What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study
Objectives The Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) was introduced to support the early career clinical and research training of potential future clinical academics in England. The driver for the model was concern about falling numbers of clinical academic trainees. This study examines the impact of t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2017-06-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/6/e015722.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823864501179514880 |
|---|---|
| author | James Neilson David Jones Sally Clough James Fenton Helen Harris-Joseph Leesa Rayton Caroline Magee Lisa Ann Cotterill |
| author_facet | James Neilson David Jones Sally Clough James Fenton Helen Harris-Joseph Leesa Rayton Caroline Magee Lisa Ann Cotterill |
| author_sort | James Neilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives The Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) was introduced to support the early career clinical and research training of potential future clinical academics in England. The driver for the model was concern about falling numbers of clinical academic trainees. This study examines the impact of the ACF model, over its first 10 years, in developing clinical academic careers by tracking the progression of ACF trainees.Design Retrospective analysis of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) ACF career progression. This was performed using mixed methods including routine data collections of career destination, analysis of application rates to doctoral level fellowships and supplemented by survey information that captured the perceived benefits and challenges from previous ACFs and their current career activities.Participants 1239 NIHR ACFs who completed or left their posts between 2006 and March 2015.Results ACFs are perceived by the candidate population as attractive posts, with high numbers of applications leading to high fill rates. Balancing clinical and academic commitments is one of the reported challenges when completing an ACF. We have found that undertaking an ACF was shown to increase the likelihood of securing an externally funded doctoral training award and the vast majority of ACFs move into academic roles, with many completing PhDs. Previous ACFs continue to show positive career progression, predominantly in translational and clinical research. The knowledge acquired during the ACF continues to be useful in subsequent roles and trainees would recommend the scheme to others.Conclusions The NIHR ACF scheme is successful as part of an integrated training pathway in developing careers in academic medicine and dentistry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-54a02b3e4f8f494e93ca827c2e4ace61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-54a02b3e4f8f494e93ca827c2e4ace612025-02-08T22:05:15ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552017-06-017610.1136/bmjopen-2016-015722What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective studyJames Neilson0David Jones1Sally Clough2James Fenton3Helen Harris-Joseph4Leesa Rayton5Caroline Magee6Lisa Ann Cotterill7Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UKRoyal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, London, UK1 NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre, Leeds Innovation Centre, Leeds, UK1 NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre, Leeds Innovation Centre, Leeds, UKEvaluation and Impact Team, NIHR Academy, Leeds, UK1 NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre, Leeds Innovation Centre, Leeds, UKExecutive Team, NIHR Academy, Leeds, UKExecutive Team, NIHR Academy, Leeds, UKObjectives The Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) was introduced to support the early career clinical and research training of potential future clinical academics in England. The driver for the model was concern about falling numbers of clinical academic trainees. This study examines the impact of the ACF model, over its first 10 years, in developing clinical academic careers by tracking the progression of ACF trainees.Design Retrospective analysis of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) ACF career progression. This was performed using mixed methods including routine data collections of career destination, analysis of application rates to doctoral level fellowships and supplemented by survey information that captured the perceived benefits and challenges from previous ACFs and their current career activities.Participants 1239 NIHR ACFs who completed or left their posts between 2006 and March 2015.Results ACFs are perceived by the candidate population as attractive posts, with high numbers of applications leading to high fill rates. Balancing clinical and academic commitments is one of the reported challenges when completing an ACF. We have found that undertaking an ACF was shown to increase the likelihood of securing an externally funded doctoral training award and the vast majority of ACFs move into academic roles, with many completing PhDs. Previous ACFs continue to show positive career progression, predominantly in translational and clinical research. The knowledge acquired during the ACF continues to be useful in subsequent roles and trainees would recommend the scheme to others.Conclusions The NIHR ACF scheme is successful as part of an integrated training pathway in developing careers in academic medicine and dentistry.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/6/e015722.full |
| spellingShingle | James Neilson David Jones Sally Clough James Fenton Helen Harris-Joseph Leesa Rayton Caroline Magee Lisa Ann Cotterill What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study BMJ Open |
| title | What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study |
| title_full | What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study |
| title_fullStr | What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study |
| title_full_unstemmed | What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study |
| title_short | What impact has the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) scheme had on clinical academic careers in England over the last 10 years? A retrospective study |
| title_sort | what impact has the nihr academic clinical fellowship acf scheme had on clinical academic careers in england over the last 10 years a retrospective study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/6/e015722.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamesneilson whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT davidjones whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT sallyclough whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT jamesfenton whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT helenharrisjoseph whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT leesarayton whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT carolinemagee whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy AT lisaanncotterill whatimpacthasthenihracademicclinicalfellowshipacfschemehadonclinicalacademiccareersinenglandoverthelast10yearsaretrospectivestudy |