On 19 March, the NIHR PSRC Network (SafetyNet) held its second NIHR SafetyNet PhD Networking event for PhD students and their supervisors. Hosted by NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NWL PSRC) at Imperial College London, the event brought together over 60 attendees from all PSRCs across England. Throughout the day, participants had the opportunity to share skills, grow their network and present their research. 

Dr Kelsey Flott

To start the day, Dr Kelsey Flott, Deputy Director of Patient Safety Digital at NHS England, presented a keynote to highlight the impact that patient safety research and outputs of the PSRCs has on national policy.

PhD students shared their research via both engaging poster presentations and oral presentations, and the event also included “Learning Together Discussions” to explore enhanced ways of working and development of  important skills in patient safety research.

See the agenda

Poster Sessions

Twenty students presented their work as posters, and a vote recognised the two best posters of the day. Congratulations to poster presentation winners Lauren Lawson (Newcastle PSRC) and Victoria Yoon (Central London PSRC).

Oral sessions

The morning and afternoon oral presentations, chaired by Dr Kelsey Flott and Professor Rebecca Lawton, included a wide range of research topics and methods. PhD students succinctly presented their work, shared insights, answered questions and connected on common areas of their work. At the end of the day their success was celebrated with a vote for the best oral presentation. Congratulations to our winner Adam O’Neill (Greater Manchester PSRC) and runner up Ahmed Alboksmaty (NWL PSRC).

Group discussions

The PhD students benefitted from rapid fire talks on capturing impact in public engagement (Anna Lawrence-Jones), Thinking outside the box (Saba Tariq) and What could a NIHR SPARC award offer you? (Jessica Rich)

Splitting into smaller groups for “Learn Together” discussions, attendees had a chance to discuss with colleagues some core aspects of patient safety research and life as a PhD student.

Stream 1:

• Gaby Judah led a discussion on how to prepare for your upgrade viva or PhD interim review and also provided an overview of the ethics application process, challenges and top tips.
• Laura Horga shared tips on what makes a good oral and poster session and the audience shared their own thoughts on what makes a great poster.

Stream 2:

• Jodie Chan led a discussion centring on how to work with under-served groups, and make that accessible and inclusive
• Lauren Ramsay shared advice on maximising the impact of your research – including how your research can make a meaningful difference to people’s lives.
• Kate Grailey supported attendees with discussion on co-designing research, as well as outputs and interventions

With thanks to Professor Bryony Dean Franklin, Director of the NIHR NWL PSRC, for chairing the day, and the PhD students and supervisors who brought such energy, enthusiasm and interest to the event.

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