Workforce Development
Group Leader(s): Professor Catherine Henshall, Dr Clair Merriman
Contact: cmerriman@brookes.ac.uk
About us
The Workforce Development Research Group is co-Chaired by Dr Cathy Henshall and Dr Clair Merriman and was founded in 2021. The group’s aim is to build and develop an internationally recognised and vibrant research portfolio in the area of healthcare workforce development, with a focus on key funding priorities. This includes:
- research in secondary, community based, social care and other out of hospital settings
- a focus on health care staffing roles, skill mixes and training opportunities.
We are interested in exploring the best ways for staff to support patients who are living with long term conditions, as well as in examining ways to support the workforce to ensure it is resilient and engages with sustainable mechanisms for practice. We also engage with healthcare student bodies to actively involve them in research, as well as considering any ongoing changes to practice settings that may need evaluating or assessing.
Through the WDRG we promote and support a collaborative research culture. Membership includes early, mid and senior career researchers, as well as PhD and Masters students. We act as a forum for sharing and supporting practice developments that will inform current and future research activities, as well as knowledge exchange, innovation, teaching and policy.
Leadership
Dr Clair Merriman
Reader in Nursing, Midwifery and AHP Clinical Research-OxInAHR and Divisional Research Lead for NMAHPPS- Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust