I started my academic general practice career a few years ago, after jumping at the chance to complete an academic registrar term with the University of Melbourne's Department of General Practice. Of course, I was initially hesitant that I would have the skills or ability to competently complete the research and teaching components of the year... but I shouldn't have worried, as the support and frequent assistance from more senior staff made the transition easy.

I approached the academic term as an opportunity to find out if academic life suited me - both professionally and personally. For me, I found combining clinical work with academic work gives me the best of both worlds, with each aspect complementing the other.

During my first year, I was heavily involved in teaching medical students about clinical skills such as basic examination and consulting skills, as well as involved with VMA's registrar teaching. I have since continued both of these aspects of teaching, as I have found then extremely rewarding. I am now regularly involved in lecturing, tutoring and hosting medical students in my general practice.

I am now still part of the Department of General Practice, working towards a Master of Medicine research thesis. My research topic focuses on the medical education and training of GP registrars, regarding management of patients with alcohol-related problems. This study all began during my initial GP academic term and has slowly grown into a bigger project. There's a lot to learn about general practice research and the academic post provided me with ample opportunities to learn these, as a novice, with plenty of support and encouragement.

If you are considering an academic term, my advice would be take the opportunity and run with it! It will certainly open doors to opportunities you haven't yet thought about!

-- Paul Grinzi

Being an Academic Registrar has really opened up my career options and introduced me to new non-clinical areas that complement my clinical practice beautifully. My special interest is acupuncture, and I joined the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne primarily to conduct research (a systematic review) on acupuncture for pregnancy-related pelvic and back pain. This turned into a trans-continental affair with me co-authoring with experts from the UK and USA! Two years later I am back in the Department doing a Masters of Medicine by research, now with a publication under my belt, and plan to conduct a pilot study on acupuncture for hot flushes. Not bad for someone who had no idea about research prior to her academic term.

Although I joined mainly to do research, I found that the teaching that I did at the Department enhanced my own clinical skills, and I really enjoyed tutoring and even being an examiner! In fact, teaching the undergraduates how to take a history and perform an examination ended up being the best preparation for my Fellowship clinical exams!

Before my Academic Registrar experience, I was struggling with maintaining the (com)passion levels needed for ten clinical sessions a week. I found the balance of academic and clinical work both stimulating and relaxing at the same time, and the quality of my clinical practice definitely improved significantly.

If you're considering academia, I highly encourage it, especially if you have a special interest, feel that clinical work is not quite satisfying enough, enjoy learning new skills, and like to mix it up a little. However, it does involve a little bit of panic at the beginning ("I have no idea what I'm doing!"), you need a wonderful supervisor (mine was fantastic), and you need to be very self-directed. It may open the door to opportunities you never dreamt possible - so go ahead and dip your toe in the water.

-- Carolyn Ee