Classroom to Clinic: Universities Need to Support The Next Generation of Clinical Academics

Abstract

The General Medical Council’s current version of Outcomes for Doctors sets out three key areas of expertise for tomorrow’s doctors: professional values & behaviours, professional skills, and professional knowledge. (1) Each of these competencies further develops into numerous core skills every student should attain at medical school. While the learning outcomes set under Clinical Research & Scholarship (part of Outcome 3: Professional Knowledge) could usually be attained through numerous instances across a typical medical school curriculum, opportunities to put research skills into practice have remained relatively competitive and scarce. This represents an emerging challenge across the career spectrum, particularly in the UK as the Medical Schools Council warns that the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan 2031-32 could be jeopardised if the number of clinical academics is not maintained.(2) Facilitated by the impacts of an aging workforce alongside years of underinvestment – NHS trusts and medical schools need to work quickly to address barriers in training and retaining the next generation of clinical academics.(3)

Clinical Academics are the foundation of the future of medical schools. However, much more must be done to introduce, facilitate, and encourage medical students to consider the option of training as a clinical academic. Investing in opportunities for medical students to get involved in research and teaching early on in their medical career, could be a solution not just to tackle this future workforce challenge but also to offer better career prospects. This is supported by evidence from research on matched-cohort studies conducted in Australia & New Zealand demonstrating an encouraging statistic independent of academic confounding variables. (4,5) Medical students who published research in medical student journals were significantly more likely to be associated with higher degree attainment, PubMed® indexed publications and in some cases, more likely to enter surgical training or their chosen specialty.

However, getting involved in clinical research as a medical student remains challenging. Lack of opportunities, competitive funding calls, and fewer supervisors willing to take on the burden of training students are only some of the many barriers students currently face in getting involved. Recent results from a survey by the University of Glasgow’s Medical School demonstrated reassuring enthusiasm for a career in clinical research/teaching among a small sample size of 55 students. Commenting on these findings, Professor Iain McInnes, Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, said ‘.... supporting clinical academics at all stages of their career is a top priority for our college and this survey shows that the pipeline for the future of academia is in good health indeed!’.

On the balance, the need of the hour must now focus on retaining this enthusiasm by investing in opportunities and offering pathways to ensure medical students can actively engage in academia. Several steps including enhancing funding, fostering stronger mentorship and networking opportunities, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and recognizing research efforts by medical students can go a long way in pursuing students to consider a rewarding career in clinical academia.