This weeks BMERG blog is a spotlight on the Incubator for Clinical Educator Research (ClinEdR). Hosted by the University of Newcastle, the Incubator is an NIHR initiative launched in 2020 to develop ClinEdR as an academic field.
What is the Incubator?
The mission and aim of the ClinEdR Incubator is to support and promote careers in clinical education research through building a multi-professional community of practice. It extends across all health professions and aims to bring people together to develop their ideas, build collaborations and provide a network of developing experience in the field.
What is Clinical Education Research?
This is one of the most fundamental questions and tends to have a myriad of different definitions and terms including clinical, medical, and healthcare professionals education research to name just a few. Often the word ‘clinical’ can drive the idea that this sort of research must have a direct impact in clinical practice and thus can seem to exclude certain areas of research in education.
The team at the Incubator have tried to broaden this idea, embracing all sorts of different research that can and does have an impact on societal health needs by “enhancing the education, training and development of health and social care practitioners, and the organisations within which they work and learn“. They highlight a number of different areas in which individuals and teams may be undertaking clinical education research such as:
- Pedagogical research
- Planning and design of educational programmes
- Regulation processes
- Organisation context of learning, such as learning environments and workforce inclusivity
- Learner experience and careers
They also consider that this whilst this type of research may have a direct clinical impact for patients it may achieve impact in other ways such as benefiting clinicians in their training, influencing health and education systems and through challenging and developing standards.
How can the Incubator help those who want to engage in Clinical Education Research?
The incubator is a fantastic place to start regardless of where you are in your ClinEdR journey. It offers a variety of resource and links via it’s website such as:
- signposting to postgraduate courses in clinical education
- links to organisations for clinical education innovation and research across disciplines
- lists of journals that publish clinical education research
- running incubator networking and training events
- offering a directory of ClinEdR researchers to help find collaborators or supervision for projects
So why not take a look at their resources, find out who works in ClinEdR in your area and sign up to be part of the growing Incubator network!
You can learn more about the Incubator at clinicaleducationresearch.org/ on Twitter/X at @ClinEdResearch or email the team at clinical.education.incubator@newcastle.ac.uk