Research is an important, and formally assessed, component of physician training in Australasia. Experience in the development and implementation of clinical research is a crucial aspect of professional development in medicine. In order to continue to improve clinical practice, and hence patient outcomes, there must be an ongoing commitment to clinical research, and education to enable specialist registrars to develop their own research programs and develop the skills to critically analyse the results of research published by others. However, the interface between clinical practice and clinical research is inherently complex. There exist a plurality of stakeholders involved in the funding, design and implementation of a clinical trial, and the eventual utilization of the intervention being investigated. The transition from clinical practice to clinical research is challenging for many specialist training registrars, but ultimately, is crucial for their professional development