From post-doc to present day. Presentation for the NIHR CLAHRC National Conference Careers Day: for postdoc research careers in the allied health professions

1. Clinical academic careers:
Getting into the driving seat!
Lisa Roberts PhD PFHEA FCSP
Associate professor & consultant physiotherapist
University Hospital
Southampton

2. Background
• physiotherapist (rotational → paediatrics → musculoskeletal)
• research physiotherapist & clinician
• manager, researcher & clinician
• lecturer & clinician
• clinical academic
• 2013 NIHR senior clinical lectureship:
 0.4 clinical leadership, strategy & clinical effectiveness
 0.4 research
 0.2 education
 various external roles

3. Background
• physiotherapist (rotational → paediatrics → musculoskeletal)
• research physiotherapist & clinician
• manager, researcher & clinician
• lecturer & clinician
• clinical academic
• 2013 NIHR senior clinical lectureship:
 0.4 clinical leadership, strategy & clinical effectiveness
 0.4 research
 0.2 education
 various external roles

4. • Forming your research team: How are you going to do it?
• Focus on your ‘clinical leadership’ plans

5. Forming a research team
• Identify the skills you need for the project
• Identify local support eg. Research Design Service, CAHPR local hub
• Methodological eg. qualitative, health economics, statistics etc.
• Subject specific expertise
• Senior academic eg. mentor(s), ‘grantsmanship’ [NB. Consider availability]
• Identify potential people to approach
• Prepare a brief CV (ideally 1 side, with small photo?)
• Work up a BRIEF ‘pitch’
• 1-2 short paragraphs
• Get feedback from peers, friends, family etc.

6. Local resources
NIHR Research Design Service (RDS)
1 Cheshire & Merseyside
2 Cumbria & Lancashire
3 East Anglia
4 Essex
5 Greater Manchester
6 Hertfordshire
7 Keele
8 Kent & Medway
9 London
10 Midlands
11 Northern Ireland
12 North East England
13 North of Scotland
14 North Wales
15 Oxfordshire
16 South Yorkshire
17 Southern Central
18 South, Mid & West Wales
19 South East Scotland
20 South West England
21 Surry & Sussex
22 West of Scotland
23 Yorkshire
Council for AHP Research (CAHPR)
http://cahpr.csp.org.uk/regional-hubs-contactshttp://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/how-we-are-managed/our-
structure/research/research-design-service/contact-us.htm

7. Overcoming your fears
• Ask for advice EARLY
• You will need to cost in for their time
• Allow time for them to get approval from their finance departments

8. Overcoming your fears & make contact!
• Ask for advice EARLY
• You will need to cost in for their time
• Allow time for them to get approval from their finance departments

9. Top tips to think about for your clinical aspect
• ‘Clinical leadership’
• Clinical effectiveness projects eg. audit, service evaluation, quality improvement
• How can you share your skills with others eg. journal club, run workshop
• Think about how to feedback on the work you are doing to clinical teams
• Joint appraisal
• Try not to compare yourself / experience to other conventional roles – remember
your skill set is different

10. ‘Sometimes, when two worlds collide, a better one
is created.’
Susan Gale