ARC-GM Research Internship Programme

Our internship programme is an introduction to research for registered health and care professionals (excluding doctors and dentists) in Greater Manchester.

Internships are for 30 days (or 225 hours), to be used flexibly over 12 months to suit the needs of the intern’s current role and work life balance. We are currently recruiting for up to 10 interns to start in September 2021.

The internship programme is aimed specifically at health and care professionals who have an interest in exploring the possibilities of a research career combined with their current professional role and who may benefit from undertaking postgraduate research study.

There is no backfill provided however our internships do provide:

The chance to enhance research knowledge and skills through first-hand, supervised experience of applied health research
A training budget and the option to undertake a fully funded Masters’ level research module
A chance to explore opportunities for postgraduate study in research.

Applicants from diverse backgrounds, social care and public health disciplines are particularly encouraged to apply.

Our NIHR ARC-GM internships are based at the University of Manchester. Internships have been designed to be as flexible and inclusive as possible and will be delivered fully online to meet stringent University accessibility requirements. The University has made significant adjustments to ensure that interns receive an excellent experience despite the pandemic restrictions. Each intern is matched to a primary academic supervisor within NIHR ARC-GM and the topic for each internship is aligned to at least one of our research themes.

If you interested in applying for our 2021/2022 internship programme, the deadline for application is 29th July 2021. All of the associated application information can be accessed below.

Meet our 2020 - 2021 interns:

Kris Bailey
Job Title: Advanced Nurse Practitioner within the area of Ischaemic heart disease

Organisation: Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)

Why were you interested in research and this ARC internship?
I am a very self-motivated individual and repeatedly seek opportunities to develop myself both personally and professionally. I successfully completed my MSc in Advanced Practice whilst working full time to support a young family. It is the professional responsibilities that I have to my patients alongside my family that drive me to strive to be the best professional I can be. I am driven to provide the highest quality care underpinned by learning and evidence-based practice. It is My desire to deliver expert, evidence based care to the patient cohort that I provide care to that has lead me to explore career options that combine clinical and academic work.

I was successful in gaining a clinical research fellowship offered by the trust that I work for, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). This allowed me time away from clinical duties to develop a project that reflects my passion for developing new knowledge whilst Advancing Nursing Practice and contributing to the evidence base for the underrepresented patients with a diagnosis of NSTE-ACS. During this fellowship I was able to complete two clinical audits of the follow-up processes which were presented as posters at two local conferences.

It is my intention to undertake the ARC internship to allow me to progress this project further by developing a protocol and undertaking a mixed methods evidence synthesis alongside a formal research module in critical appraisal and evidence synthesis. I feel this would equip me with the knowledge and skills required to progress my research ambition. I hope to disseminate the results of the evidence synthesis through submission for presentation at local, national and potentially international cardiac nursing conferences and to cardiology journals with the aim of then developing an evidence based, nurse led follow-up intervention that could be proposed and tested as a PhD research project.

My future career plans are to combine clinical and academic work by achieving a post as a Consultant Nurse in Cardiology. Successfully achieving an ARC internship and undertaking a research project alongside a research module will assist me in achieving my long term aim to complete PhD level study in order to influence patient care and cardiology practice through the completion and dissemination of original research findings.

What has been the impact of the internship?
I have been able to collaborate with a PPI (Patient and Public Involvment) group to strengthen my research study and ensure the patient voice is present throughout my study design. I now have a group of patients/public who are happy to assist in reviewing PES and get involved as my study progresses.
I successfully completed the critical appraisal and evidence synthesis module with Level 7 credits. This will strengthen my NIHR application as it was an area highlighted to be developed in my first submission.
I have successfully gained a promotion to Lead Nurse for Cardiovascular Services at the MRI. Being able to demonstrate the ability to secure ARC-GM support contributed to the promotion.
I have developed a Prospero protocol which we are submitting to Prospero (a register of systematic reviews) and then will look at submission to British Medical Journal.
I have been able to secure an NIHR/HEE (National Institute for Health Research/Health Education England) bridging fellowship (£10K grant) to further work on my CDRF (Clincal Doctoral Research Fellowship) application.

Anna Mackway-Jones
Job Title: Senior Sister, Emergency Department

Organisation: Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)

Why were you interested in research and this ARC internship?
I am interested in undertaking a research internship for two reasons.

Firstly, I have found that since completing my Master’s I have developed a practical interest in evidence-based practice. I am happy that my skills in asking and answering questions in practice are reasonably well developed, but I have realised that I only have some of the skills needed to undertake my own research. The research internship seems an ideal opportunity to extend my research skillset to allow me a more active role in research.

Secondly I am at a crossroad in my career and I need to decide whether I am suited to a more formal career in research. The opportunity to observe and work with full-time academics will be invaluable in helping me decide my career direction.

I am driven to undertake quality improvement work and this often involves the implementation of research in practice. A good understanding of the mechanics of research will help me in this work.

What has been the impact of the internship?
Since starting the internship my experience has confirmed my drive to develop the evidence base for emergency nursing. In particular I have been exposed to patient involvement in research and to the wider academic network in mental health. This has helped me develop a number of potential projects and collaborations.
I found engaging with the materials available to me as a student on the qualitative research module of the MRes both challenging and interesting.
I have been successful in applying for a secondment as Clinical Academic Matron.

Laura Perkin
Job Title: Mental Health Practitioner, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service

Organisation: Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust (GMMH)

Why were you interested in research and this ARC internship?
I think that more can be done to embed research into practice ‘on the ground’ in services such as IAPT and hope to learn about and explore ways that this can be done within my service and my role.

I am interested in how research and evidence informs practice and in incorporating this into service culture. I have undertaken some small research projects academically and in services, so am hoping to build on my skills in doing some research in the service and thinking about ways that this can be incorporated into both the service and my role within it.

What has been the impact of the internship?
I have successfully completed an MSc module ‘Managing Research in Health and Social Care’.
I co-developed service user involvement and feedback group for the IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service in South Manchester.
I co-established a research and journal club within the service to encourage discussion and development of research knowledge among clinical colleagues.
I am leading on an initiative to look at client outcomes following engagement with a new service for clients with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
I have been able to widen my professional network, establishing relationships with senior IAPT colleagues and researchers within the service.
I am part of the research group exploring how to maximise service data collected for service improvement and research.

Connor Moran
Job Title: Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist

Organisation: Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University Foundation Trust (MFT)

Why were you interested in research and this ARC internship?
I am very keen to enhance my skills in the research field. I believe research is vital, particularly in the musculoskeletal/hand therapy area in which I currently work in, to evolve current practice and develop an up to date evidence-based service that can be utilised within the NHS to ultimately improve the efficiency of the treatment being provided to my patients. In addition to discovering more effective ways to treat patients and run services, research is also pivotal in ensuring the care currently being provided is the best possible care available. Therefore, completing this internship will not only enable me to improve the future services provided within MFT but also have short term beneficial effects on the services currently being delivered.

I also have a desire to study at master’s level and go on to produce original research in the form of a PhD. I believe that completing this internship will provide me with an excellent foundation to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the contacts that I will shadow and work alongside during this internship will have excellent potential for future collaborative research later in my career.

What has been the impact of the internship?
I am completing the masters module in quantitative research module which has been very beneficial for the development of my analysis skills.
I am completing a systematic review in the digital health them which is a great opportunity to develop my synthesis skills.
I am collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University in the area of MSK (Musculoskeletal) adherence using an online tool.
The internship has also positively impacted on my clinical practice – I have updated and expanded my knowledge of the evidence base to inform my practice, and shared my knowledge more widely within the team.

Deborah Ganterton

Elizabeth Walken

Elizabeth Murphy

2021-2022 Internship Webinar:

Watch our recent Webinar where you can find all about the recent experiences of our 2020/2021 interns (15:38 – 1:01:37), what the 2021/2022 internship programme involves (3:36 - 14:42), and how to apply (1:03:06 - 1:17:58).

More information about how and where to apply:

1. Am I eligible to apply?
The internship programme is open to applicants fulfilling the following criteria:

Registered health and care professional (excluding doctors and dentists) with one of the following organisations:
Health and Care Professions Council
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Academy for Healthcare Science
Social Work England
UK Public Health Register
General Pharmaceutical Council
General Dental Council
General Medical Council
General Optical Council
General Osteopathic Council
General Chiropractic Council
Employed by a health or care organisation in Greater Manchester (this excludes recruitment agencies).

Written approval provided from current line manager and service/department manager for release from current role for 30 study days (225 hours) to be taken flexibly over a 12 month period. Unfortunately backfill is not provided. If you are unable to secure the full 30 paid study days (225 hours) for this internship and you are currently part time it is possible to take unpaid study days provided that this is approved and signed off by your manager and is part of the letter of support. A template for this letter of support is available in the How do I apply? section.

2. What are the key dates?

3. How do I apply?
All applications need to be submitted using the online Google application form here before midnight on the 29th July 2021.

Some questions have word count limits so it may be easier to draft your answers first in a document to check your word count and copy and paste these across to the appropriate section.

Written support letters from:
your line manager, and
your service/department manager must also be e-mailed to arc-gm@nihr.ac.uk before the 29th July 2021.

You can download a template for your letters of support here .

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed prior to receiving a decision.

4. Who can I contact for further information?

For any further questions please contact a member of the capacity building team

For administrative enquiries, for example arranging an interview time please contact:
Hema Ali
Project Support Administrator
Hema.Ali@manchester.ac.uk

For any clarifications on how to apply, for example, using the online application form, please contact:
Rebecca McShane
Programme Manager for Capacity Building
rebecca.mcshane@healthinnovationmanchester.ac.uk

For general academic supervision and support enquiries, please contact:
Michelle Briggs
Theme Lead for Capacity Building
michelle.briggs@manchester.ac.uk

5. What are the research themes in ARC-GM?
Within the application form you will be asked to give an outline of which research theme(s) you are interested in undertaking your internship in and why. You do not need to have prior research experience, but your internship topic will need to align to at least one of our research themes.

Have a look at the following informaiton about each of our research themes and a number of potential internship topics that align with theme’s research aims (although these lists are by no means exhaustive).

We are very happy to discuss internship topic ideas with anyone who is considering applying, so please get in touch using the contact e-mail provided for each theme.

If you are offered an internship you will be matched by our team to a primary supervisor and possibly a co-supervisor (particularly where an internship topic aligns with more than one research theme).

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Digital Health Theme

The focus for this theme is the evaluation of digital health technologies; barriers and facilitators for implementing digital technologies and strategies for overcoming digital inequalities.

Digital technologies can include electronic patient reported outcome measures, the patient’s digital care record, digital communications between patient and staff, patient facing online tools and apps, home health monitoring devices, clinical decision making tools and algorithms using artificial intelligence.

Examples of potential internship topics:
Digital inequalities across different patient populations and services
Understanding and improving engagement of specific patient’s groups in electronic patient reported outcome measures.
How do changes in electronic patient records being implemented affect outcomes?

Contact:
Sabine Van Der Veer (Sabine.Vanderveer@manchester.ac.uk)

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Organising Care Theme

This theme develops evidence to inform the planning and delivery of health and care services. Answering questions such as; how are things done? Is it: Effective (does is work)? Efficient (is it worth doing)? Equitable (what impact does it have on inequalities)?

The theme supports the health and care system by evaluating the impact of new ways of working (particularly equity in access and delivery) and disseminating evidence to inform service planning and delivery by health economies.

Current focus (although not limited to these):
developing a programme of research in care homes
evaluating new initiatives aiming to reduce demand for urgent and emergency care

Examples of potential internship topics:
Access to care; how do new approaches of organising health and social care impact on access to care?
Integrated care; who does it work for? How does it affect inequalities?
Health and care workforce: to what extent are there shortages in the health and care workforce? How are these distributed? What can be done to improve the situation?

Contact
Will Whittaker (William.Whittaker@manchester.ac.uk)

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Mental Health Theme

The current focus of projects is on children and young people, but projects will also focus on adults and people with long term conditions as the portfolio of work grows.

Examples of potential internship topics:
the physical health of people with mental health problems
understanding unmet mental health need and barriers to service access and utilisation
patient and public engagement in research
digital mental health
the mental health workforce
health inequalities

Contact:
Alison Littlewood (alison.j.littlewood@manchester.ac.uk)
Kirsten Windfuhr (Kirsten.windfuhr@manchester.ac.uk)

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Economic Sustainability Theme

This theme is broader than economic evaluations. It seeks to understand what influences the economic sustainability of health and care services. It does this through generating research evidence to develop solutions and evaluating initiatives designed to increase economic sustainability.

Examples of potential internship topics:
Integrated care and health services with a focus on older people in care homes
Investigating the relationship between CCG expenditure and CCG performance
The impact of local government proactive spending strategies on population health

This theme could provide co-supervision if the internship topic was hosted in another theme

Contact:
Mike Spence (Mike.Spence@healthinnovationmanchester.com)

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Healthy Ageing Theme

This theme engages in research about healthy ageing: what works in terms of achieving living longer, ageing well and living healthy and socially connected lives?

Examples of potential internship topics:
Falls and frailty
Health of an ageing workforce (particularly health workforce)
Mental & physical health of older carers / caring for those for with long-term conditions, especially during covid-19 and potential deconditioning during lockdown
Inequalities in ageing with regards to ethnicity, digital inclusivity and effect of place / communities.
Digital use of technologies in ageing (e.g. apps) potential for a joint internship with the digital health theme.
Menopause and strength over the life course / cultural differences in the experience of menopause / impact on working life

Contact:
Dr Annemarie Money (Annemarie.money@manchester.ac.uk)
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Implementation Science Theme

Evidence on adoption, diffusion and implementation of new innovations now exists but is rarely used to inform adoption (or disinvestment) decisions. This theme has a crucial role in understanding how innovations are adopted at scale and pace and addressing the knowledge/practice gap.

To access a seminar on this theme please see link

Examples of potential internship topics:
There is the opportunity to align an internship with a ground breaking study that is using implementation science to drive faster uptake and adoption of an innovation in the NHS. This is a mixed-methods study and there are several areas on which an intern could focus:

The development, implementation and evaluation of innovations within primary care
Innovative trial design - assessing clinical effectiveness in real world settings.
Patient/professional experiences of receiving/providing a trial treatment
The wider setting, with relevance to policy and spread of innovations
The internship would be suitable for people in a range of roles, including individuals who are interested in or have responsibility for the adoption or spread of innovation in the NHS; this includes those wanting to develop new ways to speed up adoption processes in an evidence informed way.

Please feel free to make an informal enquiry if you would like to know more before applying:

Contact:
Mike Spence (Mike.Spence@healthinnovationmanchester.com)
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Evaluation Theme
This theme is all about using evaluation methodology so these are very flexible internships in terms of the topic as it can be tailored to the intern’s own research interests.

The particular focus is likely to be directed by the applicant based on their area of interest. Evaluation methodologies where the intern could develop their knowledge and skills include: scoping reviews; systematic reviews and survey design and conduct.

There is also an opportunity for an intern to be based in one of the other research themes with some supervisory support from the evaluation theme.

Interns within this theme are recommended to undertake a research Masters’ module such as Critical Appraisal & Evidence Synthesis and additional training in research methods is also available.

Examples of potential internships:
Updating a systematic review and/or developing a systematic review protocol based on your own area of practice/research interest

Contact
Gill Norman (Gill.norman@manchester.ac.uk)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Topics relevant to multiple themes in ARC-GM:

Health and care inequalities
Evaluation of digital health technologies
Inclusion and diversity in research engagement

6. How is the internship structured?
The structure of the internship is flexible and tailored to the needs of each intern, but with four key core components:

1) Support from the capacity building theme
At the start of the internships the capacity building theme will provide an overview of ARC-GM and the capacity building theme. Interns will be provided with induction information and made aware of resources available to them (see resources section below).

There is also informal group mentoring and peer to peer support available in the form of monthly meetings with the current cohort of interns and at least one member of the capacity building theme.

Throughout the internship, the capacity building theme will be the interns’ point of contact if there are any issues or training budget requests.

2) Supervision and support from the research theme
The intern will be allocated a primary academic supervisor from the theme which the internship is aligned to, they may also have a co-supervisor, particularly where the internship topic aligns to more than one ARC-GM research theme. The supervisor(s) will provide an overview of the research theme, discuss the intern’s research interests and learning needs in order to plan and timetable the intern’s individualised research activity*

In addition, the supervisor(s) will offer:
a minimum of 12 meetings over the 12 month period
access to project/theme level meetings as required
opportunities to shadow ARC researchers within the theme and facilitate links to other themes

3) Individualised research activity*
Below is a list of research activities that previous interns have completed successfully. One of these activities below may be suitable for an intern to undertake within the duration of the internship depending on their interests/learning needs and the work required within the theme. This list is not exhaustive but provides some examples of the research activity that an intern might undertake:

Conduct a literature search and evidence synthesis
Writing or contributing to a publication for a peer reviewed journal.
Applying for funding for:
Patient and public involvement work
An ARC-GM pre-doctoral fellowship
NIHR/HEE bridging fellowship
Undertake data extraction and risk of bias assessment for on-going systematic reviews
Develop a research idea into clearly defined research proposal for funding and/or a journal publication
Contribute to an element of a current project within the theme e.g. literature review; protocol development, data collection/ analysis
Evaluate a service development through a review of the literature, conducting a small scale evaluation, and a proposal for change in practice/business plan
Contribute to plain language summaries, research reports, newsletter articles or website project overviews
Build a network of research contacts in their field for the exchange of information and form relationships for future research collaboration

4) Learning and next steps
At the end of the internship the intern will present a summary of learning from the internship, and next steps. Intern are supported to continue their research journey and maximise on any outputs from their project.

7. What training is available throughout the internship?
Throughout the internship, interns have the option to complete a fully funded masters’ level research module at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) of their choice in Greater Manchester.

For example, at The University of Manchester there is a wide range of research modules available from the courses below:

MClin Res Clinical Research Masters level units (for example, Research Design, Managing Research in Clinical Settings, Quantitative Design and Analysis, Qualitative Design and Analysis, Statistics, Critical Appraisal & Evidence Synthesis)

MSc Social Research Methods and Statistics Modules for example Survey Research Methods or Methodology and Research Design

MPH Public Health Research Modules for example Qualitative Research Methods, Evidence Synthesis: Systematic Reviews

Each intern will also have access to:
An individual training budget of up to £1,000
Access to training and development resources from the HEI where they are undertaking their Masters’ module
ARC-GM Capacity Building resources
NIHR Learn

8. What is the shortlisting and interview criteria?
Shortlisting and awards will be made using the criteria below. Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate more of the following:

Able to demonstrate an interest in pursuing a academic research career combined with current professional role
Evidence of previous study at BA/ BSc level or above
Research interests that have alignment with at least one of the ARC-GM research themes
Support and appropriate dedicated time from the place of work/practice setting to undertake the internship
Strong interest and willingness to undertake research qualifications