This pathway is designed for clinicians who have a strong interest in education. It enables you to combine clinical practice with teaching, curriculum design, educational leadership and scholarship in medical education.
While research remains important, the focus for educator academics shifts more towards teaching innovation and learning. This pathway supports career growth from early educator roles to senior academic leadership, with training opportunities available across the UK.
Who this pathway is for?
This pathway is suitable if you want to:
- transition into an academic role emphasising education rather than basic or translational research
- maintain clinical work while taking on formal educator responsibilities within a university, medical school or NHS teaching unit
- supervise learners, design educational programmes or deliver clinical skills teaching and simulation
Getting started
Typical early roles include Clinical Teaching Fellow, Clinical Educator, Practice Educator or Clinical Skills Tutor within medical schools, universities or NHS Trusts. You may also hold honorary or part-time educator roles alongside clinical duties.
To get started, you will generally need:
- clinical registration and some clinical experience (foundation or early specialty)
- evidence of teaching interest or informal teaching activity (e.g. bedside teaching, tutorials)
- a formal educational qualification such as a PGCert or MSc in Medical or Clinical Education
- a teaching portfolio documenting your teaching activities, learner feedback and engagement with educational methods
Early career development also involves mentoring by senior medical educators, gaining hands-on experience in teaching sessions and pursuing professional memberships like a Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Educators (AoME) or an Advance HE Fellowship.
Developing your career
As you advance, roles such as Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, Academic Clinical Educator with a defined teaching role or leadership positions like Director of Clinical Skills or Simulation Lead become common.
Key requirements include:
- an accredited educator qualification (MSc or PGDip)
- a formal educator post with responsibilities for teaching, curriculum innovation, assessment and student feedback
- demonstrated leadership in education through developing programmes, publishing in education journals or innovating teaching methods
- ongoing clinical practice to maintain specialty credibility
At this stage, you should increase engagement in educational scholarship by evaluating innovations, publishing research and presenting at conferences. Supervising junior educators and undertaking leadership training, such as postgraduate certificates in higher education leadership or mentorship, will help build your profile. Achieving Senior or Principal Fellowship with Advance HE or an equivalent body is also important.
