‘Research fellowship has fundamentally changed me as a person and as a clinician’

As we continue our focus on research at the trust this week, today we hear from physiotherapist Chris Drake, as he talks about how his research role has shaped both his clinical practice and his outlook on life.

I am on the second year of a clinical doctoral research fellowship, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). It’s a four-year fellowship, which sees me spending four days a week working on a PhD research project at the University of Leeds and one day as clinical lead for foot and ankle physiotherapy at the trust.

The study I’m currently part of, which secured a £500,000 research grant, is focussed on plantar heel pain. It is exploring the mechanisms of how the treatments work and who they work for. This is the first step in understanding personalised treatment plans for patients to achieve the best possible outcomes.

I’m a clinician at heart – I want to be on the shop floor working with patients. But I have a real passion for research and how we can use it to improve practice and have a positive impact on patient care. I had reached a level in my career where I wasn’t sure how to continue my professional development. This fellowship has allowed me to develop my research skills while also developing as a clinician.

The support of my managers, the service and the senior leaders in the trust has been invaluable throughout the whole process, right from submitting my first application. The physiotherapy department took the risk in allowing me to take up the position when it was offered. They had to be innovative and creative in their planning to free me up to take this opportunity, while ensuring the team was fully staffed.

These things are always going to be challenging to facilitate, but through those challenges come the opportunities to innovate and do things differently. I’m thrilled the trust has made a commitment to put research at the centre of what we do, so it really is part of businesses as usual.

I also receive excellent support from the University of Leeds. I have a brilliant primary superivsor there, who has believed in me and encouraged me every step of the way. It’s real example of how collaboration between institutions can lead to success.

Of course, there will be challenges along the way. I wasn’t successful on my first application to the fellowship, but every setback is an opportunity to learn, change and grow. If you can be resilient, willing to collaborate and put the graft in, then the sky really is the limit.

The research fellowship has fundamentally changed me, both as a person and as a clinician. It has also equipped me with leadership skills that I intend to use to help others within the trust develop and grow in their roles. I’m an aspiring clinical academic leader, and I’m passionate about developing the leaders of the future. Because I feel valued and supported, I want to pay that back. That’s the successful model.