Student Support

As a student your first line of support will always be your academic and clinical supervisors. However, the R&D Unit are available to offer additional advice and support to students registered with a partner University or Higher Education Institute (HEI) who wish to undertake research projects in the Trust.

Once you have developed your ideas for your project and have agreed upon a study design with your supervisors, the R&D Unit can advise on particular aspects regarding feasibility and set up within the Trust and the NHS as a whole. We can also advise upon the necessary approvals for studies if you are unsure. All study documents should first be reviewed by your academic institution; we will however review any study documentation as required, prior to submission for regulatory approvals to ensure it meets the necessary criteria.  We have an in depth working knowledge of what regulatory authorities look for in core study documents and this can often be a real benefit to students. Our main role however, is to help guide you through the various stages of what you need to do in order to get your project up and running and how to gain the necessary access and training required to work in the Trust. For further information on what approvals and access is required please consult the following guides:

Student Research Checklist

Getting your study approved - A guide for students

Currently we advise Clinical Doctoral students, and MSc and PhD students who are undertaking their research in the NHS. We also work closely with the Hull and York Medical School (HYMS) and are available to help guide medical students through the research component of their training should they choose to take this option.

Once established in the Trust the R&D Unit will keep all students up to date by including them in Trust performance and Research Governance updates and details of funding awards and schemes that may be of interest.

We value our strong links with our academic partners and Trust departments and welcome the opportunity to collaborate. We would like to help students make the most of their time in the Trust and want to ensure that the services we offer are developed and delivered to meet the needs of our growing student population. With this in mind we are eager to receive input and feedback from students, supervisors and clinical departments in order to make sure we continue to improve on the services we offer and ensure students have a positive experience.

To find out who’s who in R&D please follow the link:

https://www.research.yorkhospitals.nhs.uk/about-us1/meet-the-team/

We are the first stop for all student research related enquiries and requests. If you are a student and would like advice or support, then please contact yhs-tr.research.enquiries@nhs.net.

HYMS Students

With help from your supervisor you will already have determined what kind of project you wish to undertake.

Research projects are reviewed by the R&D Unit who work closely with HYMS to actively support students in either the development of their own research idea or to work on existing projects currently being undertaken within the Trust. The latter is a simple process of adding the student to the current Ethics application and can provide a valuable research experience for those students willing to take on this role.

Quality Improvement and Service Evaluation projects require review and input from the Clinical Effectiveness team,  yhs-tr.ClinicalEffectivenessTeam@nhs.net and all enquiries should go via their department.

Peer Support Group

The student peer support group meet regularly throughout the academic year. This group is organized and run by the students themselves with input and representation from R&D as requested. We hope that will prove to be a constructive group for all students undertaking projects in the Trust by providing a forum to discuss ideas and issues and support one another throughout their studies. Most students undertaking research projects in the Trust have to complete many of the same elements such as protocol writing and submitting applications, so it can be beneficial to know that you are not alone and that there is help and advice available from fellow students as well as R&D. The group also provides a useful platform for students to give feedback to the R&D Unit which is important so we can reflect upon and improve what we do. Please contact L.Ballantine@nhs.net for further details regarding peer support.

Celebration of Research Events

All students undertaking research projects in the Trust are encouraged to engage with the Trust, and may be invited to attend events where they may be asked to provide either a poster or presentation to update the R&D Unit and their peers on their ideas and project progress so far. 

Feedback

Your opinion really matters and we welcome feedback on our services. Please help to let us know when we get things right and also how we might improve. If there is something you would like to make us aware of then please contact L.Ballantine@nhs.net