Clinical academics need superfans

A post by Katrina Bannigan. A superfan is the enthusiastic fan who queues for tickets days in advance, follows the object of their passion tirelessly and continues their support through good times and bad. Superfans are quite extreme because of their level of dedication. You may find it strange that I am suggesting super fandom as an approach to facilitating change within a professional context but I genuinely believe it is going to take the dedication of the superfan to pave the way to the clinical academic role becoming an accepted and established career pathway within the Allied Health Professions (AHPs).  

Only good for a cool box?

Are you a clinical academic feeling you’ve not quite managed to make the clinical academic equation work? Feeling a bit sad, guilty, inadequate? For sure it must be you not getting, since so many others seem to have cracked it?

The Discomfort

”i have spent a lot of time musing about (and avoiding writing) this blog. In typical researcher style, I have read the previous blogs, considered the most appropriate approach and reflected on why I find it so difficult to get started.” Dr @VikkiSnaith writes in this guest post.

NHS managers and clinical academics: a match made in…?

In the past 15 years, I’ve worked with a range of NHS managers at different levels across a number of organisations. I’ve also mentored a sizable pool of further clinician academics working with their managers. Reflecting back, what realisations would I like to share with both NHS managers and clinical academics?

What am I, and what should I do?

What am I? Where am I going? Am I actually achieving anything worth while? What should I be doing?

These questions have grown louder and louder in my mind over the past year, and as I recently read Jemma’s post it did not go un-noticed that some of these might be questions inherently built into being a clinical academic. So I thought I would share my ponderings of these questions, in what seems to have turned out a somewhat personal post.

Embarrassed by success

Do you sometimes find your (academic or clinical) success embarrasing? Even when you know it’s well deserved and you are proud of what you’ve done or achieved?

Do as I write, not as I do

During a recent clinical shift in the ambulance service, I attended a patient. You know, doing the thing that people consider to be real work (as opposed to the rest of what I do). And something about this patient set me thinking.

Talking professional

Today was my clinical day. In comparison to my usual clinical days, it was an especially good one.

Adventuring beetle

If I was to describe my lived experience of my everyday working life, it would be something like this: imagine a small beetle with the pondering brain of Winnie the Pooh (a brain where everything is entirely possible) and the energy of Tigger.

Hello, I’m Spock

For the last few years, I’ve been a Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, an NHS Service Manager and a senior AHP. Now, I’ve begun to be a Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow. So, what’s the difference?