The QEHB-based national centre for trauma research has taken a major step forward with the appointment of a senior research nurse.
The National Institute for Health Research Centre for Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology (NIHR SRMRC) has been established to take discoveries from the military frontline to improve outcomes for patients.
Aisling Clarkson has now begun her new role, which will eventually see her running a team of four other research nurses to manage the studies being conducted by the SRMRC.
She joins the Trust from the University of Birmingham, where she worked in primary care research investigating the use of warfarin in patients who had developed an unprovoked deep vein thrombosis.
She brings considerable critical care experience, having worked at Heartlands Hospital on the BALTI-2 trial with patients suffering from acute lung disease. She moved into research directly from critical care nursing at Heartlands.
“I got into research because I got involved in some audits in ITU at Heartlands and enjoyed it. I worked as a recruitment facilitator, trying to get more patients involved in trials.
“This is an amazing opportunity to do cutting edge research, and we’re really getting the team together now.”
She has already begun working with patients on the SIR observational study, which looks at the inflammatory and endocrine impact of severe military and civilian trauma.
“We’re looking at trauma patients coming in from the Emergency Department and also those who are being evacuated from Afghanistan, and looking at how they respond to their injuries.”
Sr Clarkson has also been joined in the SRMRC research nursing team by Warrant Officer Ann Carter, an experienced RAF nurse, and two more nurses will join the team by the end of May.
To read more about the SRMRC research nurse team visit their team profiles.
