A senior nurse at the James Paget University Hospital has been shortlisted for a prestigious award for her leadership and determination to improve the lives of patients through research.
Claire Whitehouse, who is the hospital’s Senior Nurse for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research has been shortlisted in the Nurse Leader of the Year category of the Nursing Times Awards 2022.
She was nominated for her work in leading numerous research projects and initiatives, driving collaboration between healthcare and higher education organisations - and spreading the word globally through the #WhyWeDoResearch twitter campaign.
Her nomination, made by a senior research nurse colleague, says she ‘constantly inspires others, focuses on their development, uses innovation to forge progress in generating evidence for the benefits of patients, the public and the workforce and is a credit to the nursing profession.’
“I am shocked but delighted to have been both nominated and short-listed for such a prestigious award,” said Claire, who is a member of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses (IACRN), and has been a Florence Nightingale Foundation Research and Travel Scholar three times.
“Research is fundamental in developing treatments and care to help patients both now and in the future. This shortlisting is very exciting and contributes to our belief that offering research opportunities for staff and patients in research is a valued and important part of patient care’ she added.
Claire is playing a lead role in a study which has also been shortlisted for a Nursing Times Award.
The NuRS (Nurse Retention and Safety) study, which is seeing the James Paget collaborate with Staffordshire University, has been shortlisted in the Data and Technology category.
NuRS is investigating workforce retention and its impact on patient safety at a time when there is increased demand for nursing staff nationwide.
The study, which is in its first phase, is complex and has involved accessing ward-level information from a range of departments across the hospital. As a result, millions of pieces of anonymised data - relating to everything from staffing levels to patient safety - have been gathered and are now being analysed by a team at the Staffordshire University.
It is hoped that the analysis will result in some clear links between nurse recruitment and retention and patient safety and outcomes, which can inform future staff planning and contribute to both improving patient care and recognising success.
All individuals, teams and projects shortlisted for an award have been invited to present to a judging panel before the winners are announced at a ceremony on 26 October.