After much anticipation and work behind the scenes, we are excited to launch our first episode of our podcast, exploring careers and opportunities in Clinical Research.

When a colleague suggested we feature Gearóid Brennan in the series, it didn’t take long to see why. Gearóid’s passion for clinical research, diverse experience, and compelling storytelling made him the perfect guest. I will admit that the conversation with him and Alice went far beyond the 15minutes we had planned, but this gave me good opportunity to put my new podcast editing skills to use and share the highlights with you.

As a psychiatric liaison nurse and NRS Fellow at NHS Lothian, Gearóid’s career journey was fascinating to hear about. One thing I always find intriguing when speaking with colleagues about their careers is how unique each path is. No two journeys are the same. Maybe this can give some hope to people that paths and directions can change and just because you didn’t take the ‘conventional’ route, doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get to your desired destination.

I particularly appreciated how Gearóid spoke about the various people who influenced his journey and his gratitude towards them. It made me think of two key takeaway messages:  (1) the importance of networking, staying open-minded, and not being afraid to discuss career options, and (2) the power of supporting and encouraging colleagues, as even small words of advice can have a lasting impact on someone’s career.

Gearóid also spoke of the programmes and funding he was able to access as part of his development. Again, the best way to learn about opportunities like this is often through conversations with people in the know. Gearóid advocated the use of social media as one way to make connections. Seeking out research teams that work locally to you and asking for advice and contacts is another pro tip. The NIHR and NRS Research Scotland websites are also a good starting point to consider what may be available to you.

It’s a fantastic start to our series, thanks to both Alice and Gearóid, and I hope you find Gearóid’s story as inspiring as I did!

Download and listen to the podcast here

Duration: 20mins

With so many resources widely available in so many different places, it can be a challenge to navigate your way through it all. So, to help guide you in finding the support you need, the Education Core have developed a one stop shop signposting page.

We are delighted to share with you our new Educational Resources, which is now available from our website at https://clinical-research-facility.ed.ac.uk/educational-resources

The Educational Resources is a collection of free eLearning courses and online resources from external providers relating to different aspects of clinical research.

It is an ongoing developing page, which we will continue to update and add more to, as we identify, source and review new resources; and if you know of any free resources that could be included, please do share these with us by contacting us at education@edinburghcrf.ed.ac.uk

Happy Learning!

 As the new academic year commences, we are delighted to share our ambitious 3-year-plan for the Education Core at Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, developed in collaboration with ACCORD.  

View our plan here:  Education Core 3 year plan – 2023 v2

Alongside the delivery of our regular course programme, we have identified key priorities to enhance education provision for the local clinical research community.  

The plan outlines projects focused on three distinct phases:  

• Laying the foundations for new research staff 
• Developing opportunities for research staff  
• Engaging the wider clinical workforce to bridge the gap between clinical care and research. 

We look forward to updating you with our progress! Updates can be found on our website: Education Core: 3 Year Plan | Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility

As always, please feel free to email any questions or comments to: education@edinburghCRF.ed.ac.uk  

As we begin a new year it seems only naturally that we take the time to look back over the previous one. What we have gained, what we have lost and what we have learned. Regardless of where we fit in the grand scheme of things we all of moments that have defined the past year and reflections from these are often what drives up forward.

2021 was the year that Prof Tim Walsh‘s time as R&D Director for NHS Lothian came to an end. And it felt appropriate to get Tim’s reflections on the last year year from this unique position,  but also in his capacity as Chair for Critical Chair at the University of Edinburgh.

In Webinar 13 of our Research during a Pandemic series Tim reflects on how the pandemic was managed, both locally through the R&D team but also nationally, and emphasises how we were in more prepared than we could have been thanks to work that had been undertaken previously for Swine flu.

Back in September we were lucky enough to welcome Sheila Morris to deliver the 12th Webinar in our Research during a Pandemic series. Sheila is the Lead Research Nurse for Infectious Diseases in NHS Lothian, and during her session she discusses her 30 year research career spanning the HIV Pandemic through to the Covid 19 Pandemic. She reflects on the research delivered over the past year and a bit, highlighting the collaborative approach that was taken to undertake many of the new vaccine studies and how many of these wouldn’t have been possible without the support from other staff and departments.  One of her take  home messages is that kindness goes a long way.

This year, The University of Edinburgh celebrates five years of developing, supporting, and promoting Open Education Resources (OER) through the OER policy and service. The Teaching Matters team was delighted to showcase a series of blog posts in the recent ‘Hot Topic’: Open for Good: Five Years of Open Education Resources at The University of Edinburgh.

As part of these inspirations in the August 2021 Teaching Matters Newsletter Edinburgh CRFs Jo Merrifield and Danielle Marlow shared their experiences of how OER practices encourage continuous professional development for academics. 

NHS Lothian and it’s four Health and Social Care Partnerships are playing their part in the biggest vaccination programme the country has ever seen, to help protect the population from Covid-19.

In Webinar 11 of our Research during a Pandemic series, Pat Wynne and Ellie Hunter joined us to share their perspectives as they lead the vaccination programme for NHS Lothian.

Mulling over the challenges, successes and learning opportunities, Pat and Ellie give a candid account about bringing colleagues from the NHS, corporate partners and the Armed Forces together; thinking outside the box; and vaxi taxis . 

A really overwhelming programme, physically, mentally and emotionally, delivered by a truly inspiring team!

The summer is finally here and after all that we have had to endure, it feels like a long time coming.  The opportunities for us to go out and feel the sun on our skin, visit with family and friends and partake in some of the activities we have missed so much during the pandemic is a welcome relief from the cold, wet winter days.

Taking time to savour these moments and make them count is a priority for us all as we don’t know which way the coin is going to land over the coming months.

If these last few months have taught us anything, it’s how precious life, moments and feelings are. So take this time, rest and recharge. We’ll be back with a new webinar at the end of July, so watch this space!

International Clinical Trials Day on May 20th allows us all to take time and reflect on how far we have come in clinical research since James Lind undertook the first clinical trial on HMS Salisbury back in 1747.

Throughout the last 15 months, Covid has had us all running in circles. Lockdowns, roadmaps and protection levels have become our main focus, but International Clinical Trials Day 2021 also felt like an opportunity to share with our community what has been happening behind the scenes with our nursing teams.

Prof Alex McMahon, Executive Director, Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Healthcare Professionals in NHS Lothian obliged us by sharing all of this work and giving us his frank perspective on living through Covid.