*by BiteLabs Fellowship Lead Rhydian Harris*
A few weeks ago I wrote about the parallels between my old job as a doctor, and the job I do now; product management. Recently I've spent time talking to clinicians who are looking to branch out from typical NHS roles, and contribute to patient care in newer, tech-enabled ways. A question that often comes up in these conversations is 'what job can I do?' — sometimes accompanied by the clinician's mistaken belief that they're not qualified to do anything else.
So, here's a list of roles and jobs that healthcare professionals can, and do, successfully move into. Jobs, roles and titles overlap, and can be called different things. The list isn't exhaustive, so please do get in touch in the comments if there are other roles we should be listing!
An important point to highlight is that if your qualifications don't exactly match the job description you're looking at, apply anyway! Recruiting skilled and passionate people is always a challenge for companies. A hiring manager generally would rather someone passionate without all the attributes on the job description than someone fully qualified but without the drive to make a difference.
Clinician
Example roles: GP at Doctor Care Anywhere, GP at Livi, GP/ANP at Babylon.
This is perhaps the most obvious role, and closest to regular NHS clinical work. The nature of the work will of course depend on your clinical specialism. Being technology focussed companies, roles will revolve around video consultations, so being comfortable with that format is essential.
Most healthcare is delivered in primary care, so it's little wonder that patient facing roles in tech also lean towards primary care. However, there are plenty of companies needing a clinical workforce where a CCT in General Practice is not a pre-requisite.
Lead Clinician — (Associate) Medical Director — CQC Lead
This role can be viewed as an extension of the clinical role described above, but leaning more into service management. Duties will be familiar to anyone who's worked on clinical governance; setting and auditing standards, building relationships with regulators, setting up escalation pathways, line management responsibilities and recruitment.
Clinical Lead — Clinical Safety Officer — Clinical Product Manager
Example roles: Clinical Lead (GP) at AccuRx, Clinical Lead at Concentric, Clinical Product Manager & Researcher at Vinehealth, Clinical Specialist at Google.
- •Note the distinction between a lead clinician and a clinical lead! This latter type of role can be thought of as a clinician working internally with different business functions, rather than in a patient-facing clinical role.
- •Typical responsibilities include:
- 3.Working with a software development team to provide context and understanding to the project
- 4.Ensuring any content produced is clinically sound
- 5.Clinical safety — documenting the risks to patient care that are inherent in any software product
Writing and Content
Example Roles: Medical Writer at Roche, Associate Medical Writer at IPG Health Communications.
Any content that's put in front of patients needs quality checking by a clinician. Medical writing can be a great area to explore for a clinician looking for their first non-clinical role. It can be done alongside a full-time clinical schedule, allowing you to work flexibly without the commitment of leaving your current role.
Summary
Searching for a new role outside of traditional clinical pathways can be daunting. Hopefully, the above summary is a useful overview of what's out there. Medic Footprints and Doctorpreneurs are also fantastic resources. Good luck!
