Routes for GPs into clinical research

This article sets out to provide those considering speciality training in general practice, and those already established as GP trainees or GPs, with a framework to consider involvement in research. The world of academia can seem mysterious and inaccessible to the outsider, and this article aims to demystify the options for adding research to your career portfolio. Academic general practice can provide a complementary role to the busy, demanding challenges of clinical practice. Academic general practice brings something different to the day-to-day of clinical work, enabling us to think outside the confines of our consulting rooms, to engage with new ideas from a host of interdisciplinary perspectives, develop and contribute to change, shaping the context for future general practice.