Community nurses, from novice to expert, came together at a webinar to launch the new Community of Practice for Community Nursing Research in June 2022.
The Community of Practice aims to share experiences and expertise in research to drive high-quality care and harness the power of a collective voice to build research capacity.
At the webinar ‘Research is everybody’s business: creating opportunities for community nurses to be involved in research’, over 100 attendees came together from across nursing disciplines in community and primary care. Midwives, health visitors, community nurses, district nurses, mental health nurses, practice nurses and care home nurses were all represented.
The event was co-Chaired by nursing clinical academics in community palliative care, Dr Ben Bowers, Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge and Professor Catherine Evans, Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London. It was hosted by NIHR ARC South London and ARC East of England.
The presentations focused on the diverse journeys that colleagues have taken, integrating research and clinical care. Louise Wolstenholme, health visitor, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust presented her journey of ‘Unlocking our research potential in community nursing services (a 0-19 Services perspective)’ as a process of gaining research knowledge, delivering on studies, facilitating communities of research practice and working collectively.
One participant said: “So fabulous to hear Louise speak – so much passion! The work she has achieved is fantastic.”
Louise was joined by Dr Caroline Dickson, district nurse, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh discussing her ‘Experiences of developing as a researcher in Scotland’ showcasing studies including testing the feasibility of using person-centred key performance indicators in community nursing.
Finally, Lee Tomlinson, registered nurse and Head of Research, Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust focused on ‘Aligning nurse-led research with public need’ and raising the profile of community nursing research through James Lind Alliance Partnership to identify the Top 10 research priorities for community nursing in England. The presentations are available here.
I’ll be starting as a newly qualified Community Nurse this September, this has been such a great event and I am so looking forward to my career and the research possibilities ahead.”
– webinar participant
Find out more: Community Nursing Research Community of Practice
Image credit: Queen’s Nursing Institute