Experiences of being an Academic F2
Dr Esther Kwong
Esther Kwong
February 2012
I have had a busy and enjoyable whirlwind tour of life as a junior academic. In this rotation, I have had the benefit of wearing my academic hat for three days a week, and my stethoscope for the rest. So the post combines the best of both worlds: keeping up with clinical skills and foundation competencies, whilst enjoying protected time in academia.
I found the experience of academic life both exciting and challenging: academia was a new world to me. It took a while to get used to going into work with a laptop instead of my usual stethoscope, spending the whole day in front of my computer (reading, writing or sometimes just staring into space for inspiration), having the freedom to organise my own diary and, crucially, setting and meeting my own deadlines.
A marked difference between undergraduate and postgraduate research is that your independence and motivation will rest on you. There is much less handholding; it is best to view your project supervisor as a guide rather than a project manager. I quickly learnt through this process that it can take time to develop a good research question, even once you have decided which topic you are going to focus on. I am grateful to my project supervisor (Dr Paul Aylin) for the independence and trust he gave me. I found that it was through exploring the project and managing my own work that I truly understood what research is all about. It involves a tenacious and inquisitive mind-set to search for answers to hypotheses and aims. You need entrepreneurial initiative to plan and manage your own research project, searching for the right material and talking to experts, and solving any problems that arise along the way.
There is a huge wealth of resources, expertise and opportunities in the department, but it’s up to you to make the most of what’s there. Opportunities in the department include regular bio-statistics workshops, weekly academic seminars, the chance to attend other research skills courses as needed, and undergraduate teaching. The department leads on undergraduate Clinical Methods Teaching, and academic F2s train and deliver teaching to a small group of third year Imperial undergraduates. There is also scope to contribute to the wider Imperial curriculum such as facilitating the pre-clinical Problem-Based Learning course or Personal and Professional Development workshops. Dr Easton, the educational supervisor, also organises a clinical simulation session for consultation skills using experienced actor patients; this was particularly valuable training with feedback to direct our general practice consultation skills, and helped develop my clinical confidence.
Looking back at the four months, I can truly say it has been the highlight of my foundation programme years. It has given me a platform to develop in various dimensions in clinical training, teaching and research. I was able to complete a project in my field of interest (health services research), which introduced me to the fascinating subject of Patient Reported Outcome Measures. I expect to publish on this in due course. I contributed to teaching on the undergraduate curriculum, and developed clinical skills and experience in general practice; all of these experiences I found immensely rewarding and valuable for me as I continue to shape my career.
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Dr Lauren Parry January 2007 I’m grabbing lunch between surgeries. Between bites of a sandwich I underline paragraphs in a book called “how to read a paper”. Intermittently I panic that the third year medical students will feel short-changed when they discover it’s me who will be teaching them next week! One month into my academic General Practice placement at Imperial College and I am quickly appreciating the self-discipline, motivation and close attention to time management required to effectively combine clinical work, teaching and research. And I’m a trainee in all aspects. How far from the truth! We were thrown into the whirlpool of a busy academic department, drowning in Pubmed as we searched for a research question! Perhaps we’d expected a little more spoon-feeding and hand-holding. But this rare autonomy quickly teaches if you can feed yourself you will feast well. Show you’re hungry and many friendly hands point you in the right direction! As for my friends… their mutterings are jealousy of this new and exciting chance we academic F2 doctors have to prove ourselves, in a time when the future of junior doctor training seems so out of our control.
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Dr Neil Upadhyay November 2006 This has been a very busy but enjoyable post. I spend two days a week in clinical practice and three days a week in the Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine. The job is split equally between research, clinical and teaching responsibilities. The department has been very welcoming and inclusive. I have enjoyed interacting with the research and teaching staff and becoming involved with their everyday work. Whilst it can be difficult to manage all three different aspects of the job, the department appreciates this and is flexible. You can tailor your learning to your own needs and there is the opportunity to participate in courses in teaching and research that are usually reserved for more senior clinicians. I would highly recommend this post to anyone considering a career in teaching, research or general practice. There are synergies between the different aspects of the job and you will find yourself using your research skills in clinical practice and transferring your communication skills to teaching. The academic foundation post can also give you the chance to foster links and give you a range of opportunities for your future career that would not be possible with more traditional posts.
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Dr Megan John November 2006 As an academic F2 doctor you get the best of both worlds- the chance to gain clinical experience alongside perusing research interests. The academic department encourages the acquisition of new skills appropriate to research and education. As such you have the opportunity to participate in teaching and communication skills courses. You can then utilise these skills to carry out undergraduate teaching. Personally I ran Clinical Methods Training course for third year students, both at my general practice and within the academic department. This was a very rewarding experience, and reinforced my wish to incorporate teaching into my career path. The research aspect is varied and can easily be shaped towards your own interests. I undertook a project in violent patients in Primary care. It was primarily a literature review and discussion of guidelines and current practice. At all times I felt supported by my supervisor and the department as a whole, which made for an enjoyable and stimulating working environment. The post also allowed me to pursue other areas that I had an interest in. This included the instigation of Medical School application courses for state educated year 12 and 13 students, which myself and another academic F2 ran. For clinical experience I worked in a local practice 3 days a week. This experience was the best I have had in medicine to date. The variety of work involved in Primary care means that no two days are ever the same, and you are truly able to see the impact your work has for your patients. In addition to normal surgeries, my practice ensured I spent time running baby clinics, assisting in counselling, physiotherapy and addiction services. These all gave me an insight into other facilities offered within primary care practices, and will help me manage my patients and make referral decisions in the future. I would thoroughly recommend the post to future F2’s as a chance to try something new and enhance their skill set.
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