Educator medical clinical academics

Medical education offers a rewarding clinical academic career for doctors who are passionate about teaching and developing the future healthcare workforce.

Unlike traditional research-focused academic careers, this pathway places greater emphasis on educational innovation, learner development and improving how healthcare professionals learn. Clinical academics may contribute to education research and many educator academics also build successful careers through teaching excellence and educational leadership.

Career pathways in medical education

Medical educators work across universities, medical schools, NHS organisations and postgraduate training environments. Many combine clinical work with academic responsibilities throughout their careers.

Career pathways vary considerably. Some clinicians focus primarily on teaching and educational leadership, while others develop substantial portfolios in educational research.

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 and engagement with educational methods

Qualifications and training

There is no single route into medical education. However, many clinical academic educators undertake formal educational training to develop their expertise.

Common qualifications include:

• PGCert in Medical Education
• PGCert in Clinical Education
• PGDip in Medical or Clinical Education
• MSc in Medical Education
• MSc in Clinical Education
• MSc in Health Professions Education

As careers progress, some educators undertake doctoral training through a PhD or Professional Doctorate in Medical Education, Clinical Education or Health Professions Education. While a doctorate is not essential for many senior educational leadership roles, it can be valuable for those wishing to develop a substantial educational research portfolio or pursue professorial appointments.

You may also wish to explore:

• Medical Education postgraduate programmes
• Clinical Education postgraduate programmes
• Health Professions Education postgraduate programmes
• AoME-accredited courses
• Advance HE accredited programmes

Professional recognition

Professional recognition can support career progression and demonstrate educational expertise.

These awards are widely recognised across higher education and can provide evidence of educational leadership and impact.

Educational scholarship research

Educational schloarship is an important component of many clinical academic education careers. It involves the systematic development, evaluation and dissemination of educational practice to improve learning and training outcomes. This may include evaluating educational innovations, developing new teaching and assessment approaches, conducting or contributing to educational research, presenting work at conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

Funding and fellowships

Opportunities to support career development may include:

• clinical teaching fellow posts
• simulation fellowships
• educational leadership programmes
• educational research funding schemes
• local university education fellowships
• NIHR-supported educational research initiatives

Exploring local university, NHS and professional body opportunities can help identify funding and development programmes relevant to your career stage.

Building your network

Developing a professional network can help identify mentors and career opportunities.

• Academy of Medical Educators: Provides professional standards, accreditation and guidance for careers in medical education.
• AdvanceHE Fellowships: Offers nationally recognised fellowship schemes that support career development in higher education.
• Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME): Provides courses, conferences, grants and resources supporting medical education scholarship.
• Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE): An international organisation offering conferences, faculty development programmes and networking opportunities.
• NIHR Clinical Education Incubator: Supports career development, collaboration and impact in clinical education research.

Further reading

Starting Research in Clinical Education (ASME and Wiley Blackwell) provides an introduction to educational scholarship and career development in clinical education.

Useful podcasts

• The PAPERs Podcast  – The podcast that keeps you up to date on the latest research in Health Professions Education
• KeyLIME+ (Key Lessons and Innovations in Medical Education) – A bi-weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with authors and experts exploring what we think we know about medical education and where we’re going as a field.
• Work-based learning for Health Professionals, Swanwick Morris Partnership