As it's International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD)* on Sunday, we're featuring one of our R&D Nurses Sam Mellor pictured here with her son Dan and the latest in our Hello My Name Is..... campaign.
CHFT has a variety of research studies which people are currently participating in, from paediatrics, cancer, ophthalmology and sexual health and lots more.
Look out for the Research Team as they may be visiting your Ward/Department... get involved and join in! Read below to find out about Sam.
Hello my name is… Sam Mellor. I live in Marsh with my son Dan and my husband Paul. Before I came into nursing I worked for more than seven years at Greenhead Books in their library supply department. I was due to go and study textiles and ceramics in Cumbria after leaving college but had a change of heart and ended up at the bookshop which I really enjoyed at the time.
What is your position? I am a Research Nurse at HRI. I started last October. I help look after haematology patients already in trials and help introduce patients to other trials that are starting or that they may be interested in taking part in.I thought research was done at the universities and the teaching hospitals, like in Sheffield and Leeds. Before starting in the research department, I was working in Outpatients for 18 months. I saw these people in uniform in the clinic and I went to ask what they were doing. They were from the research team. It was only then that I realised research was taking place within the trust. I decided to find out more about the research team and ended up joining. It’s been a learning curve but I enjoy the constant learning. It’s very different to working on the ward. I love having time to spend talking to patients. You meet some amazing people.
Tell us about your career background. I started my training just as the Project 2000 nursing diploma training was beginning in 1993. My friends and I would be collected from HRI by coach and taken to Pinderfields every morning when not on the wards. The coach would take us via Dewsbury and Halifax to collect other student nurses. I qualified in 1996 and started my career on ward 5 which was general medicine and Dermatology at the time. I worked on MAU when it opened on ward 11 and spent a good few years working in Respiratory on ward 8 when it moved to 17 and finally when it joined with cardiology on ward 5. I worked for a short while on ward 6 and Medical Outpatients before coming to Research. So as you can see I‘ve been around a bit!
What are the best bits about your job? Meeting all the lovely staff and patients I have, and still work with now. They all face the day with compassion and humour. Joining the Research team has really made me appreciate the contribution they make to the advancement of treatments in order to give patients more choices and options.
What is the highlight of your career so far? Looking after people. It is incredibly rewarding.
Sum up your role in three words. Challenging, rewarding, humbling.
What did you want to be when you were growing up? If truth be told, a car mechanic. Growing up in the 60s and 70s my brothers and I would be taken to car auctions for a family car and I would love going round looking at different cars. My Dad could buy some bangers at times though. One was stolen once. My dad was so pleased when he got it back as it came back in better condition than when it was taken.
Who is your hero/heroine and why? My Mum. She always stays positive and we have the same sense of humour so we’re always giggling at something.
When you are not at work, how do you relax? I love to read and get out walking with my family as we have two dogs. Although my husband likes to ignore the signs that say ‘BEWARE BULL‘. *See the picture at the bottom with her dog Matilda.
What is your favourite place? Anywhere with my family
What would people be surprised to know about you? When I was 18 my friend and I auditioned to sing in a band. (No-one famous I hasten to add) Anyway, I froze at the mike and my friend struggled on bravely by herself. Needless to say we were not asked back.
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ICTD is celebrated each year on the 20th May. This is to raise awareness of the importance of research to healthcare and how we have grown in developing high quality research. James Lind conducted the first ever clinical trial in 1747, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy.
Next Wednesday staff involved with clinical trials at CHFT will be holding a stall in the main entrance of HRI and will also be having a mobile “Research Roadshow” at HRI and CRH to talk about their work and how people can take part. Our trolleys have been kindly loaned by Adrian Brown and Lina D’Italia the Catering Managers on both sites. There will also be a demonstration of a mock clinical trial, ‘The Chocolate Trial’. Volunteers who agree to take part will be given one of two types of chocolate, at random, and asked to rate their feelings after eating it. This will give people a chance to understand what the consent process and participating in a research trial is like. The chocolate has been generously donated by the lovely Morrison’s Supermarket Community Champion in Huddersfield.
This year we are combining the event with NHS70 celebrations. The slogan being:- “give the NHS a present to celebrate it’s 70th Birthday by getting involved in Research” We will have a Research questionnaire with us if anyone would like to take up the challenge.