Information for Allied Health Professionals

People with dementia are supported by a wide range of other health professions, such as nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. However, dementia is a common condition and nearly all medical professions that involve working with older adults will include some element of working with people with dementia.

Recent work has started to understand barriers to nurses and allied health professionals wishing to combine research with their clinical careers. In response the NIHR has established a new Clinical Academic Training (CAT) pathway for nurses, midwives and allied heath professionals.

Alzheimer's Society also offers Clinical Training Fellowships that are also open to nursing and allied health professionals. Potential applicants should have completed their professional training and hold a Master's degree, or equivalent postgraduate research-oriented qualification.

Other funding agencies advertise Clinical Training awards that may be open to nurses or AHPs:

• The Medical Research Council has Clinician Training Fellowships that are open to nurses and AHPs that hold a research master’s degree. 
• The Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowships are open to clinical psychology graduates. 

Other resources

• Visit Alzheimer's Society Health Professionals pages
• The Royal College of Nursing host a variety of resources about academic careers in nursing and the role of research nurses.
• The Royal College of Nursing also hosts a wide number of resources about dementia, though not specifically about research
• The Royal College of Nursing is currently hosting a Dementia Nursing Research Taskforce
• The charity Dementia UK support funding of Admiral Nurses, which also can offer a route to be involved in dementia research through the Admiral Nurse Academy.