Inspiring Excellence - Nursing Innovation and Research Award

Nursing and midwifery staff are inspiring excellence on a daily basis with innovative practice and clinical research leading to positive change for patients, service users and colleagues.

Open to registered nurses and midwives who have improved the care of people through innovation, research and transformation. This award aims to recognise those who have influenced change with a measurable impact on outcomes and/or experience.

Nurses or midwives working in research, service transformation or who have introduced innovative practice. This can be within the NHS, Higher/Further education or the independent sector.

The nominee should clearly demonstrate:

• a commitment to person-centred care, innovation and delivering high quality services that make a difference to the people receiving care
• the positive impact of their work for patients, families and colleagues
• the use of a credible evidence base and/or developing an evidence base to underpin the work for which they are being nominated
• how their work contributes to the delivery of local and national policy and strategy within health and social care.

If you have any questions or queries regarding the awards, please get in touch by emailing scotlandnurseawards@rcn.org.uk

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Lead Nurse
Research and Development, NHS Grampian

Debbie Baldie is nominated due to her exceptional dedication to nursing research and evidence-based practice. In her role as Lead Nurse for Research and Practice Development at NHS Grampian, she has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and passion, setting a high standard for her colleagues. Debbie actively seeks opportunities for continuous learning and improvement, enriching the nursing team and elevating the status of nursing research. She has spearheaded various initiatives to foster a research culture in the organisation, including establishing journal clubs, mentorship programmes, and partnerships with academic institutions. Debbie's leadership has been instrumental in restarting clinical research after the COVID-19 pandemic and advocating for a national research strategy in Scotland. Her efforts have led to increased research engagement and tangible improvements in patient care. Dr Baldie's exemplary contributions showcase her as a role model and inspiration for the nursing profession.

Chief Nurse Research & Development - NHS Lothian
Honorary Professor of Practice, Queen's University Belfast

Juliet, in partnership with colleagues, has been instrumental in advancing clinical academic careers and research partnerships in various health care disciplines across Edinburgh and the Lothians. She has demonstrated leadership in project development, particularly focusing on nursing and midwifery candidates in the Lothian Clinical Academic Research Gateway Awards scheme. The scheme aims to build research capacity across clinical teams by providing funding for NHS professionals to participate in research development opportunities. Juliet's efforts have resulted in significant achievements, including a paediatric nurse successfully applying for what she described as her dream role of research nurse at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The impact of Juliet's work extends beyond the local level, as demonstrated by the adoption of a similar format by the Chief Scientist Office for the nationwide NHS Researcher Development Fellowships scheme. Her colleagues express their gratitude and admiration for Juliet's vision and dedication to supporting clinical academic research partnerships.

Airdrie CMHT, Airdrie Health Centre, NHS Lanarkshire

Lisa’s idea for this new service grew from handing a patient a paper form and being told ‘my life is on my phone, I’ll never remember that’. The Digital Safety Plan (DSP) supports patients to use their own mobile devices to store a DSP that they create. The digital version is designed to be customised and personalised by the patient. Innovative uses of music, sensory aids, symbols, photos and pictures means that this service is fully accessible to people of all literacy levels. The DSP creates a collaborative dialogue between clinicians and patients, being trauma informed and recovery focussed. Working with colleagues across NHS Lanarkshire, Lisa used her personal time to drive this innovation forward to a point where the benefit could be presented to senior management. Lisa is proud to see the innovation delivering on both national digital health strategy outcomes and national suicide prevention strategy outcomes. Lisa would like to use the project to highlight the how mush nurses can achieve when they believe in what they do.