Dr Christopher Floyd, registrar in general internal medicine and National Institute for Health Research clinical lecturer, King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
What do you do? and what is a typical week for you?
The standard clinical pharmacology response to this question is that there is no ‘typical week’, and it is a sentiment that I would echo. As an academic trainee my current clinical responsibilities involve only a few night shifts per month as the medical registrar on-call and ad hoc outpatient clinics. In a ‘typical week’ I will attend at least one committee meeting that may be local (DTC, APC) or national (BPS, RCP, NICE) in its remit. I lecture a few times per month (undergraduate and postgraduate) and may also contribute to exam question writing or the bedside teaching of medical students and/or junior colleagues. The remainder of my week is usually spent undertaking research which, depending on what stage projects are at, may involve background reading for hypothesis generation, study design, patient recruitment, laboratory work, data analysis or manuscript writing. Other activities that I will undertake most months include peer-review of manuscripts and/or grant proposals, audit/QIP and writing grant submissions.
What qualifications and experience do you have?
I studied pre-clinical medicine at the University of Cambridge, before completing clinical studies at the Royal Free and University College Medical School (now re-branded as UCL Medical School) in 2007. It was during ACCS (acute medicine) training at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) that I re-discovered an interest in research. I read for a PhD in the ‘Proteomics of Aspirin Resistance’ at King’s College London (KCL) as my next career move. This experience introduced me to the many opportunities of clinical pharmacology. On award of my SpR training number I was assigned to St Bartholomew’s and The London Hospital, where I spent two years training in cardiovascular medicine and hypertension. I have now returned to KCL/GSTT as a NIHR Clinical Lecturer.
What’s the most interesting aspect of your job?
I have a huge amount of autonomy as to how I spend my time. I am therefore able to explore areas that interest me whether they are clinical, research, education or policy. This level of job flexibility is rarely seen in other specialties and was one of the major draws of clinical pharmacology.
What are your research interests?
My research interests lie in cardiology and hypertension. I hope to construct a job plan that involves clinical work, research and teaching. However, funding is certainly not guaranteed and so I may need to explore other options such as a more clinically focused career or to step out into industry or regulatory agencies.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone seeking a career in clinical pharmacology?
You can only develop a portfolio career by being involved in a lot of different activities and then subsequently using experience to select those where you can add value. Say ‘yes’ to most opportunities at the early career stage. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know in which center or in what field you want to work long-term. Just make sure that you are building transferable skills whilst you explore options. Publications are the currency of career progression. Take time to plan work so that even if (almost) nothing works, you still have a dataset of value.