Clinical Academic Training

Trainees

 

General questions about the programme

Who do I contact if I have a question or problem regarding my academic foundation programme?

Queries related to your Clinical Component

The best place to start is with the Foundation Programme Administrators, who are based in the Department of Medical Education in your NHS Trust. If they are unable to help you, they will be able to point you in the right direction of who to contact instead. 

Queries related to your Academic Component

Contact:

What happens during the research academic training placement?

What you do each day and where you work will broadly depend upon what your project is. You may be working in a lab, in a research office with a team, gathering data in a clinical setting or writing up a project from a research office or at home. The real difference between this placement and your others is that you are generally a lot more self-managed. This is the opportunity to “be your own boss”, set your own goals and work independently to complete your project.

What happens on my academic days?

The way you structure your academic time will be decided by you with your project supervisor and the Specialised Foundation Programme. You should contact your supervisor well in advance of starting your second year to clarify this.

Can I get involved in academic work when I am on my other Foundation placements?

Yes you can, and if you are thinking about a Clinical Academic career, this can be a great way of enhancing your CV and showing that you are a capable candidate. Be careful though, and remember that your primary goal is to complete your competencies and ePortfolio. The first year can be especially challenging at times for even the most able doctors, so ensure that you give yourself enough time to rest and relax!

How can the hospital libraries help?

Each hospital has a library with skilled and knowledgeable librarians. They can gain access to articles and journals for you that you may not be able to access, including applying to the British Library for articles that prove particularly difficult to track down. They can help you perform literature searches and can offer training in research and writing skills.

LNR Hospital Library services

Foundation e-Portfolio requirements

What do I do if a TAB round is held during my academic placement?

TAB rounds can be difficult as an academic trainee as they require a spread of raters from across a clinical team. If you are on your academic placement, you may not have a clinical team who you can easily ask.

Traditionally, the advice has been that as long as you can show a good variety of raters and get 10 of them, if you are on an academic placement you do not need to hit all of the categories of raters. You may find, however, that you work in such a small team that 10 is still a challenge. Consider asking colleagues from your previous placement to do a TAB for you. If you are unable to complete a TAB, you will have to do another one during your third second year placement, which may affect your ARCP. As such, try your best to complete a TAB, but do not worry if you are unable to. If you have any questions about this please discuss with your educational supervisor.

How do I keep up with my Foundation competencies when I am on my Academic placement?

Academic Trainees spend only two thirds of their time on clinical placements but have to complete the same number of assessments as “normal” trainees. If you have a four-month academic placement (rather than a day out each week), this can take a huge chunk out of the time available to you to complete your competencies, or leave you without the opportunity to “catch up” in the last placement.

The key to success is in planning your academic time. Use it for the more time-consuming competencies, such as completing your audit, doing your ALS and your SIM day, thus freeing up time during your clinical placements to complete your SLEs.

Project work

How do I organise a project?

How do I get ethical approval for my research where this is required?

Contact your academic/research supervisor and their research team who are critical in helping you with this. It is essential to discuss this with them well ahead of starting your academic placement, which is why it is important to identify your supervisor as early as possible.

Who would I talk to about getting a grant for funding?

Grants for your aFY2 year are not necessary as your supervisor should be able to support any research you might wish to undertake.

Presenting at and attending conferences

Is there a budget to help me attend a conference?

The Clinical Academic School is providing a £500 bursary for all aFY to present the work generated as part of their afY years at a national or international conference. See your introductory email for further details.

How do I find a conference that my work would be suitable for?

Your supervisor can advise you on the most appropriate forum for your work.

Is there leave available for attending conferences?

This is covered under your normal study leave process.

Careers

Who can I talk to about an academic clinical career?

Who to Contact

If you need support or guidance, you may reach out to any of the following:

  • Your Research Supervisor
  • Dr Anvesha Singh – Director, Clinical Academic Training Programme
  • Mr Tim Rattay – Deputy Director, Clinical Academic Training Programme & Director of MRes
  • Professor Jonathan Barratt – Head of the Academic Postgraduate School
  • A Specialty Lead within the Clinical Academic Training Team (see below)

Specialty Contacts

Vascular Surgery – Professor Matthew Bown
General Practice – Professor Sam Seidu
Psychiatry – Dr Hari Subramaniam
Gastroenterology – Dr Farhad Peerally
 Respiratory – Dr Pranab Haldar
Gynaecological Oncology – Miss Esther Moss
Oncology – Dr Harriet Walter
Paediatrics – Dr David Lo
Cardiology – Professor Ian Squire
Renal – Professor James Burton
Cardiothoracic Surgery – Mr Mustafa Zakkar
Public Health – Dr Catherine John
Ophthalmology – Mr Mervyn Thomas
Infectious Diseases – Professor Manish Pareek
Diabetes & Lifestyle Medicine – Professor Pratik Choudhary

What does the clinical academic training pathway look like?

Learn more about the training path at National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

I want to apply for an Academic Clinical Fellowship but my academic placement is last – what can I do?

Applications for the academic training open in the autumn, before most trainees have had their academic placement, which can be worrying if this is the career path you want. There are a few things that you can do.

If you know that this is what you want to apply for, it is possible to do swaps during FY1. Each set of jobs is completed by three trainees in rotation. Find out who your counterparts are and ask them if they would be willing to swap the order of their jobs. If this does not work, ask the other academic trainees if anyone would mind swapping when they do their academic job (although bear in mind that you will need to swap “like for like” – it would not be possible to swap with a leadership and management if you are a project trainee, for example).

If this does not work, do not despair, just ensure that you have a project proposal planned and written. Keep a copy of it in your interview Portfolio and be prepared to speak about it at your interviews.

If you are not sure about an ACF and want to “try before you apply”, consider using some of your taster days (10 are available across FY1 and FY2) to shadow some academic clinicians. 

Where can I find out more about an academic career in the East Midlands?

  • Visit the HEE website
  • Chat to current SFPs, ACFs and ACLs
  • Contact Dr Anvesha Singh (Medicine), Mr Tim Rattay(Surgery), Professor Jonathan Barratt and Dr Fiona Miall (Education).
  • The Clinical Academic programme normally run a summer meeting day event in June each year. Details will be sent to you when this has been arranged. It provides you with an opportunity to discover more about a clinical academic career in Leicester and to network with your colleagues at SFP, ACF, CRF and ACL level, together with programme managers and guest speakers.

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