It's a double celebration for Surgical Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Liam Stout (pictured right), and Deputy Director of Operations, Jason Busby (pictured left) as they both completed their PHDs in the last few weeks. You can read about what they chose to study and their dedications below.
Head Nurse for Workforce and Education, Janet Youd, said: "The work (sweat, tears and sacrifice) this represents is phenomenal. It shows how the people of CHFT are reaching academic pinnacles to generate new knowledge and ensure both clinical and managerial practice is innovative and evidence-based. As you can tell, I’m super proud they are my colleagues!"
Congratulations to Liam and Jason!
About Liam's doctorate journey
Liam said: "I decided to undertake a professional doctorate in advanced practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognising opportunities for change and improvements to surgical nursing and operating practice.
"My research and academic thesis first focused on the design and development of a new medical device to offer more diverse surgical outcomes for people with skin or soft tissue abscesses. My research also matured over four years to include an exploration of this patient group's experiences, the beliefs and behaviours of clinical professionals caring for them and the institutional influences impacting clinical outcomes.
"With the support of my consultant supervisors at CHFT (Mr Jonathan Cowley and Mr Mark Peter), academic supervisors at the University of Salford (Dr Melanie Stephens and Dr Farina Hashmi), colleagues, friends and family, I completed my doctorate in July.
"Although very challenging, I have really enjoyed this journey, which has undoubtedly helped to shape my academic and clinical future. I am proud to have contributed new knowledge to my profession, and I would encourage any of my colleagues considering a PhD or professional doctorate to jump in with both feet.
"My thesis was dedicated to my dad, Roy Stout, whom I very sadly lost just two months before starting this journey. I would not be here without his seemingly never-ending support and encouragement from my first day as an operating theatre nurse."
About Jason's doctorate journey
Jason said: "My journey began 36 years ago as a young solider who on my first promotion became a team leader in Northern Ireland and got it massively wrong. I believed my promotion equalled power and I had been allowed to make decisions that, although affected others would be the right decisions.
"I soon began to learn from my mistakes and have dedicated my professional and academic career in the pursuit of understanding how change effects everything and especially individuals and how to develop leadership and people skills to support said colleagues in adapting to change.
"They say a doctorate can be a real rollercoaster and that is an understatement my research consisted of conducting 46 interviews with colleagues and ex colleagues in the Military and NHS this was 18 months of enjoyment but at times listening to their stories of how enforced change had affected their lives was upsetting but inspired me in knowing what I had undertaken would bring value to others in the future. It has been a real voyage of emotions and new learning, which has made me look at life in general from a very different perspective and really understand that one cap really does not fit all in relation to change management.
"As Liam, I dedicated my thesis to my Mum who passed away just as I started but has been with me in every interview and every evening trying to put the right words together. I also dedicate to my colleague and friend Sarah Bevan, who has been prodigious in her recovery and through her strength and character inspires me every day never to give up."
