Abstract
Clinical academic careers programmes have developed in England and Wales to enable clinical staff outside of medical and dentistry-namely Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professionals, Pharmacists and Healthcare Scientists (NMAHPPS) to develop their academic and research skills alongside clinical practice. These schemes have complemented pre-existing national clinical academic careers pathways for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professions (NMAHPs). Multi-professional case studies from the West Midlands and Wales are used to illustrate the benefits of clinical academic careers for individuals at junior career (pre-doctoral) level. The following case studies will be included: Jed Jerwood, an art psychotherapist, who is aspiring to be an evidence-based practitioner; Jonathan Price, a physiotherapist, who is developing support networks and navigating the system; and Siân Thomas, a nurse, who is developing opportunities to influence local and national practice. The benefits of clinical academic careers and the support from the English and Welsh programmes can be demonstrated in individuals at junior career level. A range of benefits are described including the emergence of autonomous evidence-based practitioners, developing their networks and collaborations, along with a plan for the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 36-45 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | International Journal of Practice-based Learning in Health and Social Care |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 Dec 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The Research Capacity Building Collaboration (RCBC) Wales was created in 2005 and was originally jointly funded by the Health Foundation and the Welsh Office for Research and Development (WORD) (RCBC Wales, 2019). Following the publication of the ‘Finch Report’ (Finch Group, 2012), there was an increase in funding from WORD and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). This was to increase the capacity and capability of nurses and midwives to conduct research that would have an impact on clinical practice. It was decided within the Welsh Government to include allied health professionals in this initiative to give them the opportunity to develop their evidence base for practice as well. It is now funded by Health and Care Research Wales (Welsh Government) with additional funds provided by Tenovus Cancer Care and now covers 20 healthcare professional groups including pharmacists. The types of awards available are:
Funding Information:
However, running alongside this scheme is the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS), funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) with matched funding from industry (the industry can be a Health Board) (Bangor University, 2019). From 2009 to 2023 the grant funding for PhDs and Masters in Research (MRes) is £87.5 million of which £58.5 million is from the ESF. Scholars have their fees covered, receive a bursary and research expenses, and are expected to present at conferences nationally and internationally within their budget. The total budget is to cover the cost of 708 PhDs and 600 MRes, which could be considered as junior career level awards. This has been possible as most of Wales is within the European Convergence Area. Fifty percent of the scholarships have been awarded to life sciences and healthcare professionals.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Jenny Hiley. Jed Jerwood, Jonathan Price, Siân Thomas, and Joyce Kenkre.
Keywords
- Evidence-based practitioner
- Healthcare provider organisation
- Internship
- Junior clinical academic
- Knowledge economy skills scholarships
- Research
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Research and Theory
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Education
- Health Professions (miscellaneous)
- Fundamentals and skills