We are delighted to be able to offer an exciting opportunity for our Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs) to apply for a charitably funded NMAHP Researcher Development Institute (RDI) Chief Nurse Research Fellowship.
About the Fellowships
Two awards: Senior and Post-doctoral
You can apply for the Chief Nurse Fellowship at either Senior level or Post-doctoral level. The Senior award is tailored for colleagues with significant clinical experience but limited research experience. The Post-doctoral award is for colleagues who have completed doctoral study (either PhD or Professional Doctorate).
Both the Senior and the Post-doctoral awards will:
- Fund 2 days per week of your clinical time over a 12-month period to enable you to undertake a research project alongside identified development opportunities.
- Be part-time to enable you to remain present and visible within your clinical department, whilst undertaking the research project alongside.
Two research options: Researcher-led, or Daphne Steele research call
For both the Senior and Post-doctoral awards, you have the choice to pursue your own research interests (through the researcher-led option), or to respond to our themed call. This year the themed call is the Daphne Steele research call. Here are more details about the two options.
| Research Option 1: Researcher-led At the end of July 2022 our five-year Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals Strategy was launched. As the largest collective workforce, the uniqueness of our contribution as highly specialised professionals is delivered through our shared vision of achieving local excellence and global reach through compassionate and innovative healthcare, education, and research. Our aspiration is to develop Newcastle Hospitals locally, nationally, and internationally as a centre of excellence for NMAHP leadership, education, clinical practice and academic research. To achieve this, we have identified six key priority areas: – Improve quality and reduce patient harms. – Develop a nursing, midwifery and allied health professional workforce strategy, plan and metrics for improvement. – Develop leadership capacity, capability, and resilience. – Engagement for improvement. – Increase research opportunities and impact, whilst strengthening our academic links. – Lead the digital healthcare agenda. The Chief Nurse Fellowship will support a stand-alone research project that clearly aligns to the overarching Trust strategy and/or the NMAHP Strategy. In addition, there will be bespoke development opportunities identified in partnership with the appointable candidate. |
| Research Option 2: Daphne Steele research call This call is named after Daphne Steele, a Guyanese nurse and midwife who was one of the first internationally educated Nurses to come to the UK in the 1950s. In 1964, Daphne became the first Black matron in the National Health Service. The focus of this call is to identify barriers and enablers to accessing research opportunities from the perspective of internationally educated nurses and midwives working within the Trust. Scoping work carried out in 2024, analysing data from our NMAHP Research dashboard, compared with the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), indicated that work is required to increase opportunities for our internationally educated colleagues to access research opportunities and support. We are committed to improving opportunities to engage with research within the Trust and this fellowship will be a key piece of work to support this commitment. The barriers and enablers to research capacity-building within the NMAHP workforce are widely documented in the research and policy literature. However, little is known about the aspirations and experiences of internationally educated nurses and midwives, and how best to support career development needs for those wishing to engage in research activity alongside their clinical roles, and/or lead their own independent research. The successful candidate will undertake a series of focus groups to gain an understanding of the barriers and enablers to participating in research activity from the perspective of internationally-educated nurses and midwives working within the Trust. |
Support
Throughout the fellowship you will be supported by leadership from and close links with the Executive Director of Nursing. Mentorship and supervision in relation to research methods, study delivery and development opportunities will be provided by Linda Tinkler (Trust Lead for NMAHP Research) and Professor Annette Hand (Clinical Academic Professor of Nursing) with additional input and support from the wider senior nursing leadership team, and other university colleagues as appropriate. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees feel valued and respected. We believe that a diverse workforce strengthens our organisation, and we encourage applications from individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds.
In addition to the project-specific opportunities, you will have access to the following generic learning opportunities and training where required/appropriate:
- Support and mentorship from the Newcastle Health Research Partners (NHRP), the Newcastle Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) and The Newcastle Hospitals Skills Academy to enable you to identify appropriate development opportunities, build networks, draw on perspectives beyond your current role and plan for your future career
- Information about the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) and the NHS research landscape including clinical academic pathways and other research related funding and development opportunities
- Introductions to a range of resources available to support research and leadership including accessing local and regional training opportunities
- Peer support through participation at regular fellows forums to discuss research progress, experiences and needs
- Opportunities to support other NMAHP research related initiatives as part of our flagship charitably funded NMAHP Researcher Development Institute
Output
What we would like to see from you in return:
- Successful completion of the research project within the confines of the 12-month period
- A written report for the organisation highlighting key themes from the work
- Preparation for a journal article and abstract submission to share the project outputs and your own development as a result of the fellowship
- Clear and demonstrable progress against a bespoke development plan as identified at the outset of the fellowship and supported by the Trust Lead for NMAHP Research, and Professor of Nursing
- Visibility as a role model, championing research across the trust
- A developed plan for your next steps post fellowship
Eligibility
Applications are invited from registered Nurses, Midwives or Allied Health Professionals as identified via NHS England here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ahp/role/. You must be employed by Newcastle Hospitals as band 5, 6, 7, or 8a.
For the Daphne Steele award, we particularly encourage applications from individuals from the global majority.
Senior: NMAHPs working at bands 5-8a are eligible to apply, however this award is more tailored towards those individuals with significant clinical experience.
Post-doc: To be eligible to apply for the Post-doctoral award, you must have already completed a PhD or Professional Doctorate.
Timeframes and how to apply
- We will be running a Q & A session on Teams from 2-3pm on 14th July. To register, please click here.
- Applications should be submitted to [email protected] by Wednesday 20th August 2025 midday please. Please ensure you have discussed your intention to apply with your line manager and gained support to do so – this should be mentioned in your application.
- Applicants will be informed week commencing 8th September 2025 if they have been shortlisted for interview.
- Interviews will take place on Monday 29th September with an expectation that the successful applicant will be informed of the outcome and the fellowship will commence soon after. The exact time is to be arranged, but please ensure you are available on this date for interview. No alternatives can be offered due to timeframes.
What to do next if you are interested in applying
Complete the correct application form below and submit by the deadline. Please note, there are two application forms, one for the Daphne Steele award, and one for the researcher-led option. Please make sure you fill out the correct application form.
Direct any questions to [email protected]
CNF Application form – Researcher led CNF Application form – Daphne Steele
