Table 2.

Overview of the themes and sub-themes from the focus group

Theme	Sub-themes
Clinical training lacked structure and support	Academic: well-supported, would benefit from being more bespoke.
	Clinical: variable, placement issues, lack of formal structure for supervision
	Lack of coherence between academic and clinical settings
	Clinical supervision and line management
Existing knowledge and experience appeared to act as both an enabler and inhibitor for ACPs, with implications for confidence	Pattern recognition, learning backwards
	Identifying own knowledge/learning gaps
	Competence and confidence
The ACP role and associated responsibilities are poorly understood by ACPs and the wider medical profession	Variability across organisations
	Lack of awareness and skill utilisation
	Struggle to fit in and identify/explain the role
The ACP role is important, but changes are required to provide security to the role in the future	Clinical career progression
	Barriers to development of role in the future
	Accreditation