Making clinical research a robust career path.
This commentary relates to three articles in this issue of Academic Medicine, which address the vision of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for clinical and translational research. Those articles encompass the first successful Clinical and Translational Science Award applicants' stated aims for their programs, the success of a Harvard training program, and the case for exposing medical students to research experiences. The positive recommendations each makes are timely and give the author an opportunity to draw attention to related NIH education and outreach programs. Meeting the NIH's mission "to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability" will need a coordinated approach to ensure that health care workers are aware of the importance of research-and that clinical researchers see a secure, research-related career structure in academic health centers.
Hayward
Anthony R
AR
Division for Clinical Research Resources, NCRR, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. haywarda@mail.nih.gov