Starting Out in Clinical Academia: Reflections from an MSK Physio

I’ve been meaning to write some of this down for a while, partly to reflect on my own shift from full-time clinical work into the research space, and partly to offer something useful for others thinking about going down a similar path.

I’m Mike, an Advanced Practice MSK Physio working in an Orthopaedic Interface in North Devon. I live locally with my family, and outside of work I spend a lot of time chasing after two young boys, getting in the sea when I can, and enjoying the space and family life here.

Originally from Plymouth, I trained and worked there before ‘moving North’ in 2016. I’ve worked mostly in the NHS, with a couple of years in private practice earlier on. I completed my MSc in Physiotherapy at Cardiff in 2021, which I did part-time while working. That gave me the chance to focus on the kinds of research I was seeing as directly relevant to clinical practice: implementation, service evaluation, and applying evidence in real-world settings.

That’s where my interest in research really started. I carried out a quality improvement project on ACL rehab in our service and later led an evaluation of our FCP model in North Devon. Both projects led to publications and gave me the confidence to pursue research more formally. My MSc dissertation, a scoping review on psychosocial assessments in MSK care, was also published, and that’s what sparked the idea of pushing further down the clinical academic route.

In December 2024, I started a part-time NIHR Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (PCAF). It runs over two years and gives me protected time to focus on developing a PhD proposal, building research skills, and engaging more deeply with the clinical academic community. I’m particularly interested in how we apply psychosocial thinking in MSK services and how that’s actually implemented in day-to-day practice.

Clinically, I’ve worked mostly in lower limb interface roles over the last few years. I completed the HEE digital badge for Advanced Practice, and I’m now working through spinal competencies as part of my role. I’m enjoying the variety and the challenge and I’m keen to keep developing both sides of the role: clinical and academic.

This blog is just a space to share some of that. Nothing polished or overly formal; more just practical reflections and advice based on what I’ve learned (and mistakes I have made) along the way.

I’ll post occasionally on topics like:

• How to get started in research as a clinician
• Applying to NIHR schemes like PCAF and DCAF
• Advanced practice
• Setting up PPIE work in practice
• Evaluation, QI and implementation in MSK care

If any of that’s relevant to you; whether you’re in Physio, another AHP role, or just curious about clinical research…then hopefully you’ll find something useful here.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to get in touch or suggest topics if there’s something specific you want covered.