Endocrine Abstracts

In recent years, the integrated clinical academic pathway has made a previously seemingly chaotic career pathway far more organised. This is now a well-trodden path; for those interested in research, there are opportunities to join this pathway at every stage, from academic foundation programmes through to fellowships aimed at those post-CCT. Combining clinical training in endocrinology (and not forgetting diabetes and general internal medicine too) with research, whether basic or clinical, is a real challenge, but also offers unique opportunities. There are highs (landing your first grant, getting your research published, presenting at a sunny international conference) and there are lows (writing a point-by-point rebuttal to a pedantic peer-reviewer’s 67 comments on your resubmitted manuscript, the day you receive your first funding rejection and then have to spend hours cheering yourself up by planning your escape into your alternative “dream career”). This talk will detail the speaker’s adventures through the clinical academic career pathway to date, and highlight opportunities to get involved in research, even for those who intend to finish their training without ever stepping foot on the integrated clinical academic pathway.