Making research everybody’s business
With the recently published recommendation for making research part of everyday practice for all clinicians, Health Education East Midlands (HEE) and the Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) have come together to jointly fund a new Foundation Year 2 (F2) post in Research and Innovation.
The COVID-19 pandemic starkly illustrated the importance of clinical research, which was crucial to the development of vaccines and treatments that have saved millions of lives globally1. Research also has a role to play by improving the efficiency and efficacy of care in the NHS.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) published a joint position statement setting out a series of recommendations for making research part of everyday practice for all clinicians. Within this statement it was recommended that there be a requirement to promote opportunities for postgraduate doctors, and other health professionals to engage with research, enabling them to build experience that they can then draw on throughout their career.
The number of graduating medical students will increase significantly from 2023, due to a planned expansion of medical student places. In 2017/18 there were 8,000 medical students, rising to 10,500 in 2021/222. HEE have funded a national expansion of Foundation training posts to ensure that these larger cohorts of students have high-quality training posts available to them.
In an innovative collaboration aimed at providing high quality research opportunities for Foundation Doctors, HEE and the LDC developed and jointly funded a Diabetes Research Foundation Programme F2 post, which commenced August 22.
Kath Higgins, Consultant in Diabetes Medicine, led the project to create this F2 post in the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre: Leicester (PRC) at the LDC, Leicester General Hospital. There are two further F2 posts planned for August 23 and August 24 within the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) on UHL sites.
Kath commented:
“Leading this project and working with Health Education East Midlands and partners to manage the expansion of the Foundation programme has been an exciting challenge. My aim was to ensure the project allowed new innovative posts to be accessible for F2 doctors alongside the necessary requirements for their training. By offering high-quality innovative posts, we aim to attract and retain our locally trained medical students as well as first-rate applicants from outside the area. These posts offer early career doctors a fantastic opportunity to experience first-hand how research and clinical medicine link to form the basis of high-quality clinical practice.
We were delighted when we secured an F2 post within the Leicester Diabetes Centre, based at the Leicester General, as part of the PRC”
Foundation Doctor, Raya Ahmed joined the PRC in August 22 as an F2 Clinical Research Post within the LDC. The case study below details Raya’s experience and outcomes within the PRC.
Can you tell us more about the foundation research post you are in?
“The Clinical Research Post at the Leicester Diabetes Centre is a varied and multi-faceted role. There are many opportunities to gain a greater insight into research and the optimal methods of carrying it out. I found this invaluable to my training, as research continues to be a fundamental factor to the building blocks of clinical medicine. The research-based activities that the junior doctor can be involved with include, but aren’t limited to; attending trial training where you learn about novel devices and investigational medicines, screening and consenting patients for trials and also carrying out follow-up visits, where various data and the wellbeing of the participant is reviewed. Alongside this, there are opportunities to apply new knowledge and refine communication skills whilst regularly attending specialised diabetes clinics. There’s also a great emphasis put on continued learning so there are always numerous teaching sessions to attend. It is a self-lead role to a certain extent, so there are also chances to be involved in audits and papers and you are able to take time out to develop essential and transferable skills such as leadership, public speaking, and teaching.”
How has this position supported you?
“I am very pleased with the progress and development I have made, which has been heavily facilitated by this role. Firstly, the senior management, and the team as a whole, are always supportive and helpful. It is clear that they care about the growth of their juniors and were keen to assist me in achieving my targets and goals.
Prior to this role, I had not been involved in research, but I now feel much more confident in my understanding and application of research as well as having the chance improve my skill set, which I am keen to implement in clinical medicine.
The opportunities that this role presents and the knowledge that is gained is invaluable and, in my opinion, unparalleled in any other post that is currently available for trainee doctors. This is due to the unique angle that this role takes, combining both clinical medicine and research. I highly recommend this role as I feel that it has allowed me to build a strong foundation for my future career as a clinician.”
What are the three key takeaways from your time at the PRC?
“To make the most out of this role, and any future role, it is important to try, take initiative and seek out opportunities – this post truly is what you make of it! It emphasised the importance of research in medicine and I was able to observe the varied scope of doctors that can be involved in it, from GPs to professors to junior doctors. This goes without saying, but when working in a tight-knit team (and in life in general!), being kind to others will always be appreciated!”
What advice do you have for anyone thinking about applying for a foundation research post?
“I would recommend everyone to apply to a research post, even if you have not been previously involved in any research. It provides a stark contrast to most clinical roles, which are usually fast-paced and sometimes overburdening – this, in turn, allows you to take time to focus on self-development and explore areas of interest, which is an essential, but often neglected, factor in the growth and training of a junior doctor.”
Rachel Parry, HEE commented:
“The research post based in the diabetes centre has been a fantastic opportunity for the F2 doctors. It has allowed them to witness and experience first-hand the benefits research has to both developing the profession and to the individual patients. Not only this, during the four months the postgraduate doctors will have the opportunity to develop personal skills, such as leadership, team working, interpersonal, and reflection. I am very grateful for the hard work that has been done by Kath Higgins and the LDC to develop this post and I am hopeful that it will prove to be a great attraction to recruit Foundation Doctors looking to have an innovative and immersive experience of diabetes research in Leicester.”
Melanie Davies CBE, Clinical Director of the PRC commented:
“We have experienced first-hand the importance of clinical research and we are constantly reminded how critical research is, especially with the development of vaccines and treatments. Embedding research opportunities into early career posts for postgraduate doctors in training and working collaboratively with HEE has secured invaluable future clinical research opportunities for junior doctors.”
2. https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/workforce-report-2022---full-report_pdf-94540077.pdf