IN DEPTH: CLINICAL RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND MEDICINE
EXPANDING RESEARCH
Dr Caroline Alexander, lead clinical academic for therapies, explains why Imperial is the place to be for all health professionals who want to further clinical knowledge
I
n 2003 Dr Caroline Alexander was appointed to a role at Charing Cross Hospital that was virtually unheard of at the time. She was a physiotherapist mixing clinical work with research – setting the foundations for a clinical academic career. It is a career path taken by many medical doctors but few other health professionals.
Now, with a grant income of over £2 million and 27 published research papers, Caroline knows the impact research led by healthcare professionals outside of medicine can have. But, despite big benefits to patient care, only 0.1 per cent of our workforce in these professions can describe themselves as clinical academics. “Most ‘non-medic’ clinical researchers are based at a university rather than being integrated into clinical departments,” says Caroline. “Separating research and practice really limits the development of research capacity and capability among clinical staff – and it reduces the potential impact of research on patient care, experience and outcomes. So the challenge is really to create more clinical academic roles based within clinical services.”
Healthcare professionals outside of medicine include: nurses, midwives, therapists, radiologists, healthcare scientists, clinical psychologists, clinical research practitioners, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. At the moment, there are only 14 clinical academic roles at the Trust for these professions.
14 /Pulse Caroline’s research journey
In 1987, Caroline trained as a physiotherapist at Guy’s Hospital School of Physiotherapy. In 1994 she completed a Masters in Physiotherapy at University College London, and in 2002 a PhD. Caroline’s research interests are focused on targeting physiotherapy effectively and understanding why only some people who are hypermobile experience pain.
“There are many barriers for healthcare professionals wanting to embark on academic careers,” says Caroline. “Completing application forms for funding can take many hours and is a fiercely competitive process. Even if a clinician is successful in their grant application, backfill of their clinical role needs to be arranged, which can be challenging.”
There is also a perception that research is “too difficult” for certain professionals. Determined to change this mind-set, Caroline and her colleagues are on the brink of launching a five-year strategy to increase the number of ‘non-medic’ healthcare professionals in academic roles across the Trust to 1 per cent by 2030 (the equivalent of 53 members of staff). “Our Trust sets itself apart from many others because of the amount of support available to all staff interested
in a career in research. We offer a dedicated mentoring scheme to help develop research ideas, write grant applications and apply for fellowships – as well as workshops on research skills for beginners. We are running research events and conferences throughout the year too, and we’d like to grow a network of research champions”. Imperial Health Charity and Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR) also offer research fellowships for all healthcare professionals (see the advert on page 2).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you are a healthcare professional outside of medicine and would like more information about how the Trust can support you to develop a clinical academic career, contact Dr Caroline Alexander on:
caroline.alexander1@
nhs.net or call: 0203 311 1337.
www.imperial.nhs.uk
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