Torbay nurse chosen to be part of prestigious new national research leadership programme
Chris Dixon, Lead Research Nurse at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, has been selected to become part of a brand new nurse and midwife research initiative - the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) 70@70 Research Leader programme.
Chris is one of 70 senior nurses and midwives from across the UK to be accepted onto the scheme. The NIHR-funded three year programme will champion research, innovate and drive improvements in future care.
“As a founder member of our clinical school, my role is to improve the quality of care and health outcomes of our local population by championing research and encouraging others to engage in research and quality improvement activities,” she said. “The clinical school has helped facilitate my objectives of increasing our research visibility and activity within the organisations by drawing together key stakeholders such as our chief nurse, local university professors and Research and Development Director to support our staff to undertake pre-doctoral and doctoral research to enhance our care delivery and help to retain staff at a clinical level.”
Passionate about supporting and encouraging other health and care professionals to become research active, Chris hopes to create research mentors throughout the organisation for which she works.
“I intend to focus on identifying and steering highly skilled research individuals towards appropriate training and support provided by the NIHR Academy. By doing this, I hope to create research mentors who can encourage others to be research active and ensure that future research continues to be driven at a local, clinical level where all participants - staff, patients and public can benefit,” she said.
As part of the programme Chris will champion the promotion of a research active culture at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and work closely with the NIHR to champion the nursing research voice nationally. The role is funded for two days a week for three years and Chris will be developing strategic priorities for NIHR funded research by nurses and midwives; raising the profile of the NIHR within the NHS; improving the visibility of nursing and midwifery within NIHR activities and improving or developing the academic pathway for nursing and midwives.
“I am keen to learn new skills and strongly believe that using a leadership programme with senior leaders will help us to deliver on some of the more challenging barriers to research as there is a strength and credibility in numbers,” said Chris.
Dr Pauline McGlone, Chief Operating Officer, NIHR Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula, said: “I'd like to congratulate Chris, and the other three successful applicants from our region, on gaining a place on the leadership programme. To have so many representatives for the region selected, with such tough competition, is a real achievement. This is a fantastic step forward in supporting us to further promote a vibrant and innovative research culture across the South West. I look forward to working with all four of the leaders to identify additional local research priorities and help influence the importance of research-led care to staff across our organisations.”
