Four top tips for getting involved in research and evidencing your role
As part of the opening plenary panel discussion , on growing occupational therapy in primary care , the panel focused on leadership and research in such a new area .
Julia Clifford , Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist and First Contact Practitioner , told delegates how vital it is to evidence our own roles , particularly as this is an emerging role . She talked about evaluating their service and using the evidence to help develop the service and support getting more roles across the city .
‘ In Sheffield we ’ ve looked at getting a range of qualitative and process data that captures the lived experience of all the stakeholders – GPs , practice staff , patients and their carers ,’ she went on . [ This ] has been really useful in understanding who we see , which pathway they ’ ve come from and how they benefit from OT .’
She urged OTs to ‘ recognise that data and evidence helps drive change to practice .’
Jennifer Read , University Teacher ; Research Fellow and Occupational Therapist , University of Sheffield , then shared four top tips to come out of the experience in Sheffield . The first , she said , which was ‘ fundamental ’ to their success , is to
build collaboration , work in partnership and act as critical friends . ‘ Don ’ t be scared about reaching out to others to build Julia Clifford these partnerships ,’ she stressed .
The second is for people to make themselves ‘ research ready and research confident ’. She added : ‘ Take any local and national opportunity as they arise . It ’ s no coincidence for of us have skilled ourselves up by undertaking a masters in clinical Jennifer Read research ’.
Third is to ‘ make your research relevant , meaningful and achievable ’. And finally , the fourth tip is to ‘ think about who you want to influence and inform ’.
She concluded : ‘ We wanted to reach GPs , service users , academics , clinicians and commissioners and they all needed to know different things in different ways . So we used lots of different methods to shout about our work and affect change .’
Building professional skills in an ‘ up and coming ’ area of OT
Also in the opening plenary session on growing the occupational therapy presence in primary care , the importance of hosting and undertaking leadership placements was stressed by Natalie Jones , from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust .
Natalie was joined by Oli Ridge and Simran Sangha , Sheffield Hallam University students , who talked passionately and insightfully about their experiences of being hosted by Natalie on leadership placements ; placed in two ‘ very different ’ PCNs in Sheffield that were interested in occupational therapy . This was part of a wider programme that brought 18 OT students into primary care practice .
Oli , along with a fellow student , was placed in ‘ one of the most deprived areas ’ in Sheffield , with the task to scope out the role of an OT and interact with stakeholders through the network .
Over the placement , he said , ‘ it became clear that there was a need , not just for an OT in frailty but there was an entire range , including support with mental health , combatting loneliness and support with dementia reviews .’
Simran was based alongside a fellow student in a PCN that provides GP services for a large university . Their main aim was to identify any gaps in the service , as well as presenting ideas on how an OT could be introduced to the network , specifically to provide alternative pathways of care .
She explained how they determined the needs of the local demographic , conducted a service evaluation , and identified where an OT could benefit the service best .
‘ From a leadership perspective ,’ she said , ‘ this placement gave us the opportunity to direct our own projects , while also advocating for OT and holistic pathways within primary care .’
Natalie Jones
Oli Ridge
Simran Sangha
16 OTnews July 2023