NIHR CRN SWP - Health & Care Professionals
NEW! Join our Primary Care APRAISE Register for Primary Care Advanced and Enhanced Practitioners
Our new Primary Care Apraise Register (primary care Advanced Practitioner PRincipAl InveStigator rEgister) hosts the names of primary care nurses, midwives and allied health professionals at advanced and enhanced level who want to support their patients to participate in research. Register your interest in becoming a future Principal Investigator, responsible for leading the delivery of a local research study. Find out more below and join the register.
The Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula has worked with NHS England South West’s Faculty for Advancing Practice to develop and promote this NHS South West Regional Register: Working together to deliver advanced practice research pillar engagement opportunities.
Advanced Level Practice
Advanced Practitioners have the skills and competencies to be Principal Investigators. Joining the register is a great way to fulfil your research pillar commitment and being more patients to the benefits of participating in research.
Enhanced Level Practice
Enhanced practitioners, you may be called a First Contact Practitioner or a General Practice Nurse, by joining the register we can individually review with you research opportunities you could get involved with in your practice.
Not working in Primary Care, but interested in being a Principal Investigator? Why not join our Secondary Care APRAISE Register
If you are a nurse, midwife or allied health professional working at advanced or enhanced level of practice and interested in registering as a Principal Investigator, please fill out this registration form and contact your NHS Trusts Research and Development Department (see Our Partner Organisations).
What to know more about being a Principal Investigator?
Principal Investigators are individuals responsible for the conduct of a research study at site or setting level. Advanced Practitioners have the skills and competencies to be a Principal Investigator or PI, but sometime confidence can be built by attending one of the Clinical Research Network PI Essentials half-day events or by taking on the role supported by and supervised by an experienced PI, or in a more formal way by undertaking the NIHR Associate Principal Investigator Programme.
For more information visit our CRN SWP Primary Care website.
Getting involved in research
Many health and care professionals say that they find being involved in research positive and rewarding.
Health and care professionals can undertake a range of roles in research and have a pivotal role in promoting participation in research to patients and the public. Feedback from research participants shows that they value the opportunity to take part in research as part of their care.
Here are some of the things you can do:
Learn about research studies being delivered in your service and ask about how you can get involved.
Find out who leads the local delivery of the national professional research strategy (there are ones now for most health and care professions) and contact them to find out what’s going on locally and how you can get involved.
Contact your local research and development department and ask about research studies being delivered locally and ask how you can get involved.
More ways to get involved: exploring your path in research
You can find out more about how you can engage with research by taking a look at our Your Path in Research campaign.
On X (or Twitter)? you can view the latest local #YourPathInResearch updates.
Across the South West Peninsula, we offer a variety of opportunities for health and care professionals to get involved in research. These include:
Supporting study delivery and recruitment*
Keeping up to date with the latest NIHR funded evidence
Encouraging patients or service users to get involved in research
Suggesting a research topic or developing you own research question*
Designing and leading a research study*
Sharing your research interest and subject expertise by advising sponsors or sites about the feasibility of their research or becoming a co-applicant on a study*
Becoming a principal investigator of a study*
*Contact your local Research and Development Department in one of Our Partner Organisations to help.
(if you work in primary care or social care contact us, email: rduh.crn.swp@nhs.net and put ‘Getting Involved in Research’ in the subject line)
Developing your skills
Our bespoke resources and learning tools have been developed to support health and care professionals and the research delivery workforce. Find out what training and support we can offer you.
Or with your NHS or university email address, you can register for NIHR Learn account and access a wealth national research learning development resources such as:
Nursing And Midwifery Incubator Community
NIHR Pre-Registration Nursing & Midwifery Research Delivery Awareness Programme
Good Clinical (research) Practice GCP training and other resources
PPIE and Research Inclusion training through the Research Engagement Hub
Leadership training
And courses such as: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence For Clinical Researchers