Clinical academic programme
A survey of staff in 2016, asking about their research experience and training, showed that the vast majority of respondents were keen to be more involved in research. The majority wanted opportunities to meet with colleagues to develop their skills and to bring research evidence to their everyday practice.
By developing the Clinical Academic Programme for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals we can provide support for novice researchers at all levels allowing them to grow a research career whilst keeping close links to clinical practice and collaborative working with higher education institutions. Although career pathways for clinically based research academics are well established within medicine this has not been the case for nursing, midwifery and allied health professional groups (NMAHPs).
The Clinical Academic Pathway is closely aligned to national strategies to support career progression whilst also retaining and attracting high quality, experienced clinical staff to the NHS where they may have the greatest influence on clinical practice at both local and national levels, becoming expert clinical research practitioners.
UHSussex is working together as part of a National UK group (CARIN) developing clinical academic roles for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We’re also supporting development more locally with our own clinical academic programme which is a core part of our research and innovation strategy.
Our clinical academic pathway includes a specific component for training in continuous improvement methodology and support for embedding continuous improvement in practice. The new Clinical Academic roles are rooted within our Patient First culture of continuous clinical improvement, bringing research and evidence based practice to staff at the point of patient care to facilitate greater integration of research into practice. The Clinical Academic Programme has been developed as a key part of our new Research and Innovation Strategy to provide opportunities to combine clinical work with academic study and research aimed at enhancing the quality of everyday clinical care and bringing research into everyday practice.
UHSussex working in partnership with Health Education England Kent, Surrey and Sussex is providing a pioneering opportunity for individuals to make a difference to patient care through the UHSussex Clinical Improvement Scholarships, part of our Clinical Academic Programme. The first group of Scholars started in September 2017 with further cohorts in Sept 2018 and 2019. The Scholars are working on a range of clinical projects across the organisation.
The Clinical Improvement Scholars programme is offered at two levels:
Clinical Improvement Scholar
This is suitable for NMAHPs who have completed study at first degree level in a relevant subject and who would now like to progress on to Masters level.
Senior Clinical Improvement Scholar
This is suitable for NMAHPs who have already completed a Masters level qualification in a relevant subject and who are considering progress to PhD or Professional Doctorate.
Scholars spend two days per week (15 hours) over 12 months working on projects across the organisation in key quality areas such as harm free care, reducing mortality and improving outcomes, Better Births and enhancing patient or staff experience.
By the end of the programme they will have:
- worked on a quality improvement project to enhance patient care
- reflected on your improvement project with inter-professional colleagues
- conducted and presented a literature review on your project topic
- gained insight into leadership and change management
- presented your project and prepared an article for publication
- prepared for further academic study opportunities.
The aim of the scholarship is to provide nurses, midwives and allied health professionals with an opportunity to develop their research, leadership and quality improvement skills and knowledge alongside their day to day clinical practice roles and take this back into their clinical practice environments to improve patient care and outcomes.
Applications open in early April each year for September start – these can be found on the staff intranet within the current vacancies section.
For further information please contact: uhsussex.research@nhs.net.
Medical Doctoral Fellowships
Information on Medical Doctoral Fellowships will be available soon – please check back in due course.
Capacity building and training opportunity
Information on capacity building and training opportunities will be available soon – please check back in due course.