Paricipating in research is mandatory in the psychiatry higher training in the UK. The current view is that research should be embedded in the National Health Services (NHS) and that all trainees should have some involvement in research.

We aimed to assess the attitudes and satisfaction of trainees with the research activities in their training. We also aimed to identify the challenges they face and their views on how to improve the research experience.

We conducted an online survey of all General Adult Psychiatry (GAP) higher trainees in the Northwest of England. It was followed by Focus Groups during the regional training day involving 35 trainees. They were asked to reflect on the challenges to trainee's research and come out with solutions.

31 trainees returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 66% of the GAP trainees. 83% of the trainees were participating in research. Half were in the preparatory stages, the rest progressed further. Of all participants 43% thought research should be part of the curriculum and 60% were satisfied with the research experience. The common challenges were time constraints, the difficulty in identifying a suitable project and lack of training in research methodology.

The provision of protected research time within the training is important. It is crucial to find innovative ways to link trainees to researchers and research centre. We advocate the adoption of a new policy with three research streams reflecting trainees desired level of involvement in research.