Introduction to Clinical Academic Medicine
The University of Sheffield, in partnership with the Yorkshire and Humber Postgraduate Deanery and local Sheffield NHS Trusts, has developed an exciting pathway of academic clinical training opportunities. The academic clinical training posts offer candidates interested in a career in academic medicine a comprehensive experience of both clinical and academic medicine working alongside internationally renowned clinicians and researchers.For all academic clinical training programmes we are seeking highly motivated, enthusiastic applicants wishing to excel in both their clinical and academic training and who have the ambition to be the next generation of world leading academic clinicians. Academic clinical trainees attend a specifically designed monthly Research Support Programme run by the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and are entitled to a University Honorary contract for the duration of their academic training.
What is clinical academic medicine?
Clinical academic medicine is the practice of medicine in an academic setting such as a university or medical school. It usually involves a combination of research, teaching and patient care. Clinical academics performing medical science are in a unique position, taking observations from patients in their clinics or on the wards into the laboratory for study, with the aim of eventually returning to the bedside with an improvement in patient care.
Why is clinical academic medicine important?
Over the last 100 years the practice of medicine has moved from a reliance on myth and complex rituals to proven theories and treatments. This has come about as clinical academics and scientists working together have developed theories and treatments which have undergone testing and retesting as our knowledge of the human body and the world around it has increasingly been understood.
Who are clinical academics and what do they do?
Clinical academics are medically trained doctors who as well as caring for patients also plan and carry out research aimed understanding human disease and improving patient care. A clinical academic will not work alone but will be one member of a group of clinicians and scientists whose skills complement each other. In a typical week a clinical academic will see patients, plan and perform research, hold meetings with fellow researchers, teach other professionals and students, attend national and international meetings to view work of others and to disseminate knowledge from own work to others.
How do I become a clinical academic?
There are several opportunities early on in medical training to experience academic medicine. Student Selected Components (SSC), BMedSci courses or MB-PhD programmes offer experience of academic medicine at an undergraduate level. During postgraduate training Academic Foundation programmes allow an opportunity to spend protected time in a research environment.For those individuals who have enjoyed their earlier experiences of academic medicine and demonstrate potential the next major clinical academic training post is the academic clinical fellowship. These posts are for individuals who have obtained their Foundation competencies and are interested in developing a clinical academic career. As well as providing basic specialty training/core medical training these posts include a total of 9 months protected research time. During this time the academic clinical fellow will conduct research that will form the basis of Research Training Fellowship application to an external funding body such as the MRC or the Wellcome Trust. Research training fellowships last 3-4 years and if successful lead to the award of a PhD by the host institution. Following the completion of a Research Training fellowship and award of a PhD you would be well on the way to becoming an independent clinical academic. The next step is to obtain a Clinical Lecturer post to enable you to complete your clinical specialty training (leading to the award of a CCT) and to begin a period of postdoctoral research. At the end of this post you will be able to apply for a Clinical Senior lecturer position or a Senior Fellowship with an external funding body. In these positions you will usually combine work as an honorary consultant with research in your chosen field as a clinical academic.