In this episode, Sophie speaks with Dr Tom Purchase, a First5 GP and a Health and Care Research Wales NIHR Doctoral Fellow at Cardiff University. Tom describes his career journey into his doctoral fellowship, where to look and how to secure some funding opportunities, and the benefits of the role.
Top tips
Be Curious and ask questions - Tom’s journey began by simply asking a GP colleague what she was doing in her academic GP role. Don’t underestimate the power of curiosity and conversation, as most people are happy to share their experiences and may connect you with others or current projects.
Seek early opportunities even without prior research experience - You don’t need formal research qualifications to start. Tom didn’t have any before his postgraduate certificate. He built experience by joining projects, showing interest, and asking how he could get involved. Take initiative and look for small roles on existing studies.
Apply for small-scale research funding early on - Start small and go from there. Tom received a grant from the RCGP Scientific Foundation Board which is perfect for early-career GPs wanting to trial an idea. These short-term grants help you develop a track record and build your portfolio for larger funding later (e.g. NIHR , Health and Care Research Wales etc).
Be Aware of the Challenges - The role is not without some challenges such as:
- Job security: Early academic roles are often fixed term
- Financial hit (initially): Academic salaries may be lower than full-time clinical GP work.
- Juggling roles: You need flexibility and resilience to balance deadlines with clinical responsibilities and personal life.
Appreciate the benefits – variety, impact and autonomy - Academic GP work brings a number of benefits such as:
- Variety: Every week can be different, for example, teaching, research, and conferences.
- Autonomy: You can shape your projects and personal development based on your interests.
- Wider impact: Your research can change policy or clinical practice nationally or globally.
Tom’s experiences even led him to the
WHO in Geneva—a unique opportunity to contribute to global health initiatives.
Master organisation and time management -Academic work can involve different demands to clinical work, including project planning, literature reviews, participant recruitment, writing, and meeting deadlines.. Being organised and managing your own time becomes a crucial skill.
Further reading:
How RCGP support your research (including information on the Scientific Foundation Board):
rcgp.org.uk/representing-you/research-at-rcgp/how-rcgp-support-your-research
National Institute for Health and Care Research:
nihr.ac.uk
The Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC):
sapc.ac.uk
Primary Care Academic Collaborative (PACT):
gppact.org
Tom's fellowship project
IncorporAting parental health aDVOcaCy when mAnaging unwell Children in primarY care (ADVOCACY): a multi-methods systems approach to co-develop a complex intervention | Health Care Research Wales
Dr Tom Purchase is a General Practitioner and a Health and Care Research Wales NIHR Doctoral Fellow at Cardiff University.
Tom works with the Patient Safety team at the Division of Population Medicine where his research has focussed on exploring patient safety data to generate recommendations to improve healthcare safety for vulnerable groups.
Tom has an interest in applying systems-thinking through the principles of Human Factors and Ergonomics to patient safety research to better understand system complexity within healthcare.
Tom’s current fellowship aims to understand how and where parental advocacy takes place within primary care. The project will explore how parents speaking up for their child can be better supported and incorporated into the management of unwell children. This will inform the co-development of system changes to help parents and healthcare staff work together to reduce healthcare-associated harms.
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