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Angela Grange and colleagues describe a project that has enhanced the research capabilities and career opportunities of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals
Keywords
* Research and development
* Education management
EXCELLENCE IN PATIENT CARE depends on the presence of a knowledgeable Healthcare workforce, a sound evidence base to underpin practice and the appropriate integration of this evidence based practice (RCN 2003).
Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) represent the largest group of professional staff providing patient care in the NHS, and their potential contribution to the provision of good care is significant (Department of Health 1999, 2000a, 2002).
These professionals increasingly seek to use research to improve patient care and service provision, and to influence the research and evidence based practice agendas.
However, while there is a tradition and culture of research in medicine, the research profile of nurses, midwives and AHPs needs to be enhanced.
This article reviews the literature on capacity building in non-medical professions and outlines some of the challenges facing nursing, midwifery and AHP leaders in promoting research capacity and capability.
It also describes a model adopted by Barts and The London NHS Trust that aims to build and support a skilled workforce that can advance research to maintain or improve health.
Background
According to their professional codes of conduct and practice, nurses, midwives and AHPs have responsibilities to deliver care based on current evidence, best practice, and validated research when available (Chartered Society of Physiotherapists 2000, Health Professionals Council 2003, Nursing and Midwifery Council 2002, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 1996).
These responsibilities are reiterated by recent healthcare policy documents about developing strategies to influence the research and development (R&D) agenda among nurses, midwives and AHPs (DH 2000b, 2002).
In developing these strategies, the commitment to improve opportunities for nurses, midwives and AHPs to develop skills in accessing, appreciating and using research evidence, undertaking research and considering research careers, and harnessing existing capacity to influence the wider R&D agenda is particularly important (DH 2002).
Yet opportunities for these groups to undertake research training is poor, and workload pressure and lack of protected time and resources discourage potential researcher development (DH 2002).
Those with research careers in mind need additional training and better career paths,...