Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) recently hosted the second annual Midlands and East of England ‘Celebrating Multidisciplinary Research in the NHS’ event.

The event, which coincided with the BHP Research Showcase, welcomed nearly 100 clinical staff from across the regions who found out about the patient benefits of research and how they can get involved.

The event was funded by Health Education England, and featured a number of high profile national figures including Derek Stewart OBE, NIHR Clinical Research Network’s Associate Director for Involvement & Engagement, who inspired the audience to consider opportunities for patient and public involvement and engagement in research. Professor David Jones, Dean for NIHR Faculty Trainees, Professor of Liver Immunology and Honorary Consultant Hepatologist, also provided an update on clinical academic careers and the ‘Vision from the Department of Health and Social Care’.

Other presentations included how to build and maintain a career in research, how to make clinical academic careers more inclusive, and how to embed clinical academic careers within the NHS.

There were also five oral presentations selected from the fifty submitted abstracts showcasing examples of research that will bring real patient benefit. Over 30 posters describing multidisciplinary research taking place across the region were also displayed.

Concurrent workshops were provided for aspiring researchers on developing their clinical academic careers and the opportunity for NHS managers to explore and contribute to the development of research capacity and capability in the clinical workforce.

Feedback throughout the day was positive, with the workshops described as “very interactive and thought-provoking.”

The event was organised by the Integrated Clinical Academic Office at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), who are based in the Institute of Translational Medicine. The team offers advice and support to staff wanting to undertake research or combine a career in research and clinical practice to improve patient outcomes.

BHP is a strategic alliance between the University of Birmingham, UHB and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, focused on maximising the combined research strength of academic and NHS partners to provide patient benefits.

You can find out more about clinical academic careers at UHB by emailing the Clinical Academics team or following them on Twitter.

Email: ClinicalAcademics@uhb.nhs.uk