CAREERS STUDENT LIFE
Inspirational experience Sarah Combes boosted her confidence and acquired vital skills on a research fellowship scheme for students As a final-year nursing student keen to follow a clinical academic career, I was fortunate to be one of 80 students given the opportunity to work alongside leading academics through a research fellowship offered by King’s College London. I was selected for a study on distress in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), developing a new questionnaire with eminent nurse researcher Christine Norton. The project aligned closely with my research interests and clinical experiences. Before starting the fellowship, I met with Professor Norton to discuss mutual expectations, my career plans and opportunities available during the fellowship. As part of the research team, I attended a meeting of the project steering group, including patient and public representatives and the project’s key researchers. I also attended Professor Norton’s research group, which demonstrated how the study fitted into the wider continence care research programme. I was assigned responsibility for a Delphi survey of expert health professionals, embedded in the larger study. The Delphi technique aims to establish a consensus of expert opinion on a specific topic through a series of anonymous questionnaire
Research skills Thematic analysis. Coding of themes. Research interview techniques. Observational research. Report writing.
this was developed into a survey, disseminated to relevant experts, then collated and analysed. As a novice researcher I had to revise and develop my knowledge swiftly to understand what and how to do it. I studied the information given, asked questions, used my university notes and research books, interrogated the databases and prepared for the challenges ahead.
Confidence boost
Sarah Combes worked with Christine Norton (left) on an inflammatory bowel disease study
rounds. The experts in this study were presented with a long list of statements and asked to tick if they recognised each statement as something they saw in clinical practice. Completing the Delphi element involved a significant amount of background work. To create the long list of survey statements I reviewed the thematic analysis and coding of secondary data, and more than 30 in depth interview transcripts of people with IBD that other project researchers had already completed. This meant that I could experience these elements of research, as well as adding to the reliability and validity of the study. I used a concept framework to analyse and code a focus group transcript thematically and to discuss my findings, along with those of my mentor and the patient involvement group, to create the long list. Once created,
While somewhat daunted, I was also excited to be working with the team. My input was taken seriously and my skills developed significantly throughout the experience. My confidence grew and I was pleased the team had faith in my abilities and gave me positive feedback. Working with an experienced research team and high-profile nurse researchers has been inspirational and helped me develop my theoretical and practical research knowledge through first-hand experience (see box). The fellowship allowed me to experience nursing research in its wider context and demonstrated its importance in improving the quality of patient care. The fellowships are an opportunity for undergraduate students to put theory into practice and provide a strong grounding in evidence-based practice for their future career NS Sarah Combes is now a preceptorship nurse at St Christopher’s Hospice, south London RESOURCES King’s College London undergraduate research fellowships tinyurl.com/KCURF Student Life online journals.rcni.com/page/ns/ students/student-life
66 march 11 :: vol 29RCNi.com no 28 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded from by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Inspirational experience Sarah Combes boosted her confidence and acquired vital skills on a research fellowship scheme for students As a final-year nursing student keen to follow a clinical academic career, I was fortunate to be one of 80 students given the opportunity to work alongside leading academics through a research fellowship offered by King’s College London. I was selected for a study on distress in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), developing a new questionnaire with eminent nurse researcher Christine Norton. The project aligned closely with my research interests and clinical experiences. Before starting the fellowship, I met with Professor Norton to discuss mutual expectations, my career plans and opportunities available during the fellowship. As part of the research team, I attended a meeting of the project steering group, including patient and public representatives and the project’s key researchers. I also attended Professor Norton’s research group, which demonstrated how the study fitted into the wider continence care research programme. I was assigned responsibility for a Delphi survey of expert health professionals, embedded in the larger study. The Delphi technique aims to establish a consensus of expert opinion on a specific topic through a series of anonymous questionnaire
Research skills Thematic analysis. Coding of themes. Research interview techniques. Observational research. Report writing.
this was developed into a survey, disseminated to relevant experts, then collated and analysed. As a novice researcher I had to revise and develop my knowledge swiftly to understand what and how to do it. I studied the information given, asked questions, used my university notes and research books, interrogated the databases and prepared for the challenges ahead.
Confidence boost
Sarah Combes worked with Christine Norton (left) on an inflammatory bowel disease study
rounds. The experts in this study were presented with a long list of statements and asked to tick if they recognised each statement as something they saw in clinical practice. Completing the Delphi element involved a significant amount of background work. To create the long list of survey statements I reviewed the thematic analysis and coding of secondary data, and more than 30 in depth interview transcripts of people with IBD that other project researchers had already completed. This meant that I could experience these elements of research, as well as adding to the reliability and validity of the study. I used a concept framework to analyse and code a focus group transcript thematically and to discuss my findings, along with those of my mentor and the patient involvement group, to create the long list. Once created,
While somewhat daunted, I was also excited to be working with the team. My input was taken seriously and my skills developed significantly throughout the experience. My confidence grew and I was pleased the team had faith in my abilities and gave me positive feedback. Working with an experienced research team and high-profile nurse researchers has been inspirational and helped me develop my theoretical and practical research knowledge through first-hand experience (see box). The fellowship allowed me to experience nursing research in its wider context and demonstrated its importance in improving the quality of patient care. The fellowships are an opportunity for undergraduate students to put theory into practice and provide a strong grounding in evidence-based practice for their future career NS Sarah Combes is now a preceptorship nurse at St Christopher’s Hospice, south London RESOURCES King’s College London undergraduate research fellowships tinyurl.com/KCURF Student Life online journals.rcni.com/page/ns/ students/student-life
66 march 11 :: vol 29RCNi.com no 28 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded from by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
