Life as a Research Nurse
Georgia Addison is a qualified mental health nurse who is currently on secondment with Research & Innovation.
Prior to this, Georgia worked on a Mother and Baby Unit, Andersen Ward. Andersen Ward specialises in the mental and psychological health and well-being of vulnerable mothers, helping support both the parent and infants' safety. As an RMN in this role, she was responsible for supporting the mother infant relationship whilst at the same time providing treatment for the mother’s mental health issues. Before moving to Manchester, Georgia worked on a CAMHS unit in Sheffield. Here she tells us why she’s made the move into research.
Q. What brought you to research?
A. Since my time studying at Kings College London, the research field is something which I have been persistently passionate about. I wished to gain experience in research to further improve my non-clinical skills and to develop my knowledge and understanding. When I saw that two secondments had become available within Research & Innovation, I leapt at the chance to apply!
Q. What's your role?
A. My role within Research & Innovation is predominantly a research nurse. I deliver on both NIHR portfolio and commercial clinical trials, and for one day a week I work with the Mental Health Nursing Research Unit (MHNRU). The MHNRU aims to contribute to the development of a clear clinical-academic career pathway for nurses within GMMH and build research capacity amongst the nursing workforce. I use this secondment to engage in activities that will build research skills and knowledge, such as networking amongst other researchers.
Q. What's the best thing about working in research?
In research I feel that I am part of a team which explores innovative interventions, new treatments and improved healthcare delivery models. I feel that I am able to directly impact the quality of patient care.
Although I am new to the role, I already believe working in research has helped me to grow personally and professionally. By immersing myself in the research process, I have been able to further develop my critical thinking skills, along with enhancing my understanding of research methodologies, while also acquiring valuable analytical and problem-solving abilities.
When I started working with Research & Innovation I was a little apprehensive that I would miss working closely with service users every day. However in this new role I am still service user facing and get to spend lots of quality time with a wide variety of service users. I have found the luxury of this new role is that we as researchers have copious amounts of time to spend interacting with service users.
Q. Why do you think research matters & why should more nurses get involved?
I believe nurses involved in research help patient care in a variety of ways. They have the ability to expand the boundaries of clinical practice, contributing to the body of evidence-based practice and striving to enhance patient care and outcomes. For me, I’m achieving this through this secondment, but there are many different ways to get involved in research at GMMH – from taking on full-time roles like this to signing up as a Research Advocate and acting as link between Research & Innovation and your service, to simply sharing information about our studies with service users who might be interested in taking part.
However, you might choose to get involved, those who work in research can tackle significant healthcare challenges and contribute to solutions. Through research, nurses have the opportunity to explore social, economic and cultural factors that influence health outcomes, driving positive change at both individual and community levels.
Nurses who choose to pursue a career in research contribute to medical knowledge, improve patient care, address healthcare challenges and foster their own personal growth. By working in research, we have the power to make significant advancements and positively impact the health and wellbeing of individuals.
