Clinical Academia in Mid Career
There are things you can do alongside your clinical post that help you on the path to Clinical Academia. Many clinical academics complete their doctorate part-time while maintaining clinical commitments. This may mean extending the overall duration of your research, but it allows you to retain clinical registration, income and experience.
Dummy Item
How does Clinical Academia fit in my career path?
As you may have noticed if you’ve at other areas on this site, or others, the Clinical Academic Track is not a linear path. This flexibility is one of the many advantages of this career option, allowing you to really follow and engage with the areas and topics that interest you most, forging your own path to discovery and healthcare improvement.
The CATCH website has a fantastic resource to help you navigate how this might look, and what each stage might represent!
Generally speaking, Clinical Academia for Mid-Career Clinicians may represent an introduction to teaching, education and research responsibilities, as well as gaining a research-based PhD and a subsequent fellowship position – if these are not already held.
Do I need to have a PhD?
Whilst a PhD is not always a requirement or necessity for mid-career and substantive Clinical Academic posts, these are often highly competitive, and having a PhD can set you above the rest of the crowd.
A standard PhD usually takes 3-4 years full time, or slightly longer (4-7 years) if done part-time, but this option can allow the possibility of being done alongside clinical work still. There are also alternative options that we offer here at St Andrews, including the PhD by Portfolio option, whereby research projects can be conducted and published in academic journals to create a portfolio that equates to a thesis. We are also currently in a privileged position where, working alongside our colleagues at the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, we are able to offer some positions on the Wellcome Trust’s Doctoral Training Programme – particularly for projects centred around Multimorbidity.
How does this effect my contract?
This will vary by circumstance. If you already have a PhD and are looking solely to take the next step on the ladder towards a substantive post, it is possible that your contract may be negotiated between the University and NHS Fife, depending on how you wish to split your time between each setting. Conversely, if you wish to join us to complete your PhD, you may able to be granted leave of absence from your current contract – however this should always be discussed with your relevant Deanery in the first instance.
Does this benefit my career?
Truthfully, this entirely depends on you. What do you want to do, and what you want to get out of your career? Being a Clinical Academic can be extremely empowering, and help to shape the future of medicine, both through workforce development and medical research. The role provides intellectual stimulation, career variety, and the ability to directly improve patient outcomes through exciting medical research and innovation.
How do I progress my career from here?
Check out the information on the ‘My Career’ page of this website, as well as the CATCH links listed on our ‘Resources’ tab.
But additionally, the diagram included below displays the types of activities that you should be aiming to get involved in to enhance career progression at each stage of your career. If the move you’re looking for now is Mid-Career to Substantive/Senior level, then seeking opportunities to be a Primary Investigator in research projects, or taking roles on conference organising committees, or igniting curricular change at a teaching level are just some examples of things that can elevate your profile as a Clinical Academic.
