Claire Senior
Current Position: Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship
Research Field: The association between low bone density and cervical spine fractures in older people
Why did you decide to undertake clinical academic training and what pathway have you taken so far?
I developed a passion for research and academia while at University but didn’t actively pursue this until after a decade of clinical work when I decided to apply for an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice. The research skills taught as part of the MSc and final research project gave me the confidence to look at continuing my research training, and the NIHR PCAF programme was suggested by Dr Karen Knapp who I’d stayed in touch with from my University days.
Why did you choose to conduct your clinical training at the University of Exeter and what are some of the highlights?
I feel very strong ties to the University of Exeter, having completed my BSc and MSc here, and the PCAF programme requires an academic institution with a strong research reputation that UoE undoubtedly is at the forefront of. The highlights have been having access to academic colleagues at the forefront of their research areas internationally, as well as the University providing a strong support network for developing early career researchers.
What challenges have you faced during your clinical academic training and how have you overcome these?
Balancing clinical time and academic time has been a real challenge. Particularly now for the NHS there are major staffing crises and I am very grateful to my team for supporting me in my PCAF, however especially at the start I often found my PCAF time being eaten into by my clinical workload. This highlights the need to be disciplined in terms of allocating my time and focussing on my PCAF. I’ve needed to develop strategies to organise my PCAF time effectively, and also the self-discipline to not get distracted especially when working from home during my PCAF time! It can feel quite isolating without colleagues on the same PCAF pathway, the UoE has provided networking opportunities that I am trying to make full use of and I am very grateful to have two very supportive supervisors. Imposter syndrome is ever present as a new early career researcher, and the mental adjustment from being an experienced practitioner clinically to suddenly not knowing how to approach tasks that seemingly everyone else knows how to do can feel quite daunting at the start.
What impact has clinical academic training had on your career and what are your next steps?
The PCAF has provided me with a career plan, and the skills I am learning as part of the PCAF are having a direct impact upon my clinical work. I am taking on more of the research and evaluation responsibilities within my department, and my ACP role is developing further into independent management of osteoporosis patients to support the consultant team as a direct result of my learning and experiences afforded by the PCAF. I plan to apply for the Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship scheme next year in order to support completion of a PhD in my research area, and aspire to becoming a clinical academic in order to continue my clinical work alongside developing my research career and teaching role.
What advice would you give to an aspiring clinical academic?
For non-clinicians like myself I really recommend looking at the PCAF route as this is tailor-made for making that nerve-wracking first step into research. I would recommend contacting institutions like the University of Exeter who can provide guidance and outline all the options. Financial restrictions can be a huge barrier to stepping away from a secure clinical role however these programmes provide a solution to that. Also make sure you find a research area that really interests you as an individual as well as one that is very relevant to your clinical role; this helps you stay motivated and facilitates the transition between clinical time and research time hugely.
