Hello, my name is Felicity Pope and I work as the Clinical Project Coordinator for NMAHP Research.
I was initially seconded into this role in 2020 from my substantive post in Podiatry, where I had been working clinically since 2018.
I had always loved the academic aspect whilst studying for my Podiatry degree and genuinely looked forward to planning and working towards my dissertation. So when I started at Newcastle Hospitals I almost immediately began to apply for research opportunities.
I was lucky enough to be accepted onto the NuTH Research Internship in 2019 and I used this opportunity to find out as much as I could about research within the Trust.
During this time, I shadowed lots of very generous departments and people, completed my GCP training, observed a REC Committee and attended a Research Awareness Training course run by the NIHR.
The internship culminated in the production of a qualitative research proposal interested in exploring the occurrence of stress and burnout in NHS podiatrists.
In 2019, I also secured Newcastle Hospitals’ funding to complete a Master’s module in Designing Research Projects at Teesside University and funded by Newcastle Hospitals.
This module covered areas such as: research methods, audit, project management and research governance and procedures associated with applications for ethical approval and release.
By this point, I knew that research was what I wanted to do, and whilst I was sad to leave my clinical role behind, I was delighted when I was made a permanent member of the NMAHP research team.
My role is varied with time being split between research promotion, communication, carrying out research on behalf of the team, and studying towards a Master’s in Clinical Research.
I am in the final year of my Master’s and intend to write my dissertation on health education in the context of diabetic foot care.
It is important for me that NMAHPs know there is support out there from those early conversations where they are just wanting to test the water to those already submerged.
Some NMAHPs have expressed fear around research, but research should be for everyone: it informs much of our daily clinical practice and it would be great to feel that in this role I can help make research more accessible.
