Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs)

Developing your research career

Why do we do research

Research is an integral part of the care we provide, enabling new learning about health and well-being and ongoing development of ways to deliver care. All patients should be able to take part in research regardless of where their healthcare services are provided.

Research is one of four pillars of NMAHP practice, alongside clinical, education and leadership roles

Research in context at Oxford Health

Oxford Health has a thriving research culture supporting a wide number of conditions, including dementia, bipolar disorder, depression and psychosis.

The Trust works in close collaboration with the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, and Oxford Brookes University.

Since 2016, the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) has been based at Oxford Health.  The OH BRC is run in partnership with the University of Oxford and involves 13 additional partner university and NHS Trusts across England. Support for  research infrastructure is provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR),and 11 OH BRC research themes focused on brain health.

The Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility (OH CRF) was established in 2011 and is hosted by Oxford Health. It is a dedicated centre for improving mental and cognitive health treatments through clinical research. The OH CRF is  based at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford and is the only NIHR-supported CRF dedicated to mental health.

Learn more

NMAHP-led research across the Trust

Many NMAHPs working across Oxford Health are leading their own research studies or are involved in supporting research for patient benefit.

Academic development and nurse led research

Doctoral pathway – Several NMAHPs have been sponsored by the Trust to do Professional Doctorates and PhD’s and have produced research studies that are relevant to their areas of clinical practice. It is an aspiration of the Trust that the new knowledge these studies elicit can contribute to and shape clinical practice.

Details of these studies can be found in the ORKA library.

Masters – The Trust runs an MSc modular pathway available to all post graduate staff.

You can find guidance online regarding Masters and Doctorate

The Oxford Health Library- Knowledge and Library Hub provides further information about Open Athens accounts, critical appraisal and support with running Critically Appraised Topic groups.

Advanced Clinical Practitioners

Are you an ACP with a research pillar as part of your role? You may find the resources below helpful.

  • Find out more about the Research ACP role:

Research roles for nurses and midwives | NIHR

  • Sign up to the NHS England ACP newsletter:

News, views & getting involved | NHS England | Workforce, training and education (hee.nhs.uk)

  • Creating a research poster

Bitesize training – Creating a Poster-20240520_120421-Meeting Recording.mp4 (sharepoint.com)

Other ways to become an NMAHP leader
  • Explore support and information tailored to different health and care professions: Support by profession

Principal Investigators (PIs)

A PI is a person responsible for the conduct of a research study at a site.

Would you like to be responsible for overseeing a research study within Oxford Health ?As a research active trust, Oxford Health supports on average close to 100 studies at any given time.  Each study requires a PI to be responsible for the conduct of the study.

We would like to hear from you if you would like to become a PI, training will be available for those who do not have experience of this role.

Please follow this link to complete the expression of interest form, once completed you will be contacted with further information.

Please email PIinterest@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk to find out more.

Associate PI programmes

The Associate PI Scheme is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for healthcare professionals starting their research career.

People who would not normally have the opportunity to take part in clinical research in their day-to-day role have the chance to experience what it means to work on and deliver a NIHR portfolio trial under the mentorship of an enthusiastic Local PI.

Participating healthcare professionals receive formal recognition of engagement in NIHR Portfolio research studies through the certification of Associate PI status, endorsed by the NIHR and Royal Colleges.

New NIHR Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme 

Are you a research nurse or midwife looking to advance your career? The new NIHR Principal Investigator Pipeline Programme (PIPP) aims to equip research nurses and midwives with the necessary theoretical knowledge, leadership skills and practical experience to become a principal investigator responsible for conducting research at a site. Applications for the first cohort close on 30 September. To find out more about the programme and the application process visit our website.

NIHR PI Essentials Training

You can register at NIHR Learn and search for the PI Essentials Training course.  This course is to offer support to PIs, new, potential and experienced.  This aims of this course are to:

  • Understand PIs responsibilities in leading the conduct of a research study
  • Recognise what makes an effective PI
  • Know how to access support
  • Understand and reflect on the skills and behaviours required to be an effective PI
Other resources for development and leadership

NIHR Senior Research Leader Programme

  • The NIHR has launched a Senior Research Leader Programme for nurses and midwives. It will build on the success of the 70@70 Senior Nurse and Midwife Leaders programme which concluded in March 2022.  This is an annual application for nurses and midwives to have 0.4FTE dedicated to research capacity building.
  • Your path in research  Learn about simple steps, and opportunities where you can incorporate research into your career and help you to build your career around areas you are passionate about, and make a real difference to patients, service users, carers and the public.

Florence Nightingale Foundation

The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) supports nurses and midwives to improve care and save lives. As a UK-based charity, established almost 90 years ago, we are now expanding to reach one million nurses and midwives by 2027. Experience shows us the transformation that is possible when FNF enable nurses and midwives to connect, lead, and influence healthcare.

The FNF has a number of training and development opportunities open to nurses on a regular basis.

All information about these opportunities can be found on the FNF website. Please check regularly.

Collaboration with Oxford Brookes University

The Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research (OxInAHR) is a multidisciplinary community of applied health researchers dedicated to producing world-class research which improves service delivery, patient care and population health and wellbeing. This is achieved by:

  • leading and collaborating on (inter)nationally funded research projects
  • developing nursing, midwifery and allied health research capacity and capability
  • delivering our Applied Health Research Doctoral Training Programme(s)
  • supporting the integration of research into taught programmes.

Visit: Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research at Oxford Brookes University to find out more about their research centres and how you can  get involved.

Upcoming Events and Training

Please visit the NIHR OH BRC events page

NHS England SORT study

We aim to evaluate the organisational research readiness of OHFT annually by mapping research support structures and activities on the Self-assessment of Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT). This project forms part of the larger Research Interest, Engagement, Capacity and Capability Project

Help us build research capacity

We are “mapping” the research support structures and activities for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, health scientists, pharmacists and psychologists (NMAHPs) within Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT).

NHS England commissioned the development of a tool called the Self-Assessment of Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT), and the OHFT Board of Directors endorsed this project within the trust. The SORT will make us aware of any research support structures and activities that we may not have known about, as well as identifying any gaps in research activity for NMAHPs where improvements can be made.

The SORT has 44 statements and can be completed anonymously. Please help us by completing it.  We will use the information to determine where more research support is needed.

Click on this link to complete the SORT.

NMAHP Research Team at OHFT

Professor Cathy Henshall  – NMAHP Research Lead for Oxford Health

catherine.henshall@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Catherine Henshall is based in Oxford, UK and is a Professor of Nursing at Oxford Brookes University and Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professional (NMAHP) Research Lead at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. She is also Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Research interests include NMAHP workforce development, cancer survivorship, self-management, community, and mental health. Catherine’s clinical background is in oncology nursing.

Dr Lucy Speakman – Research Training and Development Secondee for Oxford Health

lucy.speakman@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

I am a Community Respiratory and Home Oxygen Nurse, also currently seconded to Research and Development to embed the Research Pillar of Nursing in teams across the Trust. My recently completed Professional Doctorate study considered the experiences of community respiratory nurses supporting people with breathlessness. Using hermeneutic phenomenology, this research revealed that while bearing witness to distress (as breathlessness) is indeed a challenging aspect of care; when the antecedents of space to process, teamwork and connection with patients are in place, it is an opportunity for fulfilment for nurses. I am keen to disseminate these research findings as they are relevant to nursing management, education, clinical practice and for further research.

Jemima Littlejohns – Research Training and Development Manager (NMAHPs) Oxford Health

jemima.littlejohns@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

I am a mental health nurse working in Research and Development, supporting the research training and development of colleagues in the trust, with a particular focus on NMAHPs. I have worked extensively as a research nurse over the years in neurology and neurodegeneration, and have recently co-led primary research into dementia and communication difficulties. My clinical background is in Perinatal mental health.

Sarah Mather – Research Engagement and Research Clinic Liaison Manager for Oxford Health

I have worked in the Trust for many years, predominantly in adult mental health services and more recently the Research and Development Team. I am currently working as the Trust’s Research Engagement and Research Clinic Liaison Manager. Part of my role involves supporting research focused clinics with their work. Pertinent to NMAHPs, the engagement side of my role is to support various teams at Oxford Health to deliver on the Trust’s research strategy. I work with staff from all professional backgrounds and help them to reap the potential benefits research brings to their services and patients.

Benita OlivierBenita Olivier (Phd)- Professor of Rehabilitation, Co-Director: Centre for Healthy Living Research,  Oxford Brookes

benita.olivier@brookes.ac.uk

Benita Olivier holds a dual appointment as Professor of Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University and clinical-academic at the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, where she builds research capacity and capability among health professionals. She co-directs the Centre for Healthy Living Research at the Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research (OxInAHR). Benita also spearheads the Wits Cricket Research Hub for Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation in South Africa, focusing on injury risk reduction in sports, particularly cricket.

Benita completed a PhD on the topic of cricket fast bowling bio-mechanics and injury prevention. She holds an MSc in Physiotherapy and another in Movement Analysis. As an academic author and postgraduate supervisor, she champions postgraduate success, having founded the Research Masterminds Success Academy and the Research Masterminds YouTube channel.

Page last reviewed: 4 November, 2024