January 2022

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The GCRF Education Team were part of an extremely competitive shortlist from across the UK and were announced winners at the awards ceremony on 4 November 2021.

The Glasgow Clinical Research Facility (GCRF) has won a prestigious Student Nursing Times award for its exceptional student placement programme winning the ‘Student Placement of the Year: Hospital.

The award seeks to recognise those hospital wards and environments that manage the anxieties associated with going on placement, by providing a structured learning environment that helps the student to flourish. This includes clearly setting out what students will be exposed to during their time at the hospital, and ensuring they are supported to learn, practise skills and gain wisdom from the wider team.

“This entry goes above and beyond to demonstrate the potential of a unique practice learning opportunity for nursing students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Judges commented that this practice learning opportunity is innovative and at the forefront of developing the critically important skills of the future nursing workforce. Congratulations.”

Establishing the student placement programme in the GCRF and providing students with valuable insight into clinical research, that can be an unknown quantity for students, required significant planning and the help and support of NHSGGC Practice Education Facilitator team and Glasgow Caledonian University. Student placements started in 2016, and we have used feedback from students to continue to shape and adapt the placements we offer.

It is a real privilege to be recognised by this award and hopefully will continue to raise the profile of the role and expertise of clinical research nurses.

Naomi Hickey, UKCRF Education Group Chair, has set-up a delivery team to review CRF resources for student placements and create a student workbook that can shared across the UKCRF Network.