Combined clinical and academic training programmes invest in people early in their career who can implement their acquired skills throughout the major part of their career. The valuable translation from practice to research and vice versa becomes a quality inherent in clinician researchers who have finished their combined program. Whilst combined research training in General Practice has developed strongly and consistently over the last decade, compared to other specialities, research capacity remains relatively modest especially at the doctoral level and post-doctoral level.

Basic research in primary care develops the conceptual understanding of the content processes organisation and outcomes of primary care. Professor Watt's report describes why it matters. SAPC response describes the challenges for the APC community to make it happen.

PhoCus - The group for Primary Healthcare Scientists led by Christine Bond & Sandra Eldridge

Public & Patient Involvement (PPI) within academic primary care - This is an important topic in academia to ensure that research remains relevant to the British public and that patients have a say in what researchers work on. SAPC has been involved in a national project to develop a publication that showcases good examples of PPI in primary care research and provide advice and inspiration to others. Led by Benjamin Brown

SAPC is committed to supporting primary care researchers throughout their career and especially at the earlier stages. We have an early career academic working group, comprised of members of the SAPC executive committee, and external members, both clinical and primary healthcare scientists, researchers and educationalists. We work as a group to ensure that SAPC addresses the challenges facing early career academics in primary care. The group is led by Helen Atherton .

A major component of our new communication strategy is to make everything easier for our memebers. So they know what is going on and what SAPC can do for them. With this in mind we have made a significant investment in a new website . The website group is led by Nathan Hill .

At a time of significant change and challenge in the world of primary care, we need critical creative ideas to help find solutions. SAPC has recognised the need to expand the capacity for blue sky thinking and basic research in primary care. Conferences offer a key opportunity to bring people together – to create a ‘festival for ideas’, stimulating new conversations and new thoughts as well as critiques of existing ideas. So in 2012, SAPC launched its Dangerous Ideas Soapbox - drawing inspiration from the model started at the Sydney Opera House and St James Ethics Centre which brings speakers...

Our unique discipline brings together teachers, researchers, and practitioners from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to promote excellence in the development, delivery and evaluation of primary care policy and practice.