Full article link below – courtesy of More than Medics, March 2026
What can a medical student, while in medical school, do to prepare to be a doctor-academic?
Medical students can take internships or summer research projects in industry or universities – there are many projects and programs available out there – and some researchers welcome the chance to arrange projects when medical students show proactive networking. Some are paid, especially in industry, but some might be voluntary contributions with great learning opportunities. During the academic year, students may be in a good position to support both basic science research and clinical research projects voluntarily. It’s important to protect time carefully and not over commit, but providing one or two skills to a project in your own time can sow seeds of research for bigger projects later on.
It also allows us to ‘try before we buy’ – figure out which topics, tasks and people we wish to work with. For example, I’ve welcomed medical students helping us with physiology data collection from patients for an NHS/university based clinical trial, and they became named authors on subsequent publications as they did some of the article writing too. First-hand experience helps us decide which research methods we wish to provide, explore and develop. But it’s important to balance such activities with all the other many priorities that medical school brings. Some prefer to do a research heavy intercalated degree or even a PhD within medical school years. I fully support this approach too.
Are there particular specialities that are more compatible with working in academia?
I think session based clinical practice lends itself well to an academic clinical career. This is because it’s more simple to ensure we have protected research time, otherwise clinical duties tend to take over. Session based clinical practice is more common in service specialities such as anaesthetics, radiology, and histopathology. But there are many academics in every speciality, and I think alignment between one’s clinical and academic interests is helpful to create a smooth career blend. General practice can also be a good option for an academic clinical portfolio. Pharmaceutical medicine, in which doctors spend a lot of time in industry but still achieve NHS consultant grade equivalence, is well worth considering too.
How do doctor-academics typically divide their time between clinical and academic work?
Dividing time between clinical and academic work can be very tricky. At times, it can feel like balancing two progressive careers at once. The secret is to work well with others and not take on too much work alone. In addition, I recommend securing protected research time as a doctor. I have occasionally been working less than (clinical) full time as a doctor, allowing time for research activities. Some NHS job plans have protected time and shared contracts between the NHS and universities. Take a look at the NIHR integrated clinical academic pathways, which are very supportive for early career academic doctors and carry a healthy balance of protected research time and clinical work.
You can reach out to me with further questions – I’m @drnickhayward on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Enjoy your clinical research journey!