ABSTRACT

Health professionals with research interests usually follow a career path that is different from those in other academic disciplines and therefore often acquire research training in different ways. Postgraduate academic training really means further development of thinking skills and builds towards research training. Masters level programmes used to always include some research component, and doctoral level degrees always meant a substantially or entirely research-based experience. Research training may be more relevant to career change, as a combination of professional and academic training can produce a different kind of person, who may develop a broader set of skills to those who remain in narrower professional life. The most important reason to consider undertaking research training is personal satisfaction. Early research funding is almost guaranteed from the host team, as projects usually form part of the broader research programme of the supervisors.