When? 10 March 2014, 09.30 - 17.00
Where? Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Coram Street, London WC1N 1HT

Are you a nurse, midwife, pharmacist or allied health professional curious about a career in clinical health research, or in the early stages of your research career?

Want to learn more about National Institute for Health Research training opportunities? Ready to be inspired by stories from clinical health researchers?

Then join us at the first non-medical professions researchers meeting for 150 clinical research active and aspiring researchers. Registration is open to all nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists. This meeting will provide you with tools and information to start and enhance your career in clinical health research.

For further information visit: http://www.profbriefings.co.uk/nihr/bachr2014/index.html

What is RCF?

NIHR RCF is a funding stream designed to help research-active NHS organisations attract, develop and retain high-quality research, clinical and support staff by supporting salaries.

Who is eligible?

Researchers, NHS or academics involved in people based research who will recruit from any of our Consortia areas; Bath & North East Somerset, Swindon, and East Wiltshire and the North and West localities of Wiltshire.

To cover:

• the part of an NIHR Faculty member's salary which is not covered by other NIHR sources
• new staff, who are expected to be Faculty members, but who have not yet obtained funding from the other NIHR sources
• existing Faculty members who are "between grants"
• the time spent by Faculty members in preparing grant proposals
• the time spent by Faculty members in contributing to wider research needs, for example, in peer review panels
• the research-related time of NHS-employed administrative and secretarial staff who are supporting Faculty members in their NIHR-related work.

Please contact Lisa Austin: L.Austin@Bath.ac.uk for an application form.

Competition closes 14^th February 2014

The training courses are free if you are working on a NIHR study; dates and venues are as follows:

Introduction to Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
18/02/2014 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, Combe Park, Bath BA1 3NG
18/03/2014 Whitefriars, Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NT

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Refresher
16/01/2014 PM Whitefriars, Lewins Mead, Bristol BS1 2NT
05/02/2014 AM Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, Combe Park, Bath BA1 3NG
14/03/2014 AM Dorset County Hospital, Williams Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2JY
14/03/2014 PM Dorset County Hospital, Williams Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2JY

Book on-line : http://www.crncc.nihr.ac.uk/workforce_development/courses/index

WCLRN are pleased to announce that Issue #24 of In Touch, the Western CLRN newsletter, has been published and is now available.

WCLRN hope you are continuing to find In Touch useful, interesting and informative. Remember that as much as In Touch is a vehicle to let you know about events on our radar, it is also a medium to promote and share your news, successes, events and vacancies with the rest of the Western CLRN region and beyond. Please let the WCLRN know if there is anything you would like us to promote.

Researchers from the Department for Health in the University of Bath have developed a self-harm prevention app called ‘BlueIce’ (‘Blue’ is depressed and ‘Ice’ is an acronym for In Case of Emergency) it has been designed specifically for use by young self-harmers.

The app was developed by a small team, including Professor Paul Stallard, Lisa Austin from Bath R&D, and app developers Intothehand, in response to feedback from mental health service users in Bath, who said they would find a self-harm prevention app helpful.

Prof Paul Stallard, who leads the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research Group in the Department for Health  said “the app is a way for users to take ideas from clinical sessions back to their home, for use when they are alone.”

Blue Ice gives users a mood check-in dashboard. You rate your mood and it checks how you’re feeling. If you’re not feeling good it takes you through to a set of mood-related clinical activities designed to help you feel better

Once you’ve done an activity it then asks you to re-rate your mood. If your mood has improved then you can log off. However, if it hasn’t then it offers more questions about whether you feel like hurting yourself before offering you further options depending on the level of risk it thinks you’re at.

The app has taken 12 months to design, researchers started by gathering literature on self-harm and using this to develop ideas for the apps features; they then held a focus group with young mental health service users to discuss feasibility and develop content.

From this the Beta version of the app was developed, and is currently undergoing extensive clinical trialing.  If Blue Ice proves successful in the clinical trials, the app will be used in conjunction with the mental health team’s clinical work, giving users support when they are alone and need to deal with their feelings.

For further information on the Blue Ice project please contact Lisa Austin on l.austin@bath.ac.uk

Research Nurse (part-time, fixed-term post) http://www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy.aspx?ref=CC2046

Salary: Starting from £24,049, rising to £29,541
£14,429, rising to £17,724 pro rata
Closing Date: Wednesday 27 November 2013
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Reference: CC2046

The Sport, Health and Exercise Science (SHES) group at the Department for Health conducts research that advances knowledge of how physical activity is related to human health.

We are looking for a UK-registered nurse to assist with research studies investigating the health benefits of novel exercise interventions for patients with type 2 diabetes. As part of a small team the successful applicant will assist in participant recruitment, supervise lab-based exercise sessions, perform a range of health tests (body composition, aerobic fitness, glycaemic control), collect and document accurate research data, and comply with Good Clinical Practice.

You will:
• have current registered general nurse (NMC) status with post-registration experience in a relevant area
• have knowledge of relevant health and safety regulations and be aware of issues surrounding confidentiality
• be computer literate
• have excellent patient communication skills and clinical practice skills
• be confident, self-motivated and able to prioritise own workload

The role may include occasional early morning, evening and weekend working.

The post is part-time (0.6 FTE) and fixed-term for 2 years with a preferred start date of January 2014.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Dr Niels Vollaard (telephone: 01225 384649 or email: n.vollaard@bath.ac.uk).

Your say on how PPI is conducted within health care research

Friday 21st March 2014 9am - 4.30pm

Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, BA22 7LH (wheelchair accessible) and just 30 minutes from junction 25 of the M5

Attendance is FREE for NHS patients and staff, includes lunch and refreshments.

Please register in advance (closing date January 24th 2014)

To book your FREE place please contact: nicky.marks@ydh.nhs.uk

The NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre (TCC) is pleased to announce the launch of Round 4 of the NIHR Research Professorships.

NIHR Research Professorships aims to fund leaders in the early part of their careers to lead research, to promote effective translation of research ('bench to bedside[T₁] and 'campus to clinic' [T₂]) and strengthen research leadership at the highest academic levels.

The posts aim to:

• Enable outstanding early career academics to spend a fixed 5 year period dedicated to translational (T₁ or T₂) research at Professorial level;
• Facilitate strong research leadership and develop research capacity in areas critical to accelerating the transfer of research ideas into improved health.

Nominees should be working in the fields of experimental medicine, public health medicine, health services research or methodological research.

The deadline for institutional nominations via the new online application system is 23^rd January 2014. Please note that a  maximum of two nominations will be accepted per HEI. Should more than two be nominated, the institution will be asked to prioritise which nominations will proceed.

Further details can be found at http://www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk/researchprofessor/nihrresprofsr4

Do you have a great idea for a research project?

Do you need to apply for significant research funding?

Do you need a sustained period of quality time with dedicated support ot develop your research proposal?

Join the Research Design Service – South West for their summer Residential Research Retreat

1^st to 6^th June 2014 at Ammerdown Conference Centre, near Bath

The residential research retreat provides protected time with expert coaching and support for you to develop your research proposal to the standard required to be competitive in seeking high quality research funding.

For further information visit: www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk/rrr.htm

Psychological Treatments for Chronic Pain: Evidence, Challenges and Opportunities

A presentation by Professor Chris Eccleston, Department for Health, University of Bath, Director of the Centre for Pain Research and Coordinating Editor of the Pain Palliative and Supportive Care (PaPaS) Cochrane Review Group

Tuesday 3^rd December 3:30 – 5.00pm at Lecture Hall, RNHRD

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Bath Pain Forum, this event is held 3-4 times a year and usually attracts a range of health professionals with an interest in chronic pain management. The event is free of charge, has a guest speaker and some allocated time to network after the talk.

If you are interested in attending, please email myself or our administrator, Lisa Buckle, to book a place at pain.education@rnhrd.nhs.uk