Journeys and pathways: exploring the role of professional development advice and educational guidance for practitioners expressing interest in research

Background Recent policy reports highlight the need to increase the number of primary care practitioners with academic experience, research skills and higher level qualifications. Various courses, training schemes and awards are available but it is not clear what advice and support might best assist practitioners to access and successfully pursue such opportunities. Aim To understand and document the professional development support needs o f primary care practitioners who wish to develop their own paths forward in research. Method A research adviser based in the Unit of General Practice, University of Cambridge invited enquiries on any aspect of research activity from pra ctitioners. Summaries of contacts, enquiries and other relevant issues were prepared on a monthly basis. Through the process of offering help and thro ugh reflexive engagement with the summaries we sought to understand and doc ument practitioner support needs. Findings Many enquiries from practitioners concerned professional developme nt. Practitioners requested help before embarking on a new course of action and during the course of their progress along a chosen track. The advice r equired went beyond the provision of information about the opportunities wh ich existed and often evolved into a mentoring relationship. The impact of the advice offered can be viewed in terms of contribution to the journey of the individual practitioner and contribution to nationally recognized stra tegic aims. Conclusion The need for professional development advice and educational gui dance for those interested in research may be more widespread than apprecia ted. If this need is to be successfully addressed we should consider the sk ills and expertise required of advisers and the specific outcomes to be ant icipated from their roles.