To celebrate CHFT's Research Month, we've been finding out a bit more about the current research projects our Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are working on from Physiotherapist, Tash Maher.

There have recently been several research studies led by AHPs, including the ongoing SORTED trial, which was set up by Advanced Physiotherapist, Gill Fielder. The SORTED trial stands for Surgery Or Rehabilitation for Traumatic shouldEr Dislocations and is a UK-based study comparing surgery plus rehabilitation versus rehabilitation alone for young adults with a first-time traumatic shoulder dislocation. Gil is the study's Principle Investigator (PI) and will soon be bringing Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, Donna Richardson into the study as Associate PI. The study will establish the best way to treat young adults who dislocate their shoulders for the first time.

The RaCeR 2 study closed last month, and the final results have not yet been published. The study compared different approaches to physiotherapy following surgery to repair rotator cuff of the shoulder. This study was led by Tash as PI and Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, Jess Holdsworth, was brought on as Associate PI. The main outcomes were to monitor shoulder pain and disability at 12 weeks after surgery. 

Potential upcoming studies include the SUPPORTED trial which looks at current guideline-based care for people with shoulder osteoarthritis. It hopes to understand how acceptable and feasible the shoulder osteoarthritis intervention and trial procedures are for patients and physiotherapists in order to identify barriers to participation. Tash is again leading this as PI and will be bringing on another Associate PI.

If you're interested in getting involved in research, there are a number of ways to do it:

• Support an existing study by helping identify eligible patients, discussing research opportunities, supporting recruitment or contributing to study delivery within your clinical service. To see a full list of CHFT's current research studies, see our Research Team's intranet page.
• Become an Associate PI by developing practical research leadership skills through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Associate PI Scheme while supporting an established clinical research study
• Develop your own research idea by identifying an unanswered clinical question and working with our Research and Development team, Research Champions or people like Tash to explore the study's design, feasibility, governance and potential funding
• Build your research skills by accessing Good Clinical Practice Training, research methodology courses, journal clubs, mentorships and relevant NIHR learning opportunities
• Join a research network or collaboration by connecting with research-active colleagues, multidisciplinary teams, universities and regional networks to develop projects and share expertise.
• Explore a clinical academic career by considering research internships, funded fellowships, postgraduate study or opportunities to combine clinical practice with research leadership

Here is Tash's advice for anyone thinking about getting involved with research: "Start small with something that is meaningful to you, an audit, a research question, reading a paper and tell someone about it. That will have a positive ripple effect across your colleagues and teams and who knows where it may take you."

The very first Self-Assessment of Organisational Readiness Tool (SORT) survey is available and has been sent to relevant parties, please make sure you complete to help us shape the future of research.