In-Practice Fellowship (GPs and dentists only)
The NIHR In-Practice Fellowship (IPF) provides pre-doctoral academic training to fully-qualified general practitioners, general dental practitioners, and community dentists who are in NHS practice in England. This award will equip you with the skills and experience to prepare an application for a competitive, peer-reviewed doctoral level research training fellowship, such as the NIHR Doctoral Fellowship Programme.
You may have received little formal academic training at the point of application, but should be able to demonstrate your commitment to a career as a clinical academic in primary care and have outstanding potential for development as a future clinical academic leader.
About the programme
As an awardee, you will split your time equally between a clinical position and the academic training funded through the award. Funding is available from the NIHR to support the academic component of two-year 50% clinical, 50% academic posts with a well-defined academic content, which may include a Master’s degree. NIHR IPFs can also be taken up part-time over 30 or 40 months.
Applicants must, therefore, have arrangements in place for a clinical post that will constitute 50% of their proposed NIHR IPF. The 50% academic component of the training period should include preparation of an application for a competitive, peer-reviewed research training fellowship leading to the award of a higher degree such as a NIHR Doctoral Fellowship. The training may include formal courses (including Master’s modules). Completion of a full Master’s degree can be proposed if appropriate to the developmental needs of the applicant. The NIHR IPF cannot be used as part of an MD/PhD qualification.
Training will be flexible and trainee-centred, with structured supervision to ensure the attainment of academic goals. Up to £4,500 is available for training and development, to include things like formal courses (including Master’s modules, training in specialist skills and research methodologies and leadership training). Furthermore, up to £1,000 is available to support conference/meeting expenses.
A comprehensive list of the eligibility criteria can be found on the NIHR website, but please see below for a brief overview:
- The NIHR IPFs are open to fully qualified General Practitioners, General Dental Practitioners and Community Dentists.
- Prospective applicants must not have registered for, or have completed a PhD in a relevant subject area or have registered for an MPhil with the expectation that this will progress to a PhD.
- Applications from individuals who are undertaking vocational training will only be considered if qualified by the time they take up the award and subject to a clear guarantee of a clinical placement for 5 sessions or equivalent for 50% of the working week, also from the time they take up the award.
- Applicants who are eligible under the above criteria and who have completed either a Master’s, an MPhil or an academic training position such as a NIHR ACF, and who wish to use the fellowship to support a bridging period to develop a proposal for a doctoral fellowship are eligible to apply, providing that the additional research training is justified and appropriate.
To apply, you will need to submit an application via the NIHR Academy online Award Management System (ARAMIS). Following submission, the NIHR, will distribute eligible applications to members of the NIHR IPF Selection Committee for review prior to informing applicants of the outcome.
Funding competitions open annually, typically open for advert from mid-February to the end of March. Navigate to the career development funding opportunities webpage to find open funding competitions.
If you are interested in carrying out an IPF at the University of Exeter, please contact Professor Richard Neal at R.Neal@exeter.ac.uk.
Contact
If you are interested in carrying out an IPF at the University of Exeter, please contact Professor Richard Neal at R.Neal@exeter.ac.uk.
