Respiratory Research Fellow

Job overview

This post represents an exciting opportunity to join the  existing respiratory team within the University Hospitals of  Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. This is a new post supported by funding from the National Institute of Health  Research (NIHR) to help deliver high quality clinical research  studies to the population 350,000 across North Lancashire,  South Cumbria and the Furness peninsula.  The respiratory service at UHMB has undergone major  transition over the last few years with exciting new services  and community integration. In particular the service now  offers sub-specialist care in Interstitial Lung Disease and  Severe Asthma including assessment, prescription and  monitoring of NHS England Specialist Commissioned drugs  via regional clinical networks.  This post would involve a mixture of clinical work (support for  respiratory inpatient work at Royal Lancaster Infirmary,  attending specialist clinics in ILD or severe asthma, and  preparation and attendance at relevant regional specialist  multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings) , clinical research  work (supporting the delivery of NIHR portfolio research  studies in respiratory medicine). There will also be the  opportunity to engage with teaching of medical students from  Lancaster University Medical School. Participation in general  medical on call duties (with appropriate remuneration) can be  negotiated if desired.

Main duties of the job

The advertised posts would focus on severe asthma and ILD.  Both of these subspecialties are part of regional networks with neighbouring organizations including Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. The successful applicant would gain experience in the assessment, investigation and management of patients with severe asthma, inducible laryngeal obstruction, complex breathlessness, and/or ILD including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, Connective Tissue Disease related ILD (with access to a joint ILD/Rheumatology clinic) and drug induced ILD. Both services identify and prescribe specialist commissioned drugs via  the respective regional specialist MDTs and the post would involve active  preparation and presentation in these meetings.

This would be an ideal post for a candidate hoping to follow a  specialist career in respiratory medicine. The post would  allow the successful applicant to gain valuable additional  experience prior to application for a formal training rotation  and to build research and educational skills to support further  career progression.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main duties would be a mixture of clinical work (support for respiratory inpatient work at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, attending specialist clinics in ILD or Severe Asthma, and preparation and attendance at relevant regional multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, clinical research work (supporting the delivery of NIHR portfolio and commercial research studies in respiratory medicine). There will also be the opportunity to engage with teaching of medical students from Lancaster University Medical School. Participation in general medical on call duties (with appropriate remuneration) can be negotiated if desired.