Award-winning research nursing
A research nurse based in North Thames has been recognised with a national award following a glitzy ceremony.
Senior Research Nurse Jo Hargroves has won a prestigious Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Award, in the ‘Excellence in cancer research nursing’ category.
Jo, who is based at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, received the award at a ceremony held earlier this week at RCN headquarters in central London. The awards were presented by comedian and TV presenter, Judi Love, in the first in-person event for two years.
The RCN Nursing Awards are held annually, inviting nurses, nursing students and nursing support workers to share their innovations and expertise by competing for awards in 13 categories.
Sponsored by Cancer Research UK, the award Jo won recognises clinical research nurses and nursing teams who deliver vital cancer research trials, and celebrates their impact on patient care and research outcomes. Entrants were required to have demonstrated excellence and innovation in delivering cancer clinical trials.
Jo, who is Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse and Joint Lead Cancer Research Nurse at UCLH, impressed the judges with an education programme for staff who are new to clinical research. She designed the course’s content, delivery and evaluation.
After a pilot for internal staff was a huge success, Jo launched the course externally in March 2022, inviting any new staff working across local cancer research networks. In total, 27 speakers delivered a variety of sessions over four days to 69 attendees. Feedback has been positive, and Jo now plans to deliver the course biannually, opening registration nationally.
Jo said: “Cancer clinical research is a complex area to work in and regardless of their background, staff joining this speciality face a steep learning curve. The four-day course seeks to address this by providing factual information and focuses on the practicalities of delivering research as core business alongside NHS services in an engaging and interactive way.”
Jo’s approach also impressed judges by acknowledging the importance of involving patients. She added: “I was passionate that a patient’s perspective was included early on in the programme to remind all our staff that patients are truly at the heart of all the work we do. With that in mind I interview a patient live on day one, about her experience of being on a clinical trial, after which attendees are encouraged to ask questions. The aim was that this would help us to deliver better care to trial patients and understand the meaning our interactions have on patient experience. This has been consistently well evaluated and remains one of the most highly rated sessions of the course.”
The course now runs biannually in order to capture all new starters joining the UCLH Cancer Clinical Trial Team (CCTU) as well as being offered to staff new to clinical research from other hospitals and research networks.
The awards are highly acclaimed and it is hoped that the successes will inspire others to involve themselves in research. Jo said: “Winning this award is fantastic for cancer research. Not only does it raise the profile of this important speciality but it sends a clear message that education is valued. It was always our intention that all new staff joining CCTU at UCLH would enrol on this programme, but now we see the clear benefits to external applicants too. We hope to offer it to even more people nationwide including those from clinical research specialties other than cancer.”
The next training programme will run in March 2023. Those interested in joining can contact Jo at: jo.hargroves@nhs.net.
