What is your background?
I qualified as a registered Nurse in 1988 and have worked at a clinical and operational level in the NHS for the last 40 years.
I led a variety of wards and units in several different hospitals and have been instrumental in improving practice in both the identification and management of people at high risk of accidental falls whilst in hospital. I achieved this through the implementation of remote monitoring of patients to ensure that patients received the right level of enhanced support. I have over 10 years’ experience of implementing remote patient monitoring technology into healthcare settings that involved the development of robust clinical risk management systems to understand and mitigate the risks to ensure patient safety. One of the consistent and most challenging risks is staff behaviour.
I studied for my bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University and then completed an MBA with the Open University in 2011 whilst continuing to work full time as a Nurse in the NHS. I am currently undertaking a PhD in Human Factors researching the efficacy and sustainability of the use of technology in fall prevention in hospitals.
Tell us about your PhD research
When people are admitted to hospital their health can fluctuate along with their ability to recognise when they need help, which means sometimes they may try and walk unaided. This can lead to an accidental fall whilst they are an in-patient. This can have devastating consequences for both the patient, family, and healthcare staff.
My research is about whether my experience of accidental falls is common throughout NHS hospitals, what learned behaviour and protocols are successful in preventing falls, and does the use of fall prevention alarms make a difference to the staffs’ ability to prevent accidental falls.
Having taken early retirement from the NHS, I now have time to observe staff in practice and use my experience and communication skills to understand what successful fall prevention looks like. I hope I will therefore be able to provide recommendations so that we can shape how we work nationally.
What’s been your favourite thing about your PhD so far?
Having worked full time in the NHS there is often limited time to step back and consider how and why healthcare professionals behave in a certain way. Sometimes it is dictated by protocol, sometimes we use clinical judgement and sometimes we instinctively adapt. Having the time to observe staff in practice using new skills learned during the PhD process is refreshing and bringing new insights that may shape how we use fall prevention technology in direct patient care.
What attracted you to study for your PhD at the 糖心原创?
Key to a successful PhD is the advice and support you get during supervision from experienced academics and researchers. I chose the 糖心原创 because of the Human Factors research group in the Faculty of Engineering which offered the opportunity to study with an internationally renowned supervisor and collaborate with the medical school, health sciences, and Institute for Mental Health.
What advice would you give to someone considering doing a PhD?
Don’t be mistaken into thinking university is just for young people. There is no greater satisfaction than being able to use all your years of professional experience in a completely different way guided by experts.
How has the university supported you during your PhD?
I submitted my research proposal and was lucky enough to be granted financial support whilst I studied. This has been invaluable. I have also been able to access training modules for many different subjects to broaden my knowledge of research methods. I have been able to collaborate on other students’ research and publications, and all of this has been achieved remotely allowing me to continue to work as a registered nurse in my local NHS Trust.