‘Appreciate the value of radiographers and our unique perspective’: exploring the routes to PhD sponsorship
Researchers from University Hospitals Leicester share their journeys into research, and how they achieved their PhD sponsorships
Catherine Berry, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
My background is as a Diagnostic Radiographer and sonographer and for many years my role has predominantly involved clinical work, with a small amount of teaching and clinical mentorship. My role changed significantly in 2018, when I was appointed as the musculoskeletal (MSK) clinical lead sonographer at UHL, where I learned management skills.
Clinically I was able to develop by undertaking training to become a reporting radiographer, which enhanced my MSK ultrasound practice. I continued to evolve and develop in terms of the four pillars of professional practice and, as a result of my work developing patient pathways, guidelines and audit programmes, and learning management skills, I was able to apply for an MSK consultant radiographer role, which I started in 2022.
I have also been afforded the opportunity to work closely with the sarcoma team and, because of that multidisciplinary team working, I have developed my clinical skills and knowledge even further, allowing me to specialise purely in MSK imaging.
I have been involved in many quality improvement projects at UHL and have shared some of those by presenting at national conferences. More recently my sarcoma work and collaboration with the British Medical Ultrasound Society MSK specialist interest group has led to a publication: a two-part pictorial review paper that has provided me with more ideas for future research, audit and projects. When my audit is complete I hope to be able to provide national guidance for better imaging pathways and improved patient management and detection of cancers.
Despite these valuable opportunities, research has been my area of slowest progress and I believe that this is the case for many allied health professionals I have spoken to over the years, who often do not realise what research career opportunities are available to them and how to access the advice they need and where to start.
Thinking about the time needed to undertake study at this level, and where funding would come from, are often the biggest barriers to even looking into how to achieve this. Thankfully, the management here at UHL are very supportive of enhanced, advanced and consultant practice and realise the benefits of this investment, so I knew that the support would be there when I choose to pursue this.
I honestly never imagined in the past that there might be an opportunity for me to continue to PhD, despite always having the ‘working towards’ goal in mind since achieving my consultant role.
Recent discussions with the research support teams here at UHL and chatting to my fellow consultant radiographers has been really valuable as I discovered that there is more than one route to PhD and that I needed to find out which might be the best for me in this highly competitive area.
It was also very reassuring that the research experts at the NIHR saw real merit in the idea that I had for a PhD project, which is something I was not confident I would ever have, and I know that, to undertake a PhD, I would want to have a project that I have a personal interest in.
From past experiences with teaching at higher education institutes, I realise that a purely academic career is not for me. I love to teach and share my knowledge, but the clinical work I do is my passion and I still want to develop that further. This means a full-time PhD is not the path for me.
I recently came to a bit of a crossroads where a decision needed to be made. I had become aware of some pre-PhD application support funding and was putting together my application, but at the same time I was having discussions with a clinician at UHL about a new clinical opportunity and I realised I could not easily do both. Even if I was successful in the pre-application fellowship, I would also need to do a university module to back up developing my new clinical skills and there would not be time to do them mutually.
I have decided that, for now, I would prefer to pursue pushing the boundaries of a traditional Diagnostic Radiographer role and develop myself as part of another clinical team alongside my imaging work. I am excited to see where this takes me and, in the meantime, I will be continuing with my quality improvement, publications and audit work on sarcoma imaging so that, when I am ready for my PhD application, I will have the option of doing it by a publication or portfolio route, too.
For anyone who is undecided on their career trajectory and has a research interest, I would encourage you to do a research module or other course to get a better understanding of research principles, methodologies and paradigms. Reach out to any local research departments and the NIHR to see what courses there are or opportunities for funding that might be available to you.
I would also try to find someone who has been a clinical or academic mentor at doctoral level or a colleague who has already achieved their PhD as they will have a wealth of knowledge to share with you.
Dan Togher, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I have been a qualified Diagnostic Radiographer for 16 years, where I had an early interest in clinical governance and transforming pathways. Since qualification I have always strived to continue developing my skills, increasing my knowledge with a commitment to improving patient care.
I started chest radiograph reporting in 2015, which was not an area of practice I had initially considered. That requirement to have a deeper understanding of the chest anatomy and pathology certainly fulfilled my desire to expand my knowledge and I still thoroughly enjoy it.
For the majority of my career there have been two aspects to my role: the clinical role and the clinical governance role. While I have always seen these as separate positions, on reflection they complemented each other more than I initially thought and I believe I am a more rounded practitioner as a result.
I have continued to develop my clinical skills by training in paediatric chest reporting and working with the vascular access team, inserting peripherally inserted central catheters.
My role as a consultant radiographer is new for me in comparison to my consultant radiographer colleagues. I have been in this position for one year at a new trust and I am the first consultant radiographer for the chest team.
While I am enthusiastic about my career development, beyond completing my Msc a year ago, I have not had a significant appetite to pursue a PhD for many reasons. The opportunities appear sparse, with fully funded positions highly competitive. Identifying a research project and securing funding adds another layer of uncertainty to an already daunting decision.
On a personal level, I question the transition from hands-on clinical work to research. Will I miss the patient interactions? Will I maintain my clinical skills? Should I be developing my clinical skills further in my area of speciality? Yet the potential benefits are compelling. A PhD would allow me to specialise in a field that I am passionate about. Looking at role models who have completed a PhD, some of whom I have had the opportunity to work with, I can see how it can open the doors to leadership, influencing policy and expanding my impact beyond my clinical skills.
Since I started my role, I have been intrigued by my colleagues’ PhD journeys and the different routes they have taken, are on or are exploring, and that the prospect of obtaining a PhD is an achievable goal. This fortunate position of having others in front of me will be invaluable if I choose to pursue a PhD.
I am now looking to continue to extend my reach and role beyond imaging, making myself more visible to the clinical teams that I support with my practice. This has meant that I have started to make the research pillar of my practice more central to these conversations, identifying colleagues who can provide that peer support I require.
Ultimately, the decision for me now in pursuing a PhD is about growth, contribution and long-term aspirations.
Helen Estall, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I have worked as a Diagnostic Radiographer for many years, specialising in MRI quite early in my career. Since qualification, I have been interested in increasing my own and others’ knowledge and, a few years after qualification, I completed a BSc (Hons) in health sciences and then, later, an MSc in MRI reporting. I really enjoyed the research element for each of these degrees in particular.
However, as with many clinical radiographers, the time, opportunities, knowledge, awareness and availability of strong mentors/academic leads within my clinical area of practice were lacking, and I always assumed that I would never have the opportunity or ability to complete a PhD.
Over the years and particularly in the last six years in my role as a consultant radiographer, I was involved in several national projects and published a few papers on MRI reporting by radiographers. I was aware of a few pathways to achieving a PhD, including a PhD by publication, but knew that I did not have the requisite number of peer review papers to fulfil the criteria. However, a few years ago, a colleague mentioned that there was a pathway to PhD via a portfolio route, and so my journey began!
After some investigations, I found only a few universities that provided this pathway for those in a healthcare profession who weren’t employed by a university already, and I contacted one to discuss whether they felt that this was an option for me. I had them a CV of my projects and publications in the last few years and they were very positive. They then put me in touch with a potential supervisor who again was very helpful. However, they decided I would be the last person they would allow to apply via this route so I felt that perhaps they would not be able to provide the support I would need.
I therefore made the difficult decision to start the search again for another suitable university. My second contacts were also very helpful and supportive and I was given the go ahead to write a thesis proposal. This was the most difficult and daunting process for me as it was completely out of my comfort zone. I am not an academic radiographer and learning ‘research speak’ was, and still is, a steep learning curve.
The thesis proposal must demonstrate how the two or three chosen projects form a coherent body of work, their academic context, theoretical frameworks used and a critical review of how the projects have had a significant and novel impact in the field of practice. The two potential supervisors that the PhD lead put me in contact with were invaluable in their support and, after a couple of meetings with them, they agreed that my proposal was ready for application. The application process included references, proof of my previous qualifications and a personal statement.
My application for a PhD by portfolio was accepted and I have just completed the university post-graduate research student open day and enrolment, with the first meeting with my supervisors booked in soon. I have spent the last few weeks at the reading stage, getting to grips with theoretical models/frameworks that can be used to support my projects.
As this is a portfolio PhD, the research is already completed so I am effectively at the writing up stage. My enrolment is for one year and I am expected to complete my thesis within that timeframe to then submit before the viva; however, as with all PhDs, there is an option to extend if required.
The work is expected to be equivalent to the more established full-time three-year PhD both in standards and length of thesis. However, the main write up is a 15,000-word philosophical underpinning that ties the work together.
The appeal of this option for me is the relatively short timeframe that it can be completed in, but the challenge is that it is a part-time, one-year programme, and for the majority of the time I will be continuing in my NHS role. However, I am very fortunate to have the support of my department, with some allocated study leave and a revised job plan during the year to enable me to progress with the PhD.
Paul O'Riordan, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I will reach the milestone of 25 years of practice this year, and for 22 of those years I have been involved in the musculoskeletal (MSK) image reporting, from radiographic reporting to MRI and then ultrasound MSK practice.
I have enjoyed the journey of gaining a deeper understanding of MSK anatomy, physiology and pathology; understanding how it manifests on imaging and the challenges in the subtlety and overlapping features of disease.
For the majority of my career, I have focused on gaining the qualifications and training that have facilitated expert clinical practice, understanding also that providing teaching, leadership, quality improvement and audit are integral elements of developing expert clinical practice because of the interwoven nature of the pillars of advanced and consultant practice.
Through my practice I developed an interest in chronic MSK conditions and their role in comorbidity, and this informed my choice of MSc topic. As a consultant radiographer I want to ensure that I deliver consultancy across all four pillars of practice including research, and having developed my understanding of my area of interest I pursued a PhD.
I spent a couple of years engaging with institutions offering different paths to PhD and it was through these discussions that I realised a research PhD was the right path for me. On reflection I think it was the journey to producing new knowledge and the prospect of learning skills that can support this as an ongoing process that appealed to my curious nature. However, although I had support from my imaging department colleagues, I could not identify my path to achieving a Phd.
I applied unsuccessfully for an NIHR pre-doctoral programme offering support in developing a PhD proposal that can be taken forward for PhD funding application. I learned a great deal from this process, including completing a PhD-level interview, as well as what projects are more and less likely to be considered for funding and the importance of a mentorship team.
I discovered the Welcome Trust funded PhD programme – the Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Doctoral Training Programme – and the two clear ambitions of the programme appealed to me: i) to tackle inequalities in healthcare provision, and ii) to address inequalities in academic opportunities for healthcare professionals. This programme invites applications for a number of research projects with academic supervisory teams from the associated institutions. I was successful in my application and I am enjoying my first year of the programme.
My research project involves working with the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre respiratory and infectious disease theme in association with the University of Leicester. I spoke with the project supervisor and previous fellows before applying, and through this discussion identified how the unique voice of a radiographer could bring a different perspective to my project: looking to characterise phenotypic biomarkers of sarcopaenia and frailty by looking in detail at measures of physical function, body composition and muscle across patients with chronic respiratory disease.
This project will develop my understanding of MSK conditions in the context of comorbidity, and MSK imaging in a predictive and not only diagnostic context, as well as improving my understanding of the use of AI in imaging.
The ability to consider my current and future research in the context of health inequality is not something that I might have achieved without this programme. The three-year full-time format was important to me for the stage of my career but also for other reasons, such as avoiding burnout by attempting to maintain the responsibility of a consultant practitioner role while completing a PhD, as well as understanding that a longer part-time format would not suit me as an individual.
My programme, as with some other funded programmes, comes with both a training and research budget and this is something to consider.
I am somewhat surprised by the degree of personal development that is part of the programme, offering skills from academic writing to communication, statistics to patient and public involvement and co-production, which will benefit my career going forward.
I work in a multi-disciplinary environment with peer support from more than 20 other PhD fellows at different stages of progression, as well as medical and non-medical clinical academic and academic staff. This environment has been very supportive in all aspects of understanding the requirements of working towards a PhD. We benefit from presentations of locally completed research as well as journal club, where the critique of published work is demonstrated by both established academic staff and PhD students.
The programme involves a 20 per cent clinical component, with the aim of developing clinical academic careers, allowing me to maintain my clinical skills, which was an important factor for me. I can see there are challenges for NHS staff entering programmes like this, with questions of how to backfill roles for the duration of the PhD. I am fortunate that my departmental team were supportive and looked at the skills that I will gain and bring back to my role and to my trust going forward.
On reflection, I cannot say that there is a right or wrong stage of a career to complete a PhD or a right or wrong format of PhD to pursue, as there are pros and cons for all the choices that can be made. Important factors to explore include the resources and opportunities that are available, both in building up to and applying for a PhD as well as identifying your mentorship team. It is also important for us to appreciate the value that radiographers can add when we bring our unique perspective to research teams both within and beyond imaging boundaries.
Catherine Berry, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
My background is as a Diagnostic Radiographer and sonographer and for many years my role has predominantly involved clinical work, with a small amount of teaching and clinical mentorship. My role changed significantly in 2018, when I was appointed as the musculoskeletal (MSK) clinical lead sonographer at UHL, where I learned management skills.
Clinically I was able to develop by undertaking training to become a reporting radiographer, which enhanced my MSK ultrasound practice. I continued to evolve and develop in terms of the four pillars of professional practice and, as a result of my work developing patient pathways, guidelines and audit programmes, and learning management skills, I was able to apply for an MSK consultant radiographer role, which I started in 2022.
I have also been afforded the opportunity to work closely with the sarcoma team and, because of that multidisciplinary team working, I have developed my clinical skills and knowledge even further, allowing me to specialise purely in MSK imaging.
I have been involved in many quality improvement projects at UHL and have shared some of those by presenting at national conferences. More recently my sarcoma work and collaboration with the British Medical Ultrasound Society MSK specialist interest group has led to a publication: a two-part pictorial review paper that has provided me with more ideas for future research, audit and projects. When my audit is complete I hope to be able to provide national guidance for better imaging pathways and improved patient management and detection of cancers.
Despite these valuable opportunities, research has been my area of slowest progress and I believe that this is the case for many allied health professionals I have spoken to over the years, who often do not realise what research career opportunities are available to them and how to access the advice they need and where to start.
Thinking about the time needed to undertake study at this level, and where funding would come from, are often the biggest barriers to even looking into how to achieve this. Thankfully, the management here at UHL are very supportive of enhanced, advanced and consultant practice and realise the benefits of this investment, so I knew that the support would be there when I choose to pursue this.
I honestly never imagined in the past that there might be an opportunity for me to continue to PhD, despite always having the ‘working towards’ goal in mind since achieving my consultant role.
Recent discussions with the research support teams here at UHL and chatting to my fellow consultant radiographers has been really valuable as I discovered that there is more than one route to PhD and that I needed to find out which might be the best for me in this highly competitive area.
It was also very reassuring that the research experts at the NIHR saw real merit in the idea that I had for a PhD project, which is something I was not confident I would ever have, and I know that, to undertake a PhD, I would want to have a project that I have a personal interest in.
From past experiences with teaching at higher education institutes, I realise that a purely academic career is not for me. I love to teach and share my knowledge, but the clinical work I do is my passion and I still want to develop that further. This means a full-time PhD is not the path for me.
I recently came to a bit of a crossroads where a decision needed to be made. I had become aware of some pre-PhD application support funding and was putting together my application, but at the same time I was having discussions with a clinician at UHL about a new clinical opportunity and I realised I could not easily do both. Even if I was successful in the pre-application fellowship, I would also need to do a university module to back up developing my new clinical skills and there would not be time to do them mutually.
I have decided that, for now, I would prefer to pursue pushing the boundaries of a traditional Diagnostic Radiographer role and develop myself as part of another clinical team alongside my imaging work. I am excited to see where this takes me and, in the meantime, I will be continuing with my quality improvement, publications and audit work on sarcoma imaging so that, when I am ready for my PhD application, I will have the option of doing it by a publication or portfolio route, too.
For anyone who is undecided on their career trajectory and has a research interest, I would encourage you to do a research module or other course to get a better understanding of research principles, methodologies and paradigms. Reach out to any local research departments and the NIHR to see what courses there are or opportunities for funding that might be available to you.
I would also try to find someone who has been a clinical or academic mentor at doctoral level or a colleague who has already achieved their PhD as they will have a wealth of knowledge to share with you.
Dan Togher, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I have been a qualified Diagnostic Radiographer for 16 years, where I had an early interest in clinical governance and transforming pathways. Since qualification I have always strived to continue developing my skills, increasing my knowledge with a commitment to improving patient care.
I started chest radiograph reporting in 2015, which was not an area of practice I had initially considered. That requirement to have a deeper understanding of the chest anatomy and pathology certainly fulfilled my desire to expand my knowledge and I still thoroughly enjoy it.
For the majority of my career there have been two aspects to my role: the clinical role and the clinical governance role. While I have always seen these as separate positions, on reflection they complemented each other more than I initially thought and I believe I am a more rounded practitioner as a result.
I have continued to develop my clinical skills by training in paediatric chest reporting and working with the vascular access team, inserting peripherally inserted central catheters.
My role as a consultant radiographer is new for me in comparison to my consultant radiographer colleagues. I have been in this position for one year at a new trust and I am the first consultant radiographer for the chest team.
While I am enthusiastic about my career development, beyond completing my Msc a year ago, I have not had a significant appetite to pursue a PhD for many reasons. The opportunities appear sparse, with fully funded positions highly competitive. Identifying a research project and securing funding adds another layer of uncertainty to an already daunting decision.
On a personal level, I question the transition from hands-on clinical work to research. Will I miss the patient interactions? Will I maintain my clinical skills? Should I be developing my clinical skills further in my area of speciality? Yet the potential benefits are compelling. A PhD would allow me to specialise in a field that I am passionate about. Looking at role models who have completed a PhD, some of whom I have had the opportunity to work with, I can see how it can open the doors to leadership, influencing policy and expanding my impact beyond my clinical skills.
Since I started my role, I have been intrigued by my colleagues’ PhD journeys and the different routes they have taken, are on or are exploring, and that the prospect of obtaining a PhD is an achievable goal. This fortunate position of having others in front of me will be invaluable if I choose to pursue a PhD.
I am now looking to continue to extend my reach and role beyond imaging, making myself more visible to the clinical teams that I support with my practice. This has meant that I have started to make the research pillar of my practice more central to these conversations, identifying colleagues who can provide that peer support I require.
Ultimately, the decision for me now in pursuing a PhD is about growth, contribution and long-term aspirations.
Helen Estall, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I have worked as a Diagnostic Radiographer for many years, specialising in MRI quite early in my career. Since qualification, I have been interested in increasing my own and others’ knowledge and, a few years after qualification, I completed a BSc (Hons) in health sciences and then, later, an MSc in MRI reporting. I really enjoyed the research element for each of these degrees in particular.
However, as with many clinical radiographers, the time, opportunities, knowledge, awareness and availability of strong mentors/academic leads within my clinical area of practice were lacking, and I always assumed that I would never have the opportunity or ability to complete a PhD.
Over the years and particularly in the last six years in my role as a consultant radiographer, I was involved in several national projects and published a few papers on MRI reporting by radiographers. I was aware of a few pathways to achieving a PhD, including a PhD by publication, but knew that I did not have the requisite number of peer review papers to fulfil the criteria. However, a few years ago, a colleague mentioned that there was a pathway to PhD via a portfolio route, and so my journey began!
After some investigations, I found only a few universities that provided this pathway for those in a healthcare profession who weren’t employed by a university already, and I contacted one to discuss whether they felt that this was an option for me. I had them a CV of my projects and publications in the last few years and they were very positive. They then put me in touch with a potential supervisor who again was very helpful. However, they decided I would be the last person they would allow to apply via this route so I felt that perhaps they would not be able to provide the support I would need.
I therefore made the difficult decision to start the search again for another suitable university. My second contacts were also very helpful and supportive and I was given the go ahead to write a thesis proposal. This was the most difficult and daunting process for me as it was completely out of my comfort zone. I am not an academic radiographer and learning ‘research speak’ was, and still is, a steep learning curve.
The thesis proposal must demonstrate how the two or three chosen projects form a coherent body of work, their academic context, theoretical frameworks used and a critical review of how the projects have had a significant and novel impact in the field of practice. The two potential supervisors that the PhD lead put me in contact with were invaluable in their support and, after a couple of meetings with them, they agreed that my proposal was ready for application. The application process included references, proof of my previous qualifications and a personal statement.
My application for a PhD by portfolio was accepted and I have just completed the university post-graduate research student open day and enrolment, with the first meeting with my supervisors booked in soon. I have spent the last few weeks at the reading stage, getting to grips with theoretical models/frameworks that can be used to support my projects.
As this is a portfolio PhD, the research is already completed so I am effectively at the writing up stage. My enrolment is for one year and I am expected to complete my thesis within that timeframe to then submit before the viva; however, as with all PhDs, there is an option to extend if required.
The work is expected to be equivalent to the more established full-time three-year PhD both in standards and length of thesis. However, the main write up is a 15,000-word philosophical underpinning that ties the work together.
The appeal of this option for me is the relatively short timeframe that it can be completed in, but the challenge is that it is a part-time, one-year programme, and for the majority of the time I will be continuing in my NHS role. However, I am very fortunate to have the support of my department, with some allocated study leave and a revised job plan during the year to enable me to progress with the PhD.
Paul O'Riordan, consultant radiographer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
I will reach the milestone of 25 years of practice this year, and for 22 of those years I have been involved in the musculoskeletal (MSK) image reporting, from radiographic reporting to MRI and then ultrasound MSK practice.
I have enjoyed the journey of gaining a deeper understanding of MSK anatomy, physiology and pathology; understanding how it manifests on imaging and the challenges in the subtlety and overlapping features of disease.
For the majority of my career, I have focused on gaining the qualifications and training that have facilitated expert clinical practice, understanding also that providing teaching, leadership, quality improvement and audit are integral elements of developing expert clinical practice because of the interwoven nature of the pillars of advanced and consultant practice.
Through my practice I developed an interest in chronic MSK conditions and their role in comorbidity, and this informed my choice of MSc topic. As a consultant radiographer I want to ensure that I deliver consultancy across all four pillars of practice including research, and having developed my understanding of my area of interest I pursued a PhD.
I spent a couple of years engaging with institutions offering different paths to PhD and it was through these discussions that I realised a research PhD was the right path for me. On reflection I think it was the journey to producing new knowledge and the prospect of learning skills that can support this as an ongoing process that appealed to my curious nature. However, although I had support from my imaging department colleagues, I could not identify my path to achieving a Phd.
I applied unsuccessfully for an NIHR pre-doctoral programme offering support in developing a PhD proposal that can be taken forward for PhD funding application. I learned a great deal from this process, including completing a PhD-level interview, as well as what projects are more and less likely to be considered for funding and the importance of a mentorship team.
I discovered the Welcome Trust funded PhD programme – the Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Doctoral Training Programme – and the two clear ambitions of the programme appealed to me: i) to tackle inequalities in healthcare provision, and ii) to address inequalities in academic opportunities for healthcare professionals. This programme invites applications for a number of research projects with academic supervisory teams from the associated institutions. I was successful in my application and I am enjoying my first year of the programme.
My research project involves working with the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre respiratory and infectious disease theme in association with the University of Leicester. I spoke with the project supervisor and previous fellows before applying, and through this discussion identified how the unique voice of a radiographer could bring a different perspective to my project: looking to characterise phenotypic biomarkers of sarcopaenia and frailty by looking in detail at measures of physical function, body composition and muscle across patients with chronic respiratory disease.
This project will develop my understanding of MSK conditions in the context of comorbidity, and MSK imaging in a predictive and not only diagnostic context, as well as improving my understanding of the use of AI in imaging.
The ability to consider my current and future research in the context of health inequality is not something that I might have achieved without this programme. The three-year full-time format was important to me for the stage of my career but also for other reasons, such as avoiding burnout by attempting to maintain the responsibility of a consultant practitioner role while completing a PhD, as well as understanding that a longer part-time format would not suit me as an individual.
My programme, as with some other funded programmes, comes with both a training and research budget and this is something to consider.
I am somewhat surprised by the degree of personal development that is part of the programme, offering skills from academic writing to communication, statistics to patient and public involvement and co-production, which will benefit my career going forward.
I work in a multi-disciplinary environment with peer support from more than 20 other PhD fellows at different stages of progression, as well as medical and non-medical clinical academic and academic staff. This environment has been very supportive in all aspects of understanding the requirements of working towards a PhD. We benefit from presentations of locally completed research as well as journal club, where the critique of published work is demonstrated by both established academic staff and PhD students.
The programme involves a 20 per cent clinical component, with the aim of developing clinical academic careers, allowing me to maintain my clinical skills, which was an important factor for me. I can see there are challenges for NHS staff entering programmes like this, with questions of how to backfill roles for the duration of the PhD. I am fortunate that my departmental team were supportive and looked at the skills that I will gain and bring back to my role and to my trust going forward.
On reflection, I cannot say that there is a right or wrong stage of a career to complete a PhD or a right or wrong format of PhD to pursue, as there are pros and cons for all the choices that can be made. Important factors to explore include the resources and opportunities that are available, both in building up to and applying for a PhD as well as identifying your mentorship team. It is also important for us to appreciate the value that radiographers can add when we bring our unique perspective to research teams both within and beyond imaging boundaries.
More about doctoral funding
The SoR offers a doctoral fellowship grant, funded by the College of Radiographers. Find out more here.
Image credit: Getty Images
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