Arming our workforce with evidence-based knowledge to inform healthcare needs in Greater Manchester
In the second in NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester’s (NIHR ARC-GM) series of blogs about our capacity building in health research across Greater Manchester, we speak to Susy Pramod, Lead Nurse Tissue Viability at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. As part of our research and development training, Susy undertook a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship to develop her methodological skills in applied health research, with application to areas of decision uncertainty in wound care.
NIHR ARC-GM works with local partner organisations, other parts of the NIHR infrastructure and academic institutions to build capacity and capability in applied health and social care research and evaluation. This includes funding, supporting and developing health and social care professionals.
Susy, who is one of 25 professionals who we supported with a Pre-doctoral fellowship, shared her experience of the training: “The programme gave me an opportunity to look at evidence critically while implementing it in practice. My thought process has shifted from wanting to do something immediately to needing proof to change practice.
“During my Fellowship, I conducted a survey of UK nurses’ experiences caring for people with malignant fungating wounds - which is an extremely challenging wound. I also undertook a scoping review to map the evidence of care and management of these types of wounds, the experience of patients living with it, and the experience of nurses providing care. This has provided me with evidence-based knowledge to utilise in my profession, which I am enthusiastic about. Abstracts from my survey were accepted by conferences locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. NIHR ARC-GM’s Pre-doctoral Fellowship is an excellent programme if you enjoy research, want to pursue a doctorate, or want to adopt evidence-based practice in the workplace.”
The Fellowship gave Susy the opportunity to understand research in-depth and enhance her knowledge in research designs.
“This type of Fellowship programme is vital because it allows you to investigate a problem in your field of practice, which will be extremely beneficial to the care we deliver to the Greater Manchester community and beyond.”
Available opportunities
Pre-doctoral Fellowships, such as the one Susy undertook, are supported by The University of Manchester, provides research training awards for health and social care professionals working in Greater Manchester who wish to develop their career by combining health and social care practice and development with applied research and research leadership. The Fellowships are aimed at those who aspire to undertake PhD level study, with a programme tailored to suit the commitments and timescales of applicants, normally over at least 12 months.
To find out more about taking part in our Pre-doctoral Fellowship programme visit https://arc-gm.nihr.ac.uk/pre-doctoral-fellowship