Emily Badham is a Research Nurse who works in the Children’s Research Space at Leicester Royal Infirmary to help deliver commercial paediatric research studies, including leading on three studies for the Patient Recruitment Centre (PRC).Emily has previously worked in the children’s emergency department and the neonatal unit. In this interview, Emily talks about her work, the Children’s Research Space and shares her advice for people interested in working in research.
Hi Emily, thanks for joining me today. Would you be able to tell us what you do?
I work in children's research, which includes doing research studies from birth to 18 years old and covers a wide range of specialties, including diabetes and respiratory. We conduct research trials to try and improve, or find new, results for medication or procedures in a variety of backgrounds.
How long have you been working in this role and how did you get into it?
I’ve been in the role for just over a year. Fortunately, I came from two areas which are quite research heavy. My background is A&E, which I did for about five years, and they carry out research studies too. It piqued my interest and so I met one of my old colleagues who had moved from A&E to research and asked her about the work and studies that were going on. This was quite eye-opening as it isn’t something that we see in clinical nursing or as a student nurse. I also worked in Neonatal for eight months, where there was also a lot of research going on. The unit had a dedicated research team which was helpful for me to learn more about research.
Did you need specific qualifications to get into research?
No, you don't need specific qualifications, but ideally you have been involved in or have some awareness, and it's quite useful to have completed GCP (Good Clinical Practice(GCP) training courses), but it's not essential. I had some experience in research, but I was able to learn so much on the role.
So you're based in the children's research space at LRI, are you able to tell us a little bit more about the Research Space and the work the team does there?
The children’s area of the Research Space has been around for six years, and unfortunately, I don’t think a lot of people know that it exists. I didn't know it was here and I've been in the hospital for four years! It's a designated space with the adult’s research team on one side and the children's research team on the other, and it's just lovely. It's a really nice, calming space themed around outer space. For example, we have three treatment rooms called Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and sensory rooms with activities for children while they wait, such as a PlayStation VR headset and an interactive projector. Facility-wise it's amazing and it’s received very well by patients.
The Children’s Research team themselves are incredible! There's a lot of us and they're a really supportive team. They let me have a say and autonomy, which I've never had before. We have a really good working relationship, and with other healthcare professionals, especially doctors and consultants. It's a really great job, and I feel sometimes it's too good to be true!
Are you able to tell us what a typical day or week looks like for you?
Every day is so different! Some days are very patient-heavy. For example, I had a visit yesterday which required the diabetes team including doctors, nurses, an educator from one of the diabetes sponsors and then the patient and their parent. The visit was four hours, and we spent some time afterwards completing some paperwork and ensuring everything has been done in line with protocol.
Sometimes I visit clinics to recruit patients. I have three diabetic studies ongoing, which means I visit the diabetic clinics twice a week to recruit. Another day could involve speaking to patients, to see if they are interested, and provide them with information. I find that research comes in peaks and troughs: you can have a busy period where you've got loads of studies going on and then it can settle down again. It can be really different.
Are you able to tell us about some of the research studies you have been involved with?
I've been here a year now and I've led on four research studies. One involved RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus), which ran through the winter and covers infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia and looking at babies under the age of one. Patients received an injection to see if the symptoms of RSV and hospitalisation could be reduced. The results showed that 84% of babies that had received the injection had a reduction in their symptoms and hospitalisation, which is amazing!
The other three studies I'm doing currently happen to be in diabetes, and I’ve had the opportunity to be very involved with the diabetes team and work closely with them. It's something I've never done before, so I’ve gained so much knowledge and different skills.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in research?
Ironically, I would say research it! I listened to a podcast before I applied for the job, as I wanted to make sure that it was right for me. So, plenty of research, whether it is reading books or blogs, or even just reaching out to somebody in the research team. You don't necessarily have to know them, but we’re a friendly bunch! When I did a shift in A&E, I had quite a few people asking me about my role and how I got into it. As I mentioned, I spoke to an ex-colleague as it was such a change from clinical nursing. Once you know you are interested, you can contact the research teams to see if there are any opportunities coming up or keep an eye on NHS jobs.
