September Research Nurse Steering Committee Meeting

The Research Nurse Steering Committee meeting is an exciting opportunity for representative research nurses from each of the ECMC network’s 18 adult and 11 paediatric sites to come together and help inform strategy and decision making.

The meeting kicked off with an introduction to the committee for the benefit of new members – namely the paediatric research nurses new to the network, Carole Gardiner (Bristol Paediatric) and Tracey Crowe (ICR/Royal Marsden Paediatric). This included the key roles research nurses play as patient facing experts and the crucial link they provide between the ECMC Programme Office and clinical trials.

Following this, Ruth Hancox and Janice Peterson from the NIHR presented the ‘Integrated Workforce Framework’. This is a new way to visualise role profiles in research nursing based on three categories: clinical research, clinical context and leadership, with each facet making up a certain percentage of each role.

Once every subcategory such as ‘data management and informatics’ and ‘communication and relationships’ is given a level, a tiered pie doughnut can be created. This gives a helpful idea of an individual’s role at a glance. Make your own here.

Other topics covered in the meeting included the opening of a new chair position, a strategy update from Ilaria Mirable, and ways to raise awareness around research nursing as a career path.

The invaluable insight from the Research Nurse Steering Committee continues to help drive strategy and increase patient benefit – we look forward to the next biannual meeting.