15 February 2018
Abigail Roberts works as a physiotherapist in cardiothoracic transplantation at Harefield Hospital. She specialised in respiratory care about ten years ago and then further specialised into transplantation five years ago.
She recently completed her Master of Research degree (MRes) at City University, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Abigail explains why she chose her degree and what she hopes to do in the future.
What made you decide to do an MRes?
I chose to do the NIHR-funded masters in clinical research because I have always had an interest in research and in changing practice to get the best outcomes for my patients. I attended the researcher development programme run by Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in 2015 and this gave me a taste of the research world. I wanted to explore this further but at the time I still didn’t feel confident in how to plan a research project, how to carry it out or how to get it published. I also knew that having been out of higher education for several years, that it would suit my learning style to fully immerse myself in the learning experience and complete the masters on a full-time basis.
Does the research that you did for your MRes feed into your clinical work?
Yes. I examined lung transplant recipients’ cough strength at various stages post lung transplantation. The method chosen to measure cough strength, peak cough flow, was novel for this population. One of the main reasons I did this was to find out if cough strength was associated with overall lung function, and whether or not this could be used as an early warning tool for detection of chest infection. Chest infection after lung transplantation is associated with chronic organ rejection and therefore increased mortality. This is the main reason why lung transplant recipients currently have the worst outcomes when compared to other solid organ transplants. Whilst looking at cough strength I also took into account other contributing factors such as age, gender, height, time elapsed post-transplant and hospital length of test.
What support, if any, did you receive from your team and the Trust?
I was given a year's secondment to attend the course full time. NIHR not only funded my place but also paid for backfill support into my job role. Luckily there was someone in my department suitable for this and it turned out to be a great opportunity for her because she successfully went on to secure another vacant band seven post on my return.
What made you decide to take part in the researcher development programme in 2015?
I have always had an interest in research and know that it should be integral to our clinical practice. Research is often seen as an additional luxury but really it should be deemed as important as the clinical caseload, given that clinical practice does not progress without research. Despite having completed a research dissertation project as an undergraduate student, I felt that research processes had moved on significantly since that time. I, therefore, lacked the necessary skills to correctly carry out a research project once qualified. In comparison to what we receive for clinical development, there is currently a lack of developmental pathways within the NHS for research. I thought by attending the researcher development programme, this would assist me in knowing where my learning gaps were and from this, decide what the next steps would be to progress my research career further. I was also aware that it would give me excellent research networking opportunities.
How did it help prepare you for the MRes?
The researcher development programme gave me a basic understanding of some of the infrastructure surrounding research. For example, it increased awareness of some of the ethical considerations, it highlighted the role of the research office, how to write a hypothesis, some basic understanding of medical statistics and finally the importance of using a reference manager. This understanding helped me feel a bit more prepared for my MRes. However, I found that the best way to really understand the research process was to get stuck in and learn from trial and error.
Has doing the MRes changed your career goals in any way?
Yes. Before I completed the MRes I was very clinically focused. The master's course has opened my eyes to other learning and job opportunities and has given me insight into alternative pathways to develop my career as both a clinician and a researcher.
What would you like to do next?
The MRes has now made me much more aware of research, both the positive and negative aspects of conducting it. Although there were certainly challenging times during my MRes, my overall experience is positive. I have returned to work in a mainly clinical role but already intend to implement some research ideas. Fortunately, I have a very supportive manager who is keen on conducting research too. I am currently riding the wave of my MRes by submitting several abstracts and posters to any appropriate avenues. I also plan to get my project published next year. Longer term, I am definitely considering applying to do a PhD and I would look to do this with NIHR funding because realistically this will not be possible without it.
What general advice would you give to clinical staff interested in getting into research?
Try to spend time with anyone who has research experience. What I have found is that most people who are involved in research are more than happy to share their experience and skills because it is a very supportive community. If you can, touch base with your local research office because they are a fountain of knowledge and can at least point you in the right direction if you are uncertain. Your trust librarian should be able to support you in performing a systematic literature review so that you can at least see what evidence does and does not exist in your field. This should guide any research planning so that there is firstly not repetition, but also so that you can ensure that you are adding to what is or is not already known.
Alongside this, I recommend finding a good reference manager system such as Mendeley, RefWorks or EndNote, because this allows you to put all of your journal articles into one easily accessible source. Not only that, you can generate reference lists at the drop of a hat rather than painstakingly writing them all out by hand!
Look out for any research courses that you can attend such as the researcher development programme, courses about preparing ethical applications or statistics and interviewing skills. Once you have chosen your research topic, it is paramount that you have a well thought out, secure database to store the data. Otherwise no matter how fantastic your idea is, with data entry issues you will soon find that you cannot analyse your findings effectively.
Lastly, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of having the support of your line manager because regrettably planning and conducting research does take time and you need their approval and encouragement.
And finally, what’s your one top tip for aspiring colleagues in pursuit of a similar pathway?
Seek out as many learning opportunities as I’ve already mentioned. Anyone can do research. It sometimes feels like it is the pathway of the elite but that is only because we do not have the same guidance and structure for developing our research career compared to our clinical career. I am also happy for anyone to contact me about the MRes and I'm sure many others in my situation would be more than willing to do the same. Just go for it!
If you would like to find out more about the course or are considering applying for research funding please contact the Trust’s research office.