Clinical academic careers are demanding, requiring careful balance between clinical duties, research and training. This guidance sets out the principles and obligations for medical and dental clinical trainees, institutions and funders involved in UK clinical academic research training.
It applies to those receiving nationally competitive funding across medicine and dentistry and aims to ensure trainees are supported at key career stages and through challenging transitions.
Key principles
- Training should be personalised, planned and integrated across clinical and academic areas, with protected time for research.
- Training is jointly managed by the academic institution, NHS/Trust and the trainee, supported by designated academic leads and postgraduate deans.
- Progression is based on competencies rather than time, in line with regulator standards.
- Trainees should have access to high-quality mentorship, leadership and skills training to support academic and clinical development.
- Institutions must actively promote a diverse clinical academic workforce and mentoring pool.
Obligations
For trainees:
- Take responsibility for career development and performance, academically and clinically.
- Engage fully with research, training and professional responsibilities.
- Participate in data collection to track academic career progression.
- Provide guidance and mentorship to more junior trainees.
For institutions:
- Deliver personalised, flexible and high-quality training.
- Collaborate to remove barriers between academic and clinical oversight.
- Protect occupational benefits (e.g. family leave, sick leave) when trainees change employers.
For funders:
- Provide clear, accessible funding tailored to career stage.
- Support trainees consistently with these principles.
- Facilitate best practice and monitoring of clinical academic training.