Training in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) is defined in the specialty training curriculum and is usually combined with training in General Internal Medicine and other dual specialty training programmes are possible. Key aspects of specialty training include undertaking and interpreting clinical investigations including clinical trials; optimising the therapeutic use of drugs; detection and analysis of adverse drug effects; contribution to medicines evaluation and management of poisoning. Trainees will usually develop a clinical specialty interest (eg cardiovascular risk management, toxicology).

The main careers in CPT are:

• Academic: senior lecturer/ reader/ professor in a medical school with an honorary NHS consultant contract. Most CPT academics have a subspecialty interest such as hypertension, oncology, epilepsy, gastroenterology, paediatrics etc.
• NHS consultant. There are a few NHS consultant jobs in pure CPT, including ones in Poisons Units. Many more trained clinical pharmacologists have NHS consultant jobs in other specialties such as general acute medicine or cardiovascular medicine. CPT expertise is often put to use in drug and therapeutics committees, research ethics committees and formulary committees. Such a consultant typically spends about half their time in supervision of acute medical admissions, responsibility for medical inpatients and running outpatient clinics.
• Pharmaceutical industry.
• Drug regulation (eg MHRA).

Entry into Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics training is possible following successful completion of both a foundation programme and a core training programme. There are two core training programmes for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics training:

• Core Medical Training (CMT)
• Acute Care Common Stem - Acute Medicine (ACCS-AM)