Clinician researchers are health professionals engaged in both patient care and research.
As such, they are uniquely placed to provide insights into their clinical practice and research, implementing evidence-based, best practice for their patients, and addressing clinically relevant problems through research.
The Health Translation Advisory Committee (HTAC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have previously explored concerns related to clinician researcher career pathways through a research project undertaken by ORIMA Research in 20191; however only 1% of research respondents identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. As such, the NHMRC’s Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus (PCIC) and HTAC identified the need to undertake a project specifically with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clinician researchers, to better understand their specific career experiences, enablers and barriers, as well as supports required to attract and retain this audience as clinician researchers.