Nurses encouraged into research to improve patient safety
Nurses are being urged to combine clinical practice with research to improve patient outcomes and boost job satisfaction
Nurses in England are being encouraged to make research part of their careers, amid evidence that doing so can improve patient outcomes and boost job satisfaction.
Currently a very limited proportion of healthcare professionals combine clinical practice with supporting, delivering or leading research. For nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals the figure is less than 0.1%.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has committed an additional £30 million a year to increase opportunities for clinicians to include research in their careers.
NIHR director of nursing and midwifery Ruth Endacott said it was crucial that more healthcare professionals built careers ‘that balance their clinical work with conducting research’.
New investment will bolster existing research initiatives and fund fellowships and bursaries
She added: 'Undertaking research has been an exciting and satisfying aspect of my career so I’m pleased that we’re able to offer more opportunities to healthcare professionals.’
The increased investment will bolster existing initiatives as well as funding new fellowships and bursaries and helping establish NIHR regional research leadership offices.
NHS England head of nursing research Joanne Cooper said increasing the number of nurses involved in research would offer multiple benefits.
Dr Cooper said: ‘We know patients in research-active health and care settings have better outcomes and receive better care, which is why it’s so important that more nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals have opportunities to lead, deliver and participate in research.’
Leaders at the national body have made clear for some time that they regard this as an important part of developing the profession. In November 2021, chief nursing officer for England Dame Ruth May published a strategic plan on research.
The plan set out her ambition to create ‘a people-centred research environment that empowers nurses to lead, participate in and deliver research, where research is fully embedded in practice and professional decision-making, for public benefit'.
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