If you are a health researcher within an academic environment how does the title of this post resonate with you? How do you feel about being described as one of the brainy people? A sense of pride or perhaps discomfort? Maybe a mixture of both? If I go on to explain that this statement was made by a clinician recounting what she told her colleagues the day before she spent time in a University research environment how do you feel now? Comments like these always make me feel uncomfortable because two years ago, when I worked in academia full time, I would have been perceived as one of the ‘brainy people’. Hmmm……….
If you are a healthcare professional reading this and have ever combined postgraduate studies or research with your clinical practice what did you tell your clinical colleagues about the time you spent at the University? What comments or responses did you receive from your colleagues about what you are doing? If you are a healthcare professional with no connections to a University how do you perceive health researchers? Of course the comment was made partly in jest but there were many smiles and nods of agreement from the rest of the group, who were all in similar positions, when this comment was made.
In a different workshop an analogy used by a service manager to describe her concerns about developing links with her local University was the difference between eating at home where everything is familiar and comfortable, a place where you know the ‘rules’ and feel confident and then stepping into a highclass restaurant with multiple layers of knives, forks and spoons where the ‘rules’ are less familiar and there is a concern about embarrassing yourself.
We embarked recently upon an early morning walk which started shrouded in mist. An erie experience walking across a familiar landscape feeling slightly disorientated, knowing that all of the usual landmarks were there somewhere, the honking of geese audible overhead but not visible, the swirling mist showing glimpses of the familiar as it began to drift and lift. An experience which, in light of the above conversations, resonated with me and started me pondering. I have heard variations on this theme too many times not look for the truth which resides within.
What do such conversations tell us about the perception of health researchers from a clinical perspective and what do they tell us about the cultural shift that is required to truly embed research within the NHS? Given that the majority of healthcare professions undertake their training within a University environment what is it that makes this terrain feel so unfamiliar and shrouded in mystery when the focus shifts from clinical education to clinical research? Why is a conversation or meeting with a ‘researcher’ a cause for concern? Why is there some kind of implicit assumption about differing levels of intelligence? So many questions to ponder I know.
In models of research capability building there is a premise that everyone leaving academia and entering practice at the point of qualification is ‘research conscious’ or ‘research aware’ i.e. they understand the role of research in informing their practice and improving patient outcomes and have the necessary skills and expertise to implement evidence based practice and critically appraise research publications. So why, if we develop graduates who are research conscious, are we not at a stage where healthcare professionals are ‘research confident’ i.e confident about engaging with researchers and comfortable with talking about research?
If we are truly going to bridge the clinical/academic gap and embed research within practice the world of research shouldn’t be one of mystery where the rules are uncertain, where there is a possibility of tripping yourself up in conversation or feeling embarrassed. It should not be a world where, on entering it as a clinician, you feel that your vast clinical expertise and knowledge is somehow of lesser importance or value than the skills of researchers.
Last week I attended the inaugural lecture of Prof. Josie Tetley at Manchester Metropolitan University and Josie made the comment that researchers working within University environments are not ‘universally clever’. This struck a cord with me as being at the heart of building a culture where research is co-created by people who, whilst understanding each others differing expertise, place equal value each others knowledge.
As a researcher I love working with clinicians, I love the passion and desire to make a difference to patient care they exude and I love their ability to ask questions which stretch and challenge me. Even more importantly I love the way, when we work together, our combined knowledge takes us to places we could not travel to alone. Maybe, as researchers, we need to get better at communicating this and maybe as clinicians we need to start embracing with confidence the significant expertise we bring to the research environment.