Our Trust has nurses, midwives and AHPs who are developing and undertaking research. However, we also have a large number of NMAHPs with a desire to do research or develop research skills.
NMAHP Research Leadership
Led by Professor Christi Deaton and Sara Jones we have united nurses, midwives and AHPs from across the Trust in a ‘leadership group’ to lead the way in cultivating NMAHP research capacity and culture. With the guidance of our strategic plan and support from partners such as the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), we are developing platforms to share research training and funding opportunities, support clinical-academic careers, develop research skills and establish a culture where research alongside clinical practice is the norm for nurse, midwives and AHPs.
Fellowships
ACT and the BRC provide a clinical research fellowship programme for NMAHPs working in the Trust. This provides time, funding and mentoring for NMAHPs to develop research skills and apply for funding such as the HEE/NIHR integrated clinical academic programme. I am fortunate to be undertaking one of these fellowships, giving me the opportunity to apply for doctoral funding.
Training and mentoring
We provide training and mentoring opportunities for NMAHPs wishing to develop research skills and pursue a clinical-academic career, e.g. monthly NMAHP fellowship meetings, the Cambridge nurses in research group meetings and workshops delivered by the University of Cambridge’s Clinical Nursing Research Group.
Social media and online sharing
We have created a twitter account, @cuh_research, to share NMAHP research opportunities and knowledge. We are working with the Trust’s communication team to add a ‘NMAHP research’ tab to the Trust’s website.
Annual Conference
We hold an annual NMAHP Research conference to showcase NMAHP research, with a different theme each year. Last year’s theme was ‘research and practice: making the connection’ and this year’s is ‘breaking down barriers’.
#WhyWeDoResearch: I am involved in research because I feel passionately that this leads to better care.