In the United Kingdom (UK), academic clinical trainees account for approximately 5% of the medical workforce [Clough, 2017]. Importantly, training pathways vary in England (National Institute for Health Research [NIHR] Integrated Academic Training (IAT) Programme), Scotland (Scottish Academic Training [SCREDS]) and Wales (Welsh Clinical Academic Track [WCAT]) [National Institute for Health Research, 2019][Scottish Medical Training, 2013][Health Education and Improvement Wales, 2018]. Regardless of the national geographic variations in training the majority of the pathways involve a form of academic foundation training, a pre-doctoral academic fellowship (for example a NIHR ACF) and post-doctoral academic Clinical Lectureship (CL). All schemes are orientated to produce competitive candidates who are able to apply for fellowship funding at doctoral (PhD) level or, at a more senior level, intermediate/advanced fellowships or tenure track academic posts at University or other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
Academic posts have both a clinical and academic elements. The proportion of protected research time offered with academic training posts can differ across the UK. Commonly academic foundation posts have a 4 month research rotation within the two year foundation post, ACFs have 25% full-time equivalent (FTE) academic research time over 3 years and CL have a 50% FTE academic research time for up to 4 years until CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) in England or 20% FTE academic research time for up to 6 years in Scotland and Wales [National Institute for Health Research, 2019][Scottish Medical Training, 2013][Health Education and Improvement Wales, 2018]. Academic posts are also linked to an academic National Training Number (NTNa) and, as for all clinical trainees, postholders have an annual appraisal which assesses their clinical competencies; in addition academic trainees are also assessed on the academic component of their training [Academy for Medical Royal Colleges, 2017]. It is important to consider these expectations prior to a prospective application as you would be expected to achieve certain academic competencies in addition to your clinical competencies.
The application process differs dependent on the type and location of the post. Academic foundation posts are managed nationally through the Oriel online national recruitment system, as are ACF and some CL posts in England [Oriel, 2019]. Recruitment for the CL posts in Scotland, Wales and certain parts of England are, however, managed directly by the University within which the position is available [Scottish Medical Training, 2013]. In terms of Oriel-based applications once registered on the system there will be available a number of posts at varying entry levels in a range of specialties; adverts for posts are normally disseminated at set times throughout the academic year (August for AFP and October for Round 1 ACF). CL posts are advertised throughout the year which may be identified through the host University’s website.
All ACFs and CLs are specialty specific. Each year, IAT partnerships are informed of the number of posts allocated by formula and invited to propose their preferences for medical specialties based on academic strengths and ability to support each specialty clinically. Postgraduate Deans, Medical School Deans and IAT leads take collective responsibility for the specialty spread being proposed and are key in preparing the partnership bids for additional ACF and CL posts to support the following NIHR Priority Research Themes of Platform Science and Bioinformatics, Therapeutics or Clinical Pharmacology, Complex Health Needs in Age-Related and Chronic Disease, Dementia, Medical Education, Acute Care and Mental Health.
Here we present top tips for the academic part of the application and interview which may pay dividends when applying for any form of clinical academic training post. Through our experience, we believe the following tips to be helpful in preparing for the application and the interview process.