The advice zone

How do I get funds to do research or get experience of research to help my career in academic medicine?

It is hard to get funding for research, especially without prior experience. One way to get this experience is to latch on to an individual or group who is looking for someone to help do a project which is either already up and running or for which funding has already been raised. Where funding has already been attained, such posts are sometimes advertised in BMJ Careers (especially if they are designed for a person with clinical training).

Often investigators look for people in local medical schools to do research work. If you already have an idea about which overall specialty you would like to do research in, the first port of call could be an inquiry to the head of the relevant clinical department about the research activity ongoing in the department. Better still, establish this from the website or departmental publications--if something grabs your interest ask to meet the professor and discuss how you could participate. This may result in a grant application. An important tip here is always think ahead by at least 12 months if possible because it is highly unlikely that the result of such a meeting would …