Innovative projects celebrated at annual research showcase

Nurse-led sedation for heart procedures, remote genetic counselling, and asthma and food anaphylaxis were some of the exciting projects on show at this year’s Annual Research Showcase, an annual celebration of the research conducted by NMAHPPs (nurses, midwives, Allied Health Professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacy staff and psychologists) at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.

At the event on Tuesday 22 November 2022, Catherine Renwick, consultant nurse, was invited to give a keynote speech, where she shared her own experience and research career to date, as well as insights into the multitude of routes available to NMAHPPs to develop their own research.

The poster competition attracted some excellent projects, and two posters were specially selected by judges to be presented at the event.

Suzy Brown, clinical nurse specialist, presented her work on nurse led sedation for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (a procedure which involves fitting a valve into the heart) which led to reduced procedure length and shorter hospital stay for patients.

Jennifer Kilduff, senior rotational physiotherapist, presented her work on virtual physiotherapy for children and young people with asthma which showed that patients who have a combination of in-person and virtual sessions are more likely to complete their treatment than those who have virtual only or in-person only sessions.

Poster submissions were judged by key members of senior staff who have a wealth of research experience. The panel this year included Dr Isabel Skypala (consultant allergy dietitian), Dr Sam Irving, (chief paediatric respiratory research physiologist), Geraldine Sloane (cardiovascular research nurse manager), Fiona Cathcart (associate director of rehab and therapies), Dr Deborah Ford (consultant clinical psychologist), Haifa Lyster (specialist paediatric pharmacist) and Thomas Burgoyne (Senior Ciliary Function Scientist).

The judges were tasked with choosing winners in three categories: Most Innovative, Greatest Patient Benefit and Early Career Researcher.

There were also two other awards up for grabs; Director’s Choice, selected by Professor Suzanne Bench (Director of Nursing: Nurse and midwife led research) and Staff Favourite, which was voted for by staff. All the winners are listed below.

Professor Bench, also chaired the event and said:

“It was a real pleasure to chair this event; to hear our nurses and AHPs talking so passionately about the research work they are involved with across the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospital sites.

“I look forward to building on this fantastic work over the next few years as we develop our centre of research for nurses and midwives (ACORN) and work with our AHP colleagues to design and deliver future research of benefit to our patients, whilst also facilitating research career development opportunities for all our clinical staff.”

The winners

Most Innovative: Suzy Brown, clinical nurse specialist, for “Nurse led sedation is safe and effective, shortening procedure times, and improving access for selected Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) patients”

Greatest Patient Benefit: Yvonne Bingham, research nurse, for “Perceptions of risks of fatal attacks: asthma and food anaphylaxis”

Staff Favourite: Nisha Bhudia, senior pharmacist, for “MDT Quality Improvement project: Working towards Safety, Quality & Effectiveness on prevention of Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery (AFACS)”

Early Career Researcher & Director’s Choice: Jennifer Kilduff for “Virtual Physiotherapy for Breathing Pattern Disorder in Asthma: Not all that Glitters is Gold”.

 

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