01/04/2025
Six Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) healthcare professionals have taken their first steps on the clinical academic pathway after presenting the results of their five-month NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) internship research projects.
The internships are aimed at nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacists and clinical psychologists (NMAHPPs) who have little or no research experience. The BRC award covers salary costs allowing the interns to have protected time for 18.75 hours a week for five months. Each intern was taught core research skills early in the internship and had weekly sessions with an experienced research mentor.
The six interns all carried out a project of their own choosing that related to their clinical practice.
Dr Clair Merriman, Divisional Lead for NMAHPPs Research and Innovation for NOTSSCaN Division, led the internship programme and organised the presentation day. She said: "It's always pleasing to see staff from different disciplines wanting to undertake these internships to see how they can combine research with their clinical practices, not only because it will enrich their career but also enhance patient care.
"The inspiring presentations we've seen today show the importance of all staff having the opportunity to step onto the research pathway and help to move clinical practice forward."
One of the interns who presented their project was Irena Pukiova, an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in the Tissue Viability team. Her project succeeded in reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers by nearly 40 percent in the adult critical care unit.
She said: "It was really valuable for me because I was able to do the kind of research work which I would never be able to do when I'm only doing clinical work. I feel it's necessary for me to explore the research part of nursing, and this internship allowed me to do that. I think it was the best kind of educational academic course I attended in my life. It really opened my eyes."
Siobhan Trochowski, a Vascular Scientist in the Jackie Walton Vascular Studies Unit, has a job that entails carrying out ultrasound scans to diagnose artery and vein disease. For her project, she assessed how using different criteria for grading carotid stenosis impacted clinical practice, as well as how age and sex can affect speed of blood flow.
She said: "Having this amount of time was amazing. I built some research skills that I never thought I would have, such as how to manipulate a large data set. I can take those skills forward and carry out other projects now. It's been really satisfying to be able to use those research skills, to see how that is affecting the patient pathway and how small changes that we could make on a daily basis could improve outcomes for patients in the long term."
Siobhan, who says she is going to encourage her department to get involved in research, has been asked to do some lecturing as a result of her research and says she wants to do a PhD in the future to develop her skills further.
The six interns who presented their projects were:
•Siobhan Trochowski, Vascular Scientist, Jackie Walton Vascular Studies Unit (VSU)
A Retrospective Audit and Analysis of the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) Carotid Artery Ultrasound Database
•Jasmijn Ouwendijk, Sexual Health Advisor, Oxfordshire Sexual Health Services
How can we make electronic partner notification work for sexual health staff? A qualitative study of perceptions and influences on effective clinical implementation
•Flora Lockhart, Lead Breech Specialist Midwife
Mechanisms of Vaginal Breech Birth, Risk Factors for Adverse Neonatal Outcomes
•Chris Stables, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
Primary Total Hip Replacement and Length of Stay: A Retrospective Case Series Analysis at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) in Oxford (2019–2024)
•Irena Pukiova, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Tissue Viability
Can having a tissue viability nurse as part of critical care team in a regional CCU decrease the occurrence of hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs)?
•Shabnam Raji, Research Optometrist, Oxford Eye Hospital
Association between quality of life with visual function in inherited retinal diseases