Stephanie Kaye

Blog written by Stephanie Kaye, Research Nurse, CCTU, Paeds and TYA, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Up until very recently, research to me was white lab coats and microscopes. It wasn’t until I embarked on my Nursing career in Haematology at UCLH where I realised that medical research was not just bound to those sterile laboratories. I suppose it never occurred to me that someone would need to deliver the products that were being created- and who best to do that than front line healthcare workers?

I spent the first year of my Nursing career as a Haematology staff nurse. It was here, where I met my first ever Research Nurse. I had no idea who she was and why she was here to see my patient. So, I introduced myself, and asked if she could explain her role to me. I was fascinated. I had no idea that was a job! After that day, I would speak to every research nurse and clinical trial practitioner that came to visit my patients. I researched the trials my patients were on, and I followed their journey closely. I knew I wanted this to be my career.

In March 2023, I joined the Paediatric/TYA research team here at UCLH. I am still relatively new to my role, but I know that this is the career for me. I feel privileged to be in a role where I can be a part of ground-breaking clinical research and understand the processes behind setting up and delivering a clinical trial. As a result, I have developed in-depth specialist knowledge about each of my patients and their diagnoses. Working in this role also means I can build up a rapport with both the patient and their parents and be an essential point of contact when they need me.

As nurses, we spend our entire degree learning how to be an effective nurse on a ward, but we are never introduced to the idea of research, so naturally there is a lot to learn on the job. My advice to anyone who is starting a career in research is try not to learn everything at once, take your time and you will be surprised at how much you know after 6 months!