Nurses, midwives & allied health professionals in research
Office spaces and locations for research nurses, midwives and AHPs to see participants
Office spaces
The topic of space (in terms of offices and locations in which to see potential participants) was a major one for many of the research nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHPs)* we talked to. Most had an office and desk space, although some people had hot-desked in the past. The office spaces were not always ideal – they were often described as quite small, sometimes a multi-purpose space used by non-research clinical others* too, and did not always have adequate space for filing study paperwork. Most people shared an office with other research NMAHPs, which Ellen liked: “you can share good practice and you can share problems and you can problem-solve together”. Paul found his could get noisy though, so he sometimes booked a room to focus quietly on completing training. Sometimes offices were close to where the research NMAHPs needed to be to see patients or others on their research team (including PIs), but other times they were some distance away. There were pros and cons to both situations. Although she wanted to be closer to where the clinical non-research midwives were based, one bonus for Osi was that she could avoid being “roped into too much clinical [extra work]”.
Simona had a negative experience of the work environment in her first research nurse post, which she is determined to avoid now she is a team leader.
Simona had a negative experience of the work environment in her first research nurse post, which she is determined to avoid now she is a team leader.
I mean space, it’s always been a hot topic in, in our region and I guess it will still remain. But everyone needs to have a feeling of ‘I belong here’ and I can do something, you know, even if it’s a hot desk probably-, other people being more aware of you needing that space, would have helped the situation. But if I was asked again to go into a job where I hot desk, I will never do it again, I will never recommend anyone to do it. And always when you have people coming up, “Oh I have this funding for a new nurse,” “Where are you gonna place that nurse? What are you gonna do with her?” and all those questions. So I feel entitled that I have to ask those questions because I have to say to them, “Well, if you don’t find a place where that nurse will stay, it’s not going to last three or six months”.
Some people really enjoyed going to different locations as part of their job. Sandra liked that “you’ve got more variation, you’ve got more teams to work with”. For Vicky, being able to travel was “a real plus point of the job” compared to her background working in critical care where “you often don’t move very far from one patient’s bedside throughout a long shift”. However, Ella found the travelling to home visits “a bit too much sometimes” and could become “overwhelming” if they were too tightly scheduled in.
Spaces to see participants
Finding appropriate spaces to see research participants (or potential participants) and access to required facilities to carry out study activities was often difficult. This was vital when confidential and sensitive topics were being discussed. It could be a case of trying different options until one was found and having good working relationships with clinical colleagues could be a major asset. As Jo explained, “it’s just about negotiating that space with whoever’s there and doing the best you can. Nine times out of ten, you always get somewhere in the end”. Although Alison recognised it was unlikely, she felt that fundamentally there was a “need to redesign all the buildings of clinical spaces to assume participation in research”.
Like others, Helen felt research staff were “way down the pecking order of whether we can have a clinic room to see patients”. This could mean being resourceful with what was available. Helen had at times used “little corners, sometimes I’ve even sat in a little changing room to speak to a patient because there isn’t the space for us”. Melanie and her research team had sometimes been “ousted out of a room”: “it’s not good for staff morale either to feel that you’re the bottom of the pile”. A lack of space for research could mean that patients missed out on the opportunity to take part in studies.
In Sandra’s experience, the situation with having rooms to see patients about research had improved over time. It still required planning and could be an issue.
In Sandra’s experience, the situation with having rooms to see patients about research had improved over time. It still required planning and could be an issue.
Sian was a research nurse in primary care. Generally, each surgery arranged a space for her when she was due to visit and she otherwise tried to minimise any disruption.
Sian was a research nurse in primary care. Generally, each surgery arranged a space for her when she was due to visit and she otherwise tried to minimise any disruption.
Christine said it was a major challenge to find rooms to see patients, and there were no obvious solutions. She had visited another hospital with a purpose-built clinical research unit.
Christine said it was a major challenge to find rooms to see patients, and there were no obvious solutions. She had visited another hospital with a purpose-built clinical research unit.
[laughs]
It's a bit, yeah, that is- it's a really tough one. Really tough. I mean, there's some room- there's a room that's available, that's been sort of designated a research room but diabetes research have dominated its use. And that's not a problem, because they are constantly using it. But it then means that we've got no other fall back for anywhere else. So, you know, like I today go down to paeds outpatients and a day off tomorrow but one of my colleagues is seeing a patient. And I said, “I just need a small space”. And it ends up being any space. You know, as long as you've got two chairs and a table, that's all we need. And, “I need it for half an hour, and I promise I won't be any longer than that”. So there's a lot of negotiating. I mean, we can go through outpatient systems, but they're- you just know that they're really busy and every space is being used. So yeah, that's- that is always a bit of a headache when it comes to-. You know, some of the studies see their patients in outpatient clinic, as part of the clinic. So that's usually, that's fine, because the consultant's part of that visit. So, they'll, they'll have a-, they know that they can take them in, when they're being seen, and that's fine. But, yeah. Space is a major issue. And it, it's one that we would all just love- you know, I went to [City] and they've got a purpose-built clinical research bit, and you just go 'I'm just so envious'.
[laughs]
And everybody's together. So not only have they got clinical space of like a bay area, but individual rooms. All of the team are in one massive open plan office. So R&D [Research & Development] are there. Everybody from all of the different research nurses, from all the different- are all in one space. And you just think 'that's just so supportive'. It all works. It, you know.
And yeah, they just have the spaces and it’s a bit like ‘yeah, it's nice’. And I think from patients-, you know, when you go to [City], it's the clinical research department. It's got its own door, it's got a waiting area. That means such a lot. You know, and I, and I think- but space is always an issue with a small hospital, it's always going to be, you know, building upwards [laughs].Rachel Y had an office when she was a radiography researcher and also carried out research delivery activities for some studies. She mostly kept the door open and participants could approach her if they wanted to.
Rachel Y had an office when she was a radiography researcher and also carried out research delivery activities for some studies. She mostly kept the door open and participants could approach her if they wanted to.
*The people interviewed for this website were mostly research NMAHPs (i.e. those employed in a research delivery role). However, we also interviewed some NMAHP researchers (i.e. those leading research as independent researchers). The latter group included people who were undertaking or had completed academic research qualifications, such as PhDs, and many had previously been in (or continued to also be in) research delivery roles. For more information about the distinctions between these roles and the sample of NMAHPs interviewed for this project, please see the Introduction section.
*Many research NMAHPs and NMAHP researchers felt strongly that they continued to be clinical within their research roles. As such, the wording of ‘research’ NMAHPs/staff and ‘clinical’ NMAHPs/staff can be problematic for implying that research is not also clinical activity. Where the wording ‘clinical staff’ is used on the website, we mean for this refer to non-research clinical staff (i.e. those who are not currently employed to carry out research or enrolled to pursue research through an academic qualification).
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