Clinical Academic Careers Research Articles

Implementing a clinical academic career pathway in nursing: criteria for success and challenges ahead

The UK Clinical Research Collaboration’s (UKCRC) proposals for new arrangements aimed at making it easier—or possible—for nurses and midwives to combine research and clinical careers have raised levels of excitement within the profession. On a good day, it feels like nursing and midwiferya are steadily becoming more research savvy, both in terms of the research-mindedness of those delivering and managing care and a growing capacity to get research grants, do useful research and supervise research students. And these proposals are part of the good news in that regard. On a not so good day, these initiatives feel piecemeal, hard to make sustainable and only going a very small way to realise the potential of research within and around nursing activity. There have been other capacity-building schemes. In the late 1960s, the English Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) proposed and funded the ‘Study of Nursing Care’ programme of research, which produced seminal works and started the research careers of a number of individuals who became some of the profession’s first research leaders such as Jean McFarlane, the first Professor of Nursing in England. Further DHSS fellowships were awarded in subsequent decades also giving a significant boost to another wave of future research leaders. More recently, we have seen the Health Foundation Fellowship and Partnership schemes, which have funded the research (and leadership training) of around 30 young researchers, and a funding alliance between the English Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England aimed at developing research capacity in nursing and the Allied Health Professions. In Scotland, the predecessor bodies to the Scottish Funding Council continually invested in research in these professions and benefits have been identified in a number of scoping exercises such as that described by Alison Tierney summarised at http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/cso/Publications/rm35/rm35-00.htm. The present UKCRC proposal, like the Scottish approach, has featured arrangements to enable and encourage the forming of links between universities and the Journal of Research in Nursing ©2008 SAGE PUBLICATIONS Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore VOL 00 (00) 1–3 DOI: 10.1177/ 1744987108101952

2020 – Clinical Academic Careers: implications for critical care nursing

2020 – Clinical Academic Careers: implications for critical care nursing

Assessing research quality

Assessing research quality

Mission impossible?

THERE ARE MOMENTS when experience tells you to be less earnest and direct, and a little more Delphic in style. At these times, half ideas can be useful and a little lack of clarity can be effective.

CLINICAL ACADEMIC CAREERS FOR NURSES: TIME FOR A RENEWED DEBATE

The global healthcare workforce that teaches and undertakes research is ageing, is in short supply and has little infrastructure to support career development. For health professionals, the first step to setting out on a clinical academic career is often unclear; indeed, many of the present clinical academic workforce have entered a career life as educators or researchers by serendipity. Various countries encounter difficulties in making professorial appointments and many institutions report poor shortlists for all teaching and research posts. Some comprehensive reports from the USA (http://www.aacn.nche.edu) and the UK (http://www.stlarhr.org.uk) document these concerns. In England our concerns moved us to establish a centre for Clinical and Academic Workforce Innovation at the University of Lincoln, through which we will undertake research in order to be able to shape and develop the careers of those who aspire to be educators or researchers. Our work to date has allowed us to hold an extensive nationwide discussion with health and social care professionals so as to determine the barriers to the development of clinical academic careers. In England, the government Department for Health and the Department for Education and Skills asked my team to undertake survey research work and produce a human resources plan that would address the critical issues that mitigate against successful clinical academic career development. We have produced some clinical academic career pathway models and our 15 recommendations are grouped around three issues: strategic drivers — matters that can be assisted by government and national policies (such as inequities in pay between clinicians and academics); employment practices and cultural changes (such as developing flexible career pathways and resolving inequities in pension rights); and the necessity for accurate labour market intelligence (we don't know with any accuracy how many educators and researchers we have!); funding to support career development was, and still is, seen as a critical issue (see http://www.stlarhr.org.uk for a full account). Since our multiprofessional work was completed, a career structure has been put in place for medicine and dentistry (UKCRC 2005) and other professions are now to be considered. A second project specifically for nurses and sponsored by our national director for Research and Development is being undertaken by my team, and is expected to be completed by May 2006. Investments that encourage the brightest and the best of our newly qualified nurses to become educators and researchers must be made. Also, those expert clinicians who wish to change careers must be encouraged and supported to do so. It is possible to craft clinical academic careers that take account of existing funding and, with some additional resources and careful investment, create attractive opportunities for those wishing to teach and undertake research. If changes and investments are not made soon, we will face critical shortages of these essential staff.

Academic Clinical Oncology and Radiobiology Research Network (ACORRN): An NCRI Initiative to Address the Infrastructure and Capacity Deficit in Radiotherapy and Radiobiology Research in the UK

Radiotherapy remains the most commonly used anticancer treatment, and currently 50% of cancer patients in the UK are treated with radiotherapy at some point in their management. Radiotherapy is second only to surgery in its curative potential. Over the past 10 years, rapid technological advances have allowed more accurate radiotherapy delivery. We are also moving closer to being able to optimise patient treatment based on a rapidly evolving understanding of the genetics and biology of individuals and their tumours, and how these relate to prediction of treatment outcomes. The expectation of these advances over the coming years is that more patients will now be cured of their cancer, with a reduction in treatment-related side-effects. The current position in the UK, however, contrasts with much of the progress seen in cancer biology, with a sharp decline in the number of clinical academics and radiation biologists over the past 10 years. This has resulted in the radiotherapy and radiobiology communities having insufficient infrastructure or individuals to respond to the Department of Health need to develop and capitalise on these advances. To address the infrastructure and capacity deficit, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), in response to a proposal from the research community, has established a UK network (ACORRN), aiming to develop an integrated UK radiotherapy and radiobiology

The Invisible (Inaudible) Woman: Nursing in the English Academy

Nursing is numerically a far larger academic discipline than medicine, and is situated in many more higher education institutions in England (over 50), whereas there are 21 medical schools. Like the rest of ‘non medical education and training’ it is purchased through a quasi-market. Despite the size of this market, however, nursing education has until recently been largely invisible in policy documents and the ambitions of nursing academics to develop their subject are seen as inappropriate. This article explores this invisibility and inaudibility, with particular reference to the 1997 Richards Report, Clinical Academic Careers and the 2001 Nuffield Trust report, A New Framework for NHS/University Relations. It draws on the work of Davies on the ‘professional predicament’ of nursing, to argue that, although the move of nursing education into higher education had the aim of improving its status, nursing has difficulty finding its voice within academia. As a result, issues which are salient for nursing (as for many of the health professions), such as a poor (or relatively poor) showing in the Research Assessment Exercise and the complexities of balancing research, teaching and maintaining clinical competence, are raised as high-profile issues only in medicine.

Clinical academic careers for educators and researchers in nursing

In 2003 the two UK Government departments of Health and Education and Skills commissioned a team of investigators to examine a growing crisis in the educator and researcher workforce in the health, social care and education communities. The team were asked to look at all professions and take forward an extensive consultation process. This article describes the approach taken by the project team, articulates issues facing educators and researchers in nursing and suggests some models for career development. A series of recommendations are listed and shown to cover three main areas: (1) strategic drivers; (2) employment practices; and (3) matters relating to labour market intelligence. It can be shown that many of the problems facing nurse educators and researchers are shared with other staff groups in health and social care and that some ‘quick win’ solutions are possible. Although some effective costneutral work can be undertaken now, investment by Government is needed to make more substantial changes. Some of this investment may be found from existing funding streams but additional funding is likely to be necessary.

In memoriam

In memoriam

Academic staff want early translation of pay award BMA will give evidence to inquiry into clinical academic careers Doctors want tighter gun laws BMA approves the transplanting of animal organs Doctors resist hospital computers Fundholders can purchase osteopathy

# Academic staff want early translation of pay award {#article-title-2} Professor Michael Rees told the Medical Academic Staff Committee last week that he believed most clinical academic staff were unaware of the problems over their pay award. There is usually a delay in the pay award recommended by the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body being translated to academic staff, but Professor Rees, professor of clinical radiology at the University of Bristol, said that this year it was not just a question of the pay increases being delayed but of not being paid at all because universities were under such financial pressure. He urged the BMA to pursue the issue “with the utmost vigour.” The Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals has set up two working parties with the Department for Education and Employment—one on cuts and the other on capital budgets—and no decisions will be made on pay until these report at the end of May. The BMA is committed to the concept of parity between NHS and clinical academic salaries and believes that the translation should be automatic regardless of other factors. The BMA has called for a meeting of the Clinical Academic Staff Salaries Committee to press for the pay to be settled and the chairman of the MASC, Dr Colin Smith, has urged the government through the education secretary to institute a moratorium on recurrent expenditure. # BMA will give evidence to inquiry into clinical academic careers {#article-title-3} The delay in translating the NHS pay award to clinical academic staff is one of the disincentives to a career in academic medicine and will be emphasised by the …

Clinical academics welcome independent inquiry GPs' leader writes to MPs on partnership campaign Health authorities told to reverse cuts in NHS GMC given more powers to restrict a doctor's practice Intensive care beds may go on a database Guarantee given for trusts' debts Students re-examine advice on electives

# Clinical academics welcome independent inquiry {#article-title-2} Clinical academic staff have welcomed the decision of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) to set up an independent inquiry into the disincentives to a clinical academic career. The BMA's Medical Academic Staff Committee has offered to give evidence to the committee of inquiry, which will be chaired by Sir Rex Richards, former vice chancellor of Oxford University. The CVCP envisages the committee investigating the problems of recruitment and retention of clinical academic staff, taking account of the changes in the NHS and in workload, in the training programmes for future specialists, in university and NHS funding systems, and the effects of European Union directives. According to the CVCP's medical committee there were over 50 vacant established clinical chairs in universities and medical schools in 1995; 20 had been vacant for more than 12 months. Universities are also worried about the loss of posts at clinical lecturer level. Sir Rex Richards has agreed to speak at the BMA's conference of medical academic representatives on 3 June. # GPs' leader writes to MPs on partnership campaign {#article-title-3} The chairman of the General Medical Services Committee has written to members of parliament to emphasise the importance of the patient education campaign, which was launched last week (2 March, p 531), and to seek their support. Dr Ian Bogle points out that some people see a need to consult their general practitioner for every problem and that inappropriate use of doctors' time can prevent them treating patients when …

Inquiry is needed into difficulties of developing academic careers

EDITOR,—The Wellcome Trust agrees with the recommendation in the Walton report that an independent inquiry should be held into the disincentives facing young men and women who wish to develop a clinical academic career. This recommendation is also supported by both Richard Smith1 and …

Fellowship Proliferation: Part I: Impact and Long-range Trends

The number of fellowship educational programs providing subspecialty training within otolaryngology—head and neck surgery has increased significantly during the past decade. Most of these fellowships are 1 year in length, and their general purpose is to provide a focused, intensive experience for individuals who wish to emphasize (or pursue exclusively) a subspecialty area in their clinical practice or academic career. The training site for these fellowships varies, depending on the particular subspecialty area. For example, most of the head and neck surgery fellowships are located within academic institutions, and most of the facial plastic and reconstructive fellowships are found in conjunction with private practices. The general attitude toward fellowships has been positive within the specialty up to this point, with the broad perception that fellowships provide an additional educational experience and, therefore, by definition, they must be worthwhile. Recently, it appears that something of a specialty-wide debate is beginning to

Promoting children's home safety

<h3>Objectives</h3> To examine clinical doctoral students’ demographic and training characteristics, career intentions, career preparedness and what influences them as they plan their future careers. <h3>Design and setting</h3> Online cross-sectional census surveys at two research-intensive medical schools in England in 2015–2016. <h3>Participants</h3> All medically qualified PhD students (N=523) enrolled at the University of Oxford and University College London were invited to participate. We report on data from 320 participants (54% male and 44% female), who were representative by gender of the invited population. <h3>Main outcome measures</h3> Career intentions. <h3>Results</h3> Respondents were mainly in specialty training, including close to training completion (25%, n=80), and 18% (n=57) had completed training. Half (50%, n=159) intended to pursue a clinical academic career (CAC) and 62% (n=198) were at least moderately likely to seek a clinical lectureship (CL). However, 51% (n=163) had little or no knowledge about CL posts. Those wanting a CAC tended to have the most predoctoral medical research experience (χ² (2, N=305)=22.19, p=0.0005). Key reasons cited for not pursuing a CAC were the small number of senior academic appointments available, the difficulty of obtaining research grants and work-life balance. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Findings suggest that urging predoctoral clinicians to gain varied research experience while ensuring availability of opportunities, and introducing more flexible recruitment criteria for CL appointments, would foster CACs. As CL posts are often only open to those still in training, the many postdoctoral clinicians who have completed training, or nearly done so, do not currently gain the opportunity the post offers to develop as independent researchers. Better opportunities should be accompanied by enhanced career support for clinical doctoral students (eg, to increase knowledge of CLs). Finally, ways to increase the number of senior clinical academic appointments should be explored since their lack seems to significantly influence career decisions.