A nursing placement at the Academy of Research and Improvement

My name is Hong Wei Dong (Darcy), an adult nursing student at Solent University.

During my 10-week placement at the Academy of Research and Improvement, I initially felt apprehensive, as I had no prior experience in research or quality improvement. However, after engaging with various teams and participating in Quality Improvement (QI) training, I quickly realized how valuable QI is to my nursing development.

During my time in the Mental Health Leadership Program, we played the paper airplane game, and I was fortunate enough to win for the first time. My assessor encouraged me to share my approach with the group, so I taught them how to improve their paper airplanes. As a result, everyone achieved better results in the second round.

After the session, I reflected on the experience and realized that the participants, many of whom were in leadership roles, tended to rely heavily on their past experience when making changes. In contrast, as a nursing student, I approached the task with a fresh perspective and a willingness to experiment. Being still in the learning phase, we are encouraged to adapt and learn from mistakes, making us more flexible in our approach to problem-solving and change.

During my time with the clinical effectiveness team, I had the opportunity to observe how to conduct an interview. This interview was part of a rapid evaluation process for participants in the co-production program. Through this experience, I learned valuable active listening skills.

During the conversation, the team member explained her Quality Improvement (QI) project. She shared how they initially identified a problem, pinpointed areas for improvement, and implemented their ideas into a real-world scenario. However, after testing their solution, they discovered that the initial change they had thought was necessary wasn’t actually required. Instead, during the process, they uncovered a new issue through patient feedback, which they then worked to resolve.

Reflecting on this experience, I realized the importance of flexibility in problem-solving. Not every intervention works as planned, and it’s crucial to acknowledge and adapt to failures or unexpected outcomes. This lesson is closely related to my nursing studies, as it highlights the need for continuous learning, adaptability, and the willingness to reassess and adjust our approaches when faced with new information or challenges.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with mental health research nurses, during which we visited a care home to collect data for a study. I observed how the nurse communicated with both the staff and residents, explaining the details and objectives of the research. This experience gave me a deeper understanding of the research process. Additionally, she took the time to explain the procedures for managing and sharing the data responsibly.

I spent two days shadowing a pediatric research nurse, during which we visited various locations to collect blood samples from children aged 3 to 13 for the ELSA research study. One of the main challenges we faced in the schools was managing the children's anxiety and clearly explaining the process to them. In the shopping center, the focus shifted to explaining the purpose of the study and recruiting participants.

Throughout these two days, I learned how the team effectively addressed concerns from the children’s families and carefully planned each person’s role to ensure smooth operations. I also gained a deeper understanding of the importance of maintaining data accuracy throughout the process.

My assessor encouraged me to take on a Quality Improvement (QI) project within the Academy. Throughout the process, she guided me on how to initiate the project, and I also learned valuable tools from the 'How to Do QI' program. As I progressed, I realized how crucial collaboration and effective communication are to the success of a project. However, I struggled with time management during the process, which is an area I recognize I need to improve in the future.

At the end of my placement, I would like to express my gratitude to the administration team, co-production team, and clinical effectiveness team for all their support. I also want to thank my assessor and the team members I had the pleasure of meeting for taking the time to guide me and help me along my journey toward becoming a better nurse.