Clinical Research Nurses sub-committee
Discover more about the work of the RCN Research Forum Clinical Research Nurses sub-committee
Purpose
The purpose of the sub-committee is to provide research leadership and expertise in relation to clinical research nursing. This includes identifying, prioritising and progressing relevant issues to members of the RCN Research Forum who work in, or have interest in clinical research nursing.
Work areas
- role recognition
- staffing and funding
- culture: engaging with research
- career pathways.
Clinical research nurses
Sharing your stories - tell us about your experience during the pandemic
There is no escaping the impact on clinical research over the last 12 months due to the pandemic. Teams have hibernated and suspended large parts of their study portfolios to enable the swift set up and delivery of COVID-19 and vaccine studies. This has required a complete restructure of the research delivery workforce as well as decisions around which research nurses can be released to provide support to clinical areas. In addition, some staff have been required to continue supporting the life extending or preserving studies that remained open and this may have required them to take on additional portfolios and clinical specialities as the dedicated teams were re-deployed to COVID-19 related work.
The RCN Research Forum Clinical Research Nurses sub-committee is interested in receiving accounts of your reflections and experiences now that the peak of the second wave is behind us and previous workloads begin to return. These will then be posted on the sub-committee website to share with research nurses across the country. In addition, we may review them as a collective to identify whether any common themes or learning is apparent. If this is felt to be of sufficient interest to the wider research nurse workforce, these themes will be summarised within an article for submission to an appropriate journal.
We would encourage you to reflect on your experience and send us a written account. Everyone's experience will come from their own unique perspective - all are of value and interest.
For further information and to receive guidelines please contact Helen Jones, Chair of the RCN Clinical Research Nurses sub-committee, at helenc.jones@nhs.net.
Career ideas and inspiration
Membership of the sub-committee
Membership comprises a chair, secretary, communications lead and others with the requisite expertise who support the work of the sub-committee. The committee includes representation from all UK devolved nations. Members of the sub-committee must be in current membership of the RCN.
- Chair: Helen Jones
- Secretary: Gail Mills
- Member: Eleanor Hoverd
- Member: Jayne Goodwin
- Member: Karl Ward
- Member: Marie Nelson
- Member: Sonia McKenna
- Member: Steve McSwiggan
- Member: Tracey Camburn
- Representative from Research Forum Steering Committee: Ada Hui
Roles and responsibilities
The role of the sub-committee includes:
- provide clinical research nursing research leadership and expertise across the four nations of the UK to influence the development of clinical research nursing practice and policy from an evidence base
- agree the annual work plan of the CRN sub-committee within the context of the RCN Research Forum annual strategy and plan
- identify those priority areas of work where RCN Research Forum members should work with other parts of the RCN structure to develop clinical research nursing practice and policy
- identify, support and proactively engage with RCN Research Forum members who are involved in clinical research nursing in order to meet the needs of the Research Forum’s members in clinical research nursing
- secure funding as required to progress the agreed workload of the sub-committee, through sponsorship wherever possible.
The responsibilities of the sub-committee include:
- be accountable for and actively promote the RCN and Research Forum as the source of expertise on clinical research nursing issues
- provide opportunities for clinical research nurse networking for sharing experiences and learning and development opportunities
- shape and influence clinical research nursing locally, nationally, and internationally, and to monitor and report on the effects of such policies on nursing and patient care
- make recommendations to the RCN Research Forum on strategic priorities and forward planning relating to clinical research nursing.
