Dr Lucy Speakman – Professional Doctorate in Nursing Blog
by Dr Lucy Speakman, ARNS Research and Education Sub Committee
I am on the ARNS Research and Education sub-committee and work as a Community Respiratory Nurse at Oxford Health NHS foundation Trust. My area of specialist interest is around supporting people at the end of their lives with respiratory disease, especially with breathlessness.
In 2017 I started a Professional Doctorate in Nursing at Oxford Brookes University. This is a 5 year program (it took 6 years due to Covid) that starts with 2 years MPhil involving taught modules about subjects like research methodologies, evidence based medicine, ethics and concepts in nursing. After these 2 years it moves onto the doctoral part which is 3(+) years working on your own research project, focused on an area of clinical practice. My research question asked “What are the experiences of Community Respiratory Nurses supporting people with breathlessness?” Doing this whilst working, during the pandemic was very challenging and at times overwhelming but I am delighted to say I submitted my thesis at the end of June and had my Viva in September. I have passed with changes that need to be made by next spring. While a significant undertaking, the Professional Doctorate was a great opportunity to ask a research question that specifically interested me, and I could demonstrate that addressing a gap in this knowledge would be highly relevant to clinical practice. I am continuing in my role as a Community Respiratory Nurse 1 day a week but also now have a secondment to my Trusts’ Research and Development department.
In my role I am working to support nurses and AHPs to embed research into their clinical practice. Supporting nurses to undertake research research was part of the Chief Nurses strategic plan for research entitled ‘Making Research Matter’ in 2021. The ambition was to cement a research culture within healthcare systems where nurses lead, participate and deliver research and where research is fully embedded in practice and professional decision making for patient benefit. This is therefore a UK wide initiative and should be a priority for all Trusts. Chat with your Trusts’ Research and Development team to find out how they can support you to get involved in research.
I am currently working on a paper for publication to share my research.