintellectually challenging academicsand public health professionals, all ofwhom have gone on to do greatthings. By the end of this year I wascommitted to training in public healthand was therefore advised to work inthe community for a year beforejoining a public health training scheme.

This was an excellent piece of advice,and during my subsequent year as aGP trainee, I gained a real insight intothe everyday challenges that lessadvantaged or marginalised people

have to cope with. It put some of mythoughts about health and health careinequalities into context, and thisfurther inspired me to pursue a careerin public health. As part of my publichealth training, I undertook a Mastersdegree in Public Health and then wenton to undertake an MRC funded PhDin Health Services Research, both at theLondon School of Hygiene and TropicalMedicine (LSHTM).

My PhD research focused oninequalities in the use of health careand the extent to which this could beexplained by clinical need, as opposedto non-clinical factors, including ethnicgroup and gender. It was not untilabout half way through my PhD that Irealised that I wanted to pursue anacademic career. After my PhD, Ireceived an MRC Clinical ScientistFellowship, which allowed me toconduct four years post-doc research at LSHTM. This was followed by a fiveyear Department of Health CareerScientist Award. I also completed mytraining in public health medicine, andI am a Fellow of the Faculty of PublicHealth.

Soon after being awarded the CareerScientist Award, I moved to UCL to

PROFESSOR ROSALIND RAINE

Name:Professor Rosalind Raine

Specialty:Public health

Current position:Professor of Health Care Evaluation, Director, NIHR CLAHRC North Thames, Head of Department of Applied Health Research, University College London (UCL)Assistant Director of Research & Development, Joint Research Office (CICL, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Fee NHS Trust)

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become Professor of Health CareEvaluation in Professor Marmot’sDepartment of Epidemiology andPublic Health. I was delighted to bringmy PhD fellows/students with me,although we maintained strongcontacts with LSHTM, which I ampleased to say have continued to thisday. The combination of UCL’s ‘can do’attitude, together with extensiveencouragement, advice and supportfrom colleagues across UCL & UCLHospitals (UCLH), and the exponentialgrowth of National Institute for HealthResearch (NIHR) funding in appliedhealth research meant that my researchgroup grew quickly. In addition, UCLsupported my proposals to establishnew Chairs (in Health Economics andin Health Service Organisation andManagement). This meant that wesoon became too big to be regarded asa research group within a Department,and in 2012 I was invited to establishand lead a Department of AppliedHealth Research at UCL.

Thanks to NIHR’s commitment toapplied research, substantial fundswere recently competitively awardedfor the establishment of 13Collaborations for Leadership inApplied Health Research and Care(CLAHRCs) across England. I am reallydelighted to lead NIHR CLAHRC –North Thames. This is a collaborationbetween world leading universities(UCL, the LSHTM, QMUL, LSE, IoE andUEL), the NHS, UCLPartners, localauthorities, patients, the public,industry and charities. We aim toimprove health and health careoutcomes and to reduce inequalitiesthrough world class applied healthresearch. This partnership means thatwe have a real opportunity to

implement results into practice morerapidly than is usually the case.

I am a scientific adviser to the WorldHealth Organisation (Department ofReproductive Health and Research).This affiliation is important to mebecause (I hope) it means that I amproviding a practical function that willhave direct impact on health andhealth inequalities. I have also sat onseveral panels including MRC CareerDevelopment Panels, which fit with my interest in helping other clinicalacademics to pursue their passions.

I have had a relatively fast trackacademic career and I am convincedthat gaining several tranches of MRCfunding was incredibly helpful. I didn’tplan an academic career, but I havebeen applying for grants and writingresearch articles since my second yearof medical school. At that time it wasborn of necessity - I needed externalfunding to enable me to undertake theBSc that I was really keen to do. I havealso always been interested in socialjustice, even before I knew that therewas a specialty – Public Health - thatwas concerned with the issues thatfascinated me.

I manage to balance motherhood withan academic career, but only withimmense support from my husband.There is always a nagging conflictbetween family and work - you justhave to accept this as the state of play.However, now my sons are vocalteenagers, I am clear that a by-productof being a working mother is thatone’s children become independentthinkers and doers. I could not bemore proud of what they haveachieved – and all because they

wanted to, not because I wasbreathing down their necks.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerAs a house officer, I was given theinvaluable advice that I should go forthe best job possible in order to havemore freedom of choice later on.Gaining prestigious funding is alsoenormously helpful. It is worthspending time on writing thoroughand rigorously thought-throughapplications with the help of yourpotential supervisor.

Role models are crucial. If you respectsomeone, do not be afraid to ask fortheir advice about your careerdevelopment. They will probably bedelighted to help you. Seek outsomeone who you admire, who is in a similar but not necessarily identicalfield as you, and with whom you willbe prepared to explore complex issuesarising as your career (and often familylife) develops. It is vital to havesomeone who is interested in you andyour work and who does not have aconflicting agenda for you. You needto have a mentor who helps you to seethat it is possible for you to do whatyou want to do.

A successful academic career is alsopartly about getting things finished.Don’t let things go – write up all yourresearch, even if your earlier pieces areless likely to be published in leadingpeer-reviewed journals. Mostimportantly, don’t let opportunities slipfrom your grasp. Whether or not youare successful in everything youattempt to do, you will always havelearnt something very useful for thenext time.

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Reason for nominationA cool but empathic vision of thefuture of undergraduate medicalteaching; leading the development of anew curriculum; providing guidance forboth teaching staff and students alike.In these days of indescribable pressureon clinical teachers, Dr Rees hasprovided a major boost to cohesivenessand motivation among medicalteachers.

Nominee’s responseI’m honoured to be nominated butwhat does ‘cool but empathic’ mean?When my daughter says ‘cool’, I suspect it’s complimentary –but I’m not so sure here!

Career pathI undertook various training posts ingeneral and respiratory medicine, and two years research in respiratorymedicine leading to an MD. I wasfortunate that some of these posts hadan academic element with titles suchas Junior Lecturer, Lecturer, ClinicalTutor. They linked me to academicpursuits in the medical school, andparticularly to teaching. A greaterfreedom to be involved in theorganisation and delivery ofundergraduate teaching convinced methat this was what I wanted to do.

I was a consultant and senior lecturerfrom 1983 until becoming Professor ofMedical Education in 2006. My postalways included responsibility forelements of medical education, and Igradually expanded that role. Duringthat period, I undertook some moreformal involvement in teachingthrough a Certificate and Diploma inMedical Education. In 2010, I retiredfrom clinical medicine and my role asDean and took up a part time role inthe Centre for Global Health at King’s[College London]. This has allowed meto help in the development ofassessment, curriculum and faculty in anumber of medical schools, includingthose in Sierra Leone, Somaliland andZambia over the last 3 years.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerMy comments really relate to those forwhom education is the main interest,rather than research. The newacademic F2 posts and other academicfellowships and lectureships beingdeveloped may offer moreencouragement and a starting pointfor those interested in medicaleducation.

One of the major problems is thateducation is still regarded as the poorrelative of research in medicalacademia. This means thatadvancement in education tends to berelated to research into educationrather than quality of organisation anddelivery. Therefore, it is important to beactive in this area. This may not be inthe best interests of education in mostmedical schools, since an overwhelminginterest in medical education research islikely to take you away from the area of organisation and delivery, which iswhere most schools really need thehigh quality input.

I would recommend getting someeducational theoretical expertise bytaking a Master’s degree in medicaleducation fairly early in one’s career.This allows you to be fluent ineducation-speak, even if this is not aform of speech you will want to usevery often with clinician colleagues.

Follow this up by going to meetingssuch as Association for the Study ofMedical Education (ASME) andAssociation for Medical Education inEurope (AMEE), consider somepublications around the educationalarea and develop greater depth in anarea of expertise within medical

DR JOHN REES

Name:Dr John Rees

Specialty:General and respiratory medicine and medical education

Current position:Professor of Medical Education, King’s College London School of Medicine.

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education, e.g. related to curriculumdevelopment, assessment, etc.

I would strongly recommendmaintaining a reasonable degree ofclinical involvement. This allows you tokeep credibility as a teacher yourself –and that’s what interests most peoplewho enter the area in the first place. Italso gives you better communicationwith clinical colleagues, as a lot of timeis likely to be spent in negotiationswith clinical (not academic) colleagueswho do the majority of the teaching inmost medical schools. Also, it’s good tohave two parallel interests – with anyluck, one of them will be going right at

any given time. So you need to keepthe credibility with your clinicalcolleagues and the academic credibilitywith the university/school throughsome academic scholarship, as well asjust teaching well.

Remember that most medical schoolsare large beasts; they need a lot oftime, energy and negotiating skills tomove in any particular direction. Youwill need to plan and communicatewidely, effectively and repeatedly if youwant to make the changes you thinkare necessary in education. Rememberthat most colleagues are very busypeople, and if there is a way they can

avoid reading any communications,especially if sent round to largenumbers of people, they will. So getout and meet them, talk to them.Always remember that you are tryingto teach medical students, a group ofhighly intelligent people, most ofwhom are highly motivated and can be great fun to teach. My recentexperience has shown the considerableneeds and rewards of being involved inmedical education in resource-poorsettings, particularly in sub-SaharanAfrica.

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Career pathI qualified in medicine at the Universityof Liverpool in 1971, and took myMaster’s in Community Health in 1976.From 1978-94, I was Consultant inPublic Health with the Liverpool HealthAuthority. Since 1994, I’ve been SeniorClinical Lecturer in the Division ofPublic Health and Policy at theUniversity of Liverpool, where I directIMPACT (the International HealthImpact Assessment Consortium);Liverpool Public Health Observatoryand EQUAL (the Equity in HealthResearch and Development Unit). Mychief research interests are in healthimpact assessment, health politics andpolicy, health inequalities, and genderissues. I lead the health promotionmodule on the Liverpool Master ofPublic Health course.

From 1979-85, I was Founding Editorof the journal Radical CommunityMedicine (now Critical Public Health).Together with Peter Draper, Iestablished the Public Health Alliance(later the UK Public Health Association)in 1986. In 2003, I was a Co-Founderof the Politics of Health Group. I am atrustee of the Pioneer HealthFoundation (founders of the PeckhamExperiment). I am married with two

daughters and two grandchildren, andam the founder of the Liverpool PoetryCafé, which receives Arts Councilfunding to provide monthly poetryreadings and discussion groups inLiverpool’s main arts centre.

I have always been politically active,and public health is one specialty inwhich the relevance of politics andpolicy is extremely clear. I stronglybelieve that health and medicine aredetermined by political forces/factors,and this can be acknowledged inpublic health. This is largely the reasonI pursued a career in public health.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerIt is extremely important to have rolemodels, either current or historical –public health examples include Rudolph Virchow, Salvador Allende and currently, Allyson Pollock, MartinMcKee and David Sanders. It isimportant to lead by example, so thatothers have the confidence to opendoors too.

You must acknowledge the constraintsof working in an academicenvironment – these are unavoidable,but you need to focus on areas which

interest you and pursue them! Don’tlet the system grind you down; anddon’t let the Research ExcellenceFramework (REF) criteria stop you frombreaking new ground; focus on whatyou enjoy and what matters. Althoughthe constraints and barriers are oftenimpossible to avoid, it is important totake them with a pinch of salt.Contributing to the health knowledgebase is just as important as satisfyingyour superiors.

An academic setting allows you tothink more clearly and with morefreedom, even if it clashes withgovernment policy. Academic freedomis very important and should motivatepeople.

When it is not possible to pursuehealth related interests through work,look at other avenues, e.g. the politicsof health group – www.pohg.org.ukor Keep Our NHS Public –www.keepournhspublic.com

DR ALEX SCOTT-SAMUEL

Name:Dr Alex Scott-Samuel

Specialty:Public health

Current position:Senior clinical lecturer, Division of Public Health and Policy, University of Liverpool

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Reason for nominationAn inspiration at every level of my career.

Career pathI completed my undergraduate studiesof Medicine at Cambridge [University]and then began my clinical training atthe Middlesex Hospital Medical School.I went on to hold junior doctor posts at the Hammersmith, Guy’s andBrompton hospitals. It was clear to mefrom my early experiences of theopportunities of undertaking researchinformed by clinical practice that Iwould find the clinical academicpathway most satisfying. I thereforereturned to Cambridge [University] toundertake a PhD at the MedicalResearch Council (MRC) Mechanisms in Tumour Immunity Unit. From there, I moved to a Senior Lecturer post atthe Royal Postgraduate Medical School(RPMS) at Hammersmith, where Iprogressed from Senior Lecturer to thepost of Professor of Medicine and Vice-Dean for Research. In 1998, the RPMSmerged with Imperial College London,and I became Head of the Division ofMedicine in this newly formed division.

In 2003, I began my tenure as theDirector of the Wellcome Trust. Now, in April 2013, after the privilege ofleading the Wellcome Trust for tenyears, I am moving to becomeGovernment Chief Scientific Adviser.

Advice to someone interested inacademic medicine as a careerThe most important decision in startingan academic career pathway is thechoice of laboratory, and especially thesupervisor for your research training. It is only excellent research workersthat can provide the best training forfuture generations. It is essential totake good, unbiased advice fromseveral trusted advisors on potentialsupervisors and training environments.Consider what type of research mayexcite you – the variety is endless andincludes population-based studies(public health, clinical trials, healthservices research), work on thepathophysiology of disease, and verybasic research on the fundamentalbiological mechanisms that underliehealth and disease. Visit the researchenvironment and talk to your potentialsupervisor and to the trainees and

postdoctoral workers that are workingas part of the research group.

Be adventurous and take opportunities– the key to a successful academiccareer is finding a research niche inwhich you are competitive with thebest in the world. Don’t be afraid tospend some time doing researchoverseas – but always do the duediligence to establish that the researchenvironment is first class. Mentorshipfrom senior colleagues, advice frompeers and others has been vital toshaping my career – the experience of others is invaluable and has helpedme enormously.

Team working has also been animportant part of my career –collaboration is better than trying to do things alone. Teams moreoverprovide the support and nurturing thatjunior academics need to find theirfeet. No two academic careers areidentical – the opportunities to do your own thing are endless!

SIR MARK WALPORT

Name:Sir Mark Walport

Specialty:Medicine

Current position:Government Chief Scientific Adviser

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For further information about anything pertaining to medical academic careers, contact the MASC Secretariat [email protected] or phone 020 7383 6159.

There is a significant amount of information on medical academic issues available on the BMA website:http://bma.org.uk/about-the-bma/how-we-work/negotiating-committees/medical-academic-staff-committee

Other sources of information

Academy of Medical Educators: http://www.medicaleducators.org/

Academy of Medical Sciences: http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/

Association of Medical Research Charities: http://www.amrc.org.uk/home/

Association for the Study of Medical Education: http://www.asme.org.uk/

Athena SWAN: http://www.athenaswan.org.uk/

British Heart Foundation: http://www.bhf.org.uk/research/support-our-science.aspx

Cancer Research UK: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/science/

Deaneries (list): https://www.mmc.nhs.uk/colleges__deaneries/deaneries.aspx

Equality Challenge Unit: http://www.ecu.ac.uk/

General Medical Council: http://www.gmc-uk.org/

Health Education England:http://hee.nhs.uk/

Health Research Authority: http://www.hra.nhs.uk/


CONTACT


Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE): http://www.hefce.ac.uk/about/

HEFCE Academic Training: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/rsrch/rcareer/clinicalacademictraining/

Health Research Authority: http://www.hra.nhs.uk/

Medical Research Council: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index.htm

Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties (list): http://www.aomrc.org.uk/about-us/members/members.html

Medical Womens’ Federation: http://www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk/

National Association of Clinical Tutors: http://www.nact.org.uk/

National Institute for Health Research:http://www.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx

National Research Ethics Service: http://www.nres.nhs.uk/

Public Health England: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

Research Excellence Framework: http://www.ref.ac.uk/

Society for Academic Primary Care: http://www.sapc.ac.uk/

UK Foundation Programme Office Academic Programmes: http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/pages/academic-programmes

Wellcome Trust: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


The initial part of the document drawsheavily from the BMA documents TheRole of the Doctor and Role Models inAcademic Medicine.

The Medical Academic StaffCommittee (MASC) would like tothank all those who nominated doctorsas role models for this document, andanswered further questions about thenominees.

It would also like to thank the rolemodels themselves for taking time outof their busy schedules to provide moreinformation about their careers and toimpart their advice for future potentialmedical academics. Without their help,it would not have been possible tocreate this document!

Accuracy of informationPlease note that the MASC Secretariathas endeavoured to ensure that theinformation contained in thisdocument is correct. Efforts have beenmade to keep the document as faithfulas possible to the words of the rolemodels themselves, although slightediting has occurred with correctionsto spelling and grammar andexpansions of acronyms. Please contactthe MASC Secretariat if you noticeanything which is incorrect.

Marianne SimmondsExecutive Officer, MASC SecretariatJanuary 2014

A&E .................................................................................................................................................................................... 27, 47

ability, abilities......................................................................................................................... 5, 6, 8, 14, 23, 33, 36, 42, 45, 50

Academic Clinical Fellow,ACF ................................................................................................................................ 21, 23, 27, 28

academic foundation, AFT............................................................................................................................... 18, 20, 21, 23, 28

academic health science networks, AHSN ................................................................................................................................ 24

achieve, achievement ................................................... 2, 6, 11, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 43, 44, 46

acquire, acquisition.................................................................................................................................... 2, 3, 8, 11, 30, 31, 47

activity, activities ............................................................................................................... 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 28, 31, 37, 39, 43, 44

administration, administrator ................................................................................................................................... 9, 36, 38, 44

advice .......................................................................................................... 7, 8, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 46, 50, 51, 55, 57

advisory, advisor, advising............................................................................................................................................... 7, 44, 55

analyse, analysis, analysing, analytical.............................................................................................................. 11, 18, 30, 32, 46

anthropology, anthropologist, anthropological ............................................................................................................ 25, 33, 42

application ................................................................................................................................ 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 39, 43, 46, 48, 51

assessment, assess, assessing ................................................................................................................ 2, 5, 8, 9, 39, 52, 53, 54

attributes ................................................................................................................................................. 3, 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 20

award, awarded...................................................................................................................... 18, 20, 24, 26, 33, 36, 43, 47, 50

balance, balancing .......................................................................... 2, 6, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 43, 51

basic research, researcher........................................................................................................................................... 7, 9, 20, 55

science, scientist ............................................................................................................................................................. 8, 28, 46

behaviour, behavioural ..................................................................................................................................................... 2, 8, 14

benefit ................................................................................................................................................................. 3, 7, 14, 26, 31

best practice ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3, 11

biomedical research .................................................................................................................................................................. 20

British Medical Association, BMA ...................................................................................................................... 1, 2, 4, 5, 56, 57

capacity ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5, 8, 41, 45

cardiology, cardiologist........................................................................................................................................... 20, 21, 22, 44

cardiovascular........................................................................................................................................................... 6, 20, 21, 30

cellular, cell ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18, 39

Chair ............................................................................................................................................... 1, 30, 34, 38, 43, 44, 48, 49

challenge, challenging ........................................................ 4, 6, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 36, 38, 49, 50

change ................................................................................................ 2, 4, 5, 6, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 34, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 53

children ........................................................................................................................................... 7, 28, 31, 35, 36, 38, 41, 51

chronic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6, 20, 27, 33

clinical commissioning group, CCG .......................................................................................................................................... 24

Clinical Lecturer, Clinical Lectureship ......................................................................................................... 18, 26, 27, 30, 43, 54

clinical practice............................................................................................................................ 4, 9, 19, 25, 33, 34, 47, 48, 55

Clinical Senior Lecturer, CSL............................................................................................................................. 20, 27, 30, 35, 54

clinical trial ....................................................................................................................................................... 2, 7, 9, 34, 35, 55

collaborate, collaboration, collaborator......................................................................................... 20, 21, 26, 27, 35, 39, 40, 55


INDEX

college (of medicine)............................................................................................................... 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 41, 45, 49

commitment ........................................................................................................................... 4, 6, 8, 14, 20, 28, 32, 34, 36, 50

committee ................................................................................................................................................... 1, 25, 30, 44, 56, 57

communication................................................................................................................................................ 11, 14, 28, 45, 53

compassion ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4, 9, 14

competence, competencies.............................................................................................................................................. 4, 5, 14

confidence, confident.................................................................................................................................. 8, 28, 31, 33, 36, 54

confidentiality ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5, 8

consultant .............................................................................................................. 8, 19, 20, 26, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44, 49, 52, 54

Continuing Professional Development, CPD .............................................................................................................. 2, 8, 11, 41

contribution, contribute........................................................................................................ 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 31, 34, 41, 42, 54

coordination, coordinator............................................................................................................................................... 3, 10, 39

curriculum ........................................................................................................................................... 2, 3, 5, 11, 14, 41, 52, 53

cutting edge ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3, 11

data ........................................................................................................................................................... 2, 5, 7, 23, 27, 43, 46

deadline ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18, 24, 50

deanery .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1, 30, 56

decision, deciding ..................................................................................................................... 7, 18, 19, 26, 27, 30, 31, 43, 47

deliver, delivery..................................................................................................... 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 19, 23, 26, 31, 33, 41, 52

depression ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6, 48

design ................................................................................................................................................................ 7, 27, 35, 44, 47

determination............................................................................................................................................................... 23, 28, 43

development ...................................................................................... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30,

........................................................................................31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54

diagnosis, diagnostician ............................................................................................................................................. 4, 5, 18, 35

Diploma .................................................................................................................................. 23, 27, 28, 33, 35, 42, 45, 49, 52

discovery, discover.................................................................................................................................................. 2, 6, 9, 18, 20

disease ........................................................................................................................................ 6, 9, 18, 20, 21, 39, 44, 48, 55

disorders ............................................................................................................................................................ 6, 28, 45, 46, 49

diversity.............................................................................................................................................................. 5, 14, 21, 27, 43

duties .................................................................................................................................................... 8, 11, 12, 32, 35, 41, 43

education ............... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 39, 40, 41, 44, 52, 53, 56

educator, educationalist ...................................................................................................................... 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 19, 21, 41

effectiveness................................................................................................................. 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 20, 25, 26, 30, 33, 44, 53

elective ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18, 20, 21

employers ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3, 11

endocrinology........................................................................................................................................................................... 27

engineering ........................................................................................................................................................................ 21, 40

epidemiology......................................................................................................................................... 9, 26, 33, 34, 39, 48, 50

epilepsy..................................................................................................................................................................................... 26


ethics, ethical ...................................................................................................................................... 2, 5, 7, 14, 25, 32, 39, 43

European Working Time Directive, EWTD ................................................................................................................................ 26

evaluation......................................................................................................................................................................... 2, 9, 50

evidence.......................................................................................................................................... 2, 4, 8, 9, 20, 21, 23, 33, 47

expectations.................................................................................................................................. 4, 5, 8, 26, 36, 40, 41, 46, 50

experience.................................................. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 43, 48, 53, 55

expertise, expert ............................................................................................................... 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 28, 31, 34, 37, 44, 52

family .............................................................................................................................................. 7, 28, 31, 35, 36, 38, 41, 51

fellowship, fellow ..................................................... 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52

female ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14, 38

financial ................................................................................................................................................................... 3, 11, 22, 32

flexibility .......................................................................................................................................... 6, 21, 24, 26, 32, 36, 40, 44

Foundation Year, Foundation Trainee ........................................................................................................................... 18, 25, 34

funding ...........................................................3, 11, 18, 20, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 41, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54

gastroenterology....................................................................................................................................................................... 27

general practice, general practitioner, GP ....................................................................................... 5, 25, 33, 34, 41, 47, 48, 50

genetic ............................................................................................................................................................................... 18, 45

Genito-urinary medicine ..................................................................................................................................................... 27, 35

goals .............................................................................................................. 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 44

grandchildren.................................................................................................................................. 7, 28, 31, 35, 36, 38, 41, 51

grants.................................................................................................................................................. 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 43, 51

haematology............................................................................................................................................................................. 27

higher degree ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25, 39

histopathology.......................................................................................................................................................................... 18

HIV ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 27, 35

hypertension............................................................................................................................................................................. 21

illness............................................................................................................................................................................ 2, 5, 6, 33

impact............................................................................................................................................. 1, 14, 15, 18, 26, 50, 51, 54

important .......................................... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 18, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 54, 55

improvement ................................................................................................... 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 39, 43

inequalities ................................................................................................................................................................... 50, 51, 54

innovation............................................................................................................................. 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 22, 31, 47

integrity .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9, 14, 45

intellectual..................................................................................................................................... 14, 20, 21, 30, 31, 37, 42, 45

intercalation..................................................................................................................................................... 20, 21, 25, 33, 50

international.................................................................................................................................. 14, 33, 34, 35, 37, 41, 47, 48

junior.................................................................................................................. 2, 5, 14, 19, 23, 26, 37, 38, 43, 45, 46, 47, 55

key.................................................................................................................................... 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 23, 32, 33, 41, 47, 55

knowledge .................................................................................. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 23, 26, 34, 35, 38, 47, 54

laboratory, lab.......................................................................................................................................... 5, 9, 18, 27, 37, 39, 55


leadership, leader, lead................................... 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 35, 39, 41, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55

learning, learner .................................................................................... 5, 8, 19, 21, 25, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45, 46, 51

leave................................................................................................................................................................................... 19, 34

lecturing, lectures, lecturer ......................................................................................... 19, 26, 30, 31, 35, 38, 44, 46, 47, 52, 55

local........................................................................................................................................................... 10, 14, 24, 34, 40, 41

long term......................................................................................................................................................... 2, 6, 9, 20, 31, 32

Masters, MSci, MRes, MA............................................................................................................................................ 25, 41, 50

MD .................................................................................................................................................................. 26, 30, 43, 45, 52

mechanism..................................................................................................................................................................... 9, 28, 55

Medical Research Council, MRC...................................................................................................................... 20, 34, 45, 47, 56

mentoring................................................................... 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 35, 36, 38, 50, 51, 55

MRCP ........................................................................................................................................................ 27, 28, 33, 35, 45, 49

National Institute for Health Research, NIHR .............................................................. 21, 23, 24, 27, 30, 33, 34, 43, 48, 51, 56

obesity ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

oncology................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

opportunities.................................................. 1, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 44, 51, 55

organisation, organisational............................................................................................................................... 4, 19, 22, 25, 52

out of programme, OOP........................................................................................................................................................... 18

paediatrics, paediatrician.............................................................................................................................................. 23, 24, 26

part time ................................................................................................................................................................ 26, 35, 41, 52

passion...................................................................................................................................... 1, 15, 18, 19, 28, 36, 41, 48, 51

patient.................. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45, 47, 48

peer review......................................................................................................................................................................... 30, 51

peers................................................................................................................................. 1, 3, 9, 11, 15, 18, 36, 44, 45, 49, 55

PhD................................................................................................................................... 18, 27, 28, 31, 32, 35, 43, 50, 51, 55

planning................................................................................................................................................................. 25, 27, 40, 44

policy.......................................................................................................................................................................... 2, 6, 44, 54

population ................................................................................................................................ 6, 24, 26, 39, 47, 48, 50, 51, 55

portfolio ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7, 20, 48

postdoctoral........................................................................................................................................................... 27, 44, 50, 55

pregnant ......................................................................................................................................... 7, 28, 31, 35, 36, 38, 41, 51

pressure .................................................................................................................................. 12, 26, 28, 31, 32, 36, 38, 43, 52

Primary Care.............................................................................................................................................. 33, 34, 41, 47, 48, 56

primary healthcare.................................................................................................................................................................... 25

Public health....................................................................................................................................................................... 50, 54

Public Health..................................................................................................................... 23, 24, 26, 33, 48, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56

publication, publishing................................................................................... 21, 23, 31, 37, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52

qualities ................................................................................................................................................... 3, 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 20

recognition.................................................................................................................................... 3, 5, 8, 11, 19, 31, 32, 44, 47

recruitment .......................................................................................................................................................... 3, 7, 11, 14, 49


rejection .............................................................................................................................................. 23, 27, 28, 36, 38, 43, 46

renal ............................................................................................................................................................................. 27, 39, 45

resources, resourcing............................................................................................................................... 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 46, 53

responsibilities ................................................................................................................................... 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 20, 22, 42

rewards.......................................................................................................... 14, 25, 27, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 53

science, scientific ................................................................ 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 33, 37, 47, 48, 51, 56

skills........................................................................ 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 14, 20, 23, 25, 31, 32, 33, 35, 38, 39, 43, 46, 47, 48, 53

social science ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8, 42

Sport and Exercise Medicine..................................................................................................................................................... 19

supervisor................................................................................................................................ 11, 26, 28, 32, 38, 47, 50, 51, 55

switch (career, subject) ................................................................................................................................................. 28, 33, 45

teacher........................................................................................................................................ 5, 8, 14, 33, 34, 42, 44, 52, 53

teaching ................................................................. 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 12, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 41, 43, 44, 48, 52, 53

team, teamwork............................................................................................................. 3, 4, 10, 11, 23, 32, 34, 35, 38, 43, 55

technology .......................................................................................................................................... 2, 4, 6, 10, 18, 19, 21, 22

trainee............................................................................................................................................. 5, 10, 25, 30, 34, 47, 50, 55

trainer............................................................................................................................................................................. 5, 12, 41

translational, translation .............................................................................................................................. 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 20, 22

travel ............................................................................................................................................................................ 19, 23, 41

treatments ................................................................................................................................ 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 20, 21, 27, 28, 37

undergraduate.................................................................................................................. 19, 21, 25, 26, 33, 34, 41, 49, 52, 55

variety......................................................................................................................... 15, 18, 19, 25, 26, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 55

Wellcome Trust ................................................................................................................. 21, 24, 33, 34, 39, 42, 48, 49, 55, 56

women............................................................................................................................................................................... 14, 38

workload...................................................................................................................................................................... 19, 20, 43

young ..................................................................................................................................... 14, 19, 34, 36, 37, 38, 45, 46, 49


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The Role of the Clinical Academic

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