Master's of Research in Clinical Practice, Kingston and St George's, University of London

Ashley Reed, a paramedic for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS), is six months into a two year part time funded Master's of Research in Clinical Practice (MResCP) at Kingston and St George's, University of London, and is enjoying every minute of it.

He was awarded a fully-funded studentship, offered to NHS healthcare professionals as part of the Government's drive to modernise NHS careers and improve healthcare, facilitating excellence in practice through innovative research. The inter-professional programme funded by the National Institute for Health Research is part of a Clinical Academic Career Training programme that equips healthcare professionals with in-depth knowledge of research and key skills, enabling them to generate, support and lead research within the clinical setting.

Ashley (who is the first paramedic to be recruited to the MResCP programme at St George's) saw the MResCP as a ‘fantastic opportunity to learn how to be a researcher for my own clinical career development but also for the profession and the patients.’ The funding arrangements mean that LAS can claim back basic salary and employment costs for the two and a half days a week Ashley attends the University. When not studying he continues his work on a Fast Response Unit tasked to high category emergency calls. This arrangement enables Ashley to maintain his clinical skills while learning. Ashley feels he has the best of both worlds; the balance concurrently informs and supports his approach to both his clinical work and research activities.