After the joy and excitement of Christmas, I always feel January is a rather flat month and this year it seems to be particularly so. Now don’t get me wrong, I fight against these feelings not least because there are small pleasures to be found and we both have birthdays in Jan and early February…
Written by Amanda Craig, Associate Director: This year because of the extraordinary circumstances of lockdown and quarantine – the team at NHS R&D North West decided that we would create a less formal CPD event for ourselves in the form of an online book club to read and discuss together. Choosing books that have inspired us…
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” What is mindfulness….. Mindfulness is about knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. It is easy to stop noticing what is around us, lose touch with our feelings and end up…
There are five core team members in NHS R&D North West. We have a very busy schedule, three of us are part-time and a lot of our work takes place outside our office base. A couple of years ago it was feeling like we were flying around and hardly ever having time to reflect, time…
It’s estimated that 45% of the UK population now have a pet with the majority choosing to have a dog. This figure has increased by 5% since 2016 alone! It is becoming more and more common for businesses/office blocks to allow dogs into the workplace, particularly in Manchester city centre, which is great news for…
I have spent my last day here in Coimbra Portugal walking around the old town, soaking up the sunshine, buying small souvenirs I can squeeze into my suitcase and reflecting on my time here in Portugal on the Hope Exchange Programme. When I very first arrived I remember thinking that everything looked a bit shabby…
Over the last few weeks I have explored the health care system in and around Coimbra in Portugal and often visited departments that have been outside my general field of knowledge and expertise. This has not been a negative experience and in most cases has been doubly interesting because I learned so much more.…
Crossing the road in Portugal is a little bit more tricky than in the UK . There are lots of zebra crossings on the Portuguese roads but I have discovered that standing at the side of the road by the zebra crossing does not cause the traffic to stop. Standing on the first stripe of…
When talking to nurses in the UK before I came to Portugal, the general consensus was that there was little or no research being done by nurses and allied health professionals in Portugal and all the research in health and social care was lead by medical doctors and academics. This view was pretty much supported…
Here’s what I have discovered recently:- Put 6 people from 6 different countries in a room in Portugal and ask them to prepare and complete a joint project and within a matter of 2 hours you have a functioning and cohesive community of practice. Last Friday I went to Lisbon to a meeting of all…