My name is Michelle, I have been a registered nurse for 24 years and have spent that time working within the area of stroke. I have progressed through my nursing career and I am now proud to say I am a stroke nurse consultant. My research journey began with being involved with the IST 3 trial, a thrombolysis trial that is now part of our everyday potential stroke treatment plan.

I then became involved in the ENOS trial, this involved randomising patients and collecting data for the first time with regards to blood pressure lowering within stroke. At that time, research nurses were limited. This allowed me to have my first experience of being directly involved in research and appreciating first-hand how research can have a positive impact on our patients and create evidence to improve our future treatment and management plans. Since these first trials, I have progressed to being a Principle Investigator for research trials, with a keen interest in hyper acute stroke trials.

Having the support to be directly involved in research has been available through many avenues. I completed my MSc which allowed me to perform my own research and gain an advanced understanding of the processes of research. I received support from academics and clinical support within our RND department.

Within my current role, we have a fantastic support network of clinicians and research nurses with the opportunity to be involved with the NIHR as a regional network and support. We encourage the junior members of our team to be directly involved in research so they can appreciate how exciting and rewarding it can be.