Monitoring the clinician scientist scheme.

The National Clinician Scientist Scheme was devised to enable future leaders of academic medicine to continue post-doctoral research and at the same time complete their specialist registrar training. The awards are generously funded by the major grant-giving bodies and are held in a variety of specialties in academic departments across the UK. Award winners are given the suffix A to add to their existing national training number (NTN) achieved in open competition in the relevant specialty. The deanery whence they came is permitted an additional NTN to be awarded to the clinician scientist's successor in the deanery specialty training programme. The clinician scientist's further clinical training is arranged on an individual basis to dovetail with their ongoing research.