It is that time of year again! I am reminded of the lyrics from one of my favourite Christmas songs by John Lennon and Yoko Ono: ‘So this is Christmas, and what have you done, another year over and a new one just begun.’ I am sure many people will be asking themselves where the past 12 months have gone and wondering whether time is going faster or if they are just simply getting slower…
It has been a significant year in terms of research for the College of Paramedics, who reached a milestone by awarding the first of their research grants to members. Although these are small awards, they make a big statement, and it demonstrates the College of Paramedics’ commitment to the development of research paramedics. The aim of these awards is to provide some financial support to members of the College of Paramedics to carry out research studies. The scheme was advertised during the summer and closed to applications in early November 2013. The standard of applications was high and the research topics covered a wide variety of areas.
Three grants were awarded, and the recipients are likely to have a busy year ahead, as there is an expectation that these researchers will publish findings from their studies by the end of 2014.
So, I would like to take this opportunity to say ‘congratulations’ to: Paul Jones, a paramedic lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, who will be exploring ambulance staff's opinions and experiences of working with patients who are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the point they use the emergency ambulance services; Kim Kirby, from South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, who will be researching the views of UK paramedics in relation to the impact of working shifts; and Graham McClelland, from North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, who will be undertaking a pilot study investigating the sensitivity and specificity of a pre-hospital sepsis screening tool. I am sure they would like to hear from you of you have an interest in their research.
Finally, I would like to thank all of my reviewers for their contributions to Spotlight on Research over the past 12 months; we hope you have enjoyed the end products. Please don't forget that if you would like to undertake a review, all you need to do to get started is email me.
I look forward to working with more of you over the next year and I wish you all a happy and successful 2014.