MESH is a national NIHR Nursing and Midwifery led project which aims to provide nursing students with research exposure and learning whilst undertaking their clinical placements.

The MESH initiative offers student nurses the opportunity to achieve tailored research objectives, become advocates for research and achieve research readiness within their clinical practice areas.

Mental Health Nursing students completing clinical placements at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust spent four days taking part in the MESH at the OH CRF.

Three days of MESH were online education sessions, covering topics including research ethics and an overview of what studies are running at the Facility.

One of the days was spent shadowing an OH CRF colleague where they received training in areas like taking blood and using an electrocardiogram (ECG), which are not usually offered to mental health students.

Zoe Harvey practising drawing blood

Zoe Harvey, second year mental health nursing student said:

“The staff were kind and happy to teach us. They answered all questions in an easy-to-understand way with no judgement. Sometimes you can feel in the way as a student, but I didn’t feel that like that at all.

“Thank you so much for letting me attend! I will feed back to the other students in my cohort, first years and the BSc students if they get the opportunity to attend. I also think you should arrange a talk at Oxford Brookes University to raise awareness of this opportunity!”

Charles Macauley, second year mental health nursing student said:

“My placement at the OH CRF has been a truly insightful experience. I gained a deeper understanding of how research directly informs and improves nursing practices.

“The opportunity to engage in the informed consent process allowed me to develop my communication skills. I was able to observe how crucial it is to ensure that participants fully understand the research they are involved in, the potential risks, and their rights as participants.

“I particularly appreciated how the team was open to teaching and involving me in the data collection process which included ECG and vital signs taking, practicing blood sampling, and using the Clinical Dementia rating scale. This hands-on involvement helped me understand the nuances of evidence-based practice and its importance in shaping patient care standards.

“I would like to thank the team for their mentorship and support throughout the placement and would encourage every student to participate in this opportunity.”

Charles Macauley (L) and Sylv Mutton (M) in a teaching session with Clinical Research Facilitator Rachel Delahay (R)

Sylv Mutton, second year mental health nursing student said:

“It was insightful to see what a day in the life of a research nurse and team looks like. Much more than I thought goes on behind a research team’s door.

“I learned so much about ECGs with Rachel Delahay, Clinical Research Facilitator.  It was a great learning opportunity to be able to set up, perform and then understand the ECG readings from the machine.

“Being able to act out the memory loss questionnaire was also a good learning experience, as well as discussing the score outcome at the end. I would encourage other students to take up the opportunity to attend the spoke days at OH CRF.”

If you are interested in a student placement at OH CRF, please email: oxfordhealth.CRF@nhs.net