Executive Summary The Academic Track for Internship in Ireland is a combined clinical and academic training programme which offers newly qualified doctors experience in clinical research, medical education or healthcare leadership from the earliest stage of clinical training. Twenty-four Academic interns are appointed competitively per annum. During a twelve-month period, they undertake one three-month academic rotation during which they are allocated protected time amounting to 50% of the working week (160 hours p.a.). This time is utilised to progress an authentic research project, which they have designed themselves and execute with support from the network. Academic interns also benefit from mentorship, a named supervisor, a €2,000 bursary and access to study days and seminars throughout the year. Three further rotations taken over 9 months are completed as per standard internship, ensuring sufficient on-call, clinical exposure and time to complete the educational and experiential competencies expected of internship. In its fourth year, the academic track has been offered to almost 100 interns and completed by 72. It is successful beyond early expectations with sustained interest from undergraduate students. Academic interns express high levels of satisfaction with the research rotation and the mentorship received, rate their clinical experience as excellent and are far more likely than their peers to remain in Ireland after internship, the majority plan to do so long term. There is 100% uptake of posts. Academic interns have produced over 100 research publications while undertaking the programme. Almost all have either presented or published their work; many have done both, with over half winning awards and accolades for research undertaken during the intern year. Their academic outputs are double what is typical for their peers on a comparable clinical academic training programme overseas, but this has been achieved in half the time. For the majority the experience has affirmed their desire to pursue a career in clinical academia. A review of the projects demonstrates significant contribution to traditional disciplines such as oncology, orthopaedics and paediatrics but also impactful contribution to emerging areas such as digital health, medical devices, machine learning and virtual reality approaches to care. In this report, we describe the aims of the academic track and alignment between programme design and objectives. We outline the recruitment process, its reliability and gender balance. We detail Academic outcomes and outputs from the first two cohorts and provide a brief update on the impact of COVID-19 on the programme. Scientific literature and input from key stakeholders highlight a need to sustain and grow such a programme in Ireland and consolidate its position at the forefront of integrated career pathways. We describe our vision for the future of the academic track and make recommendations for its future including a small expansion in numbers to meet demand, along with a targeted approach to increasing opportunities in emerging and cross-disciplinary areas. We also recommend investment in academic and administrative support to the programme and creation of a fund to support academic events and other structural elements such as a dedicated website. With the ongoing support of NDTP, the Medical Intern Board and the University medical schools, it is timely and desirable to embed this programme for the long term and make our shared vision to provide high quality opportunities for integrated training at the earliest career stage a reality.
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