Podcast explores COVID-19 impact on PhD nursing students
Glasgow Caledonian University School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS) nursing staff and PhD students have released a podcast which explores research challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nursing during difficult times podcast was produced by Dr Gordon Hill, SHLS Assistant Head for International, and Dr Mark White, Vice President of Research Innovation and Graduate Studies at South East Technological University in Ireland, in conjunction with the Journal of Research in Nursing. Dr Hill and Dr White are on the editorial board for Journal.
SHLS Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) PhD students Ciara Ryan and Matilde Pieri shared their experiences and challenges during the pandemic, along with PhD students Patricia Hunt and Teresa Dowling, from South East Technological University.
As well as discussing the challenges of researching during COVID-19, the PhD students also examined resilience in research and tips for current researchers.
Ciara's PhD project is aimed at developing a self-management intervention for people living with stroke-related visual impairment, using a mixed-methods approach.
Before undertaking her PhD, Ciara graduated with a BSc in Occupational Therapy from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2018.
Ciara said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to be involved with the podcast and really interesting to learn about how other researchers overcame the challenges inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrupt move online.
"It was particularly refreshing to discuss some of the positive aspects of working through the pandemic, such as learning new skills to facilitate online research and strengthened relationships with colleagues and peers."
Matilde's PhD, HEADS: UP Aphasia, is funded by the Stroke Association, and she is developing an aphasia-friendly easy-to-follow adaptation of HEADS: UP (Helping Ease Anxiety and Depression following Stroke), a mindfulness stress reduction course for stroke survivors and their families.
She said: "The podcast has been an exciting and insightful opportunity to share my PhD journey during the pandemic, as well as time to reflect and learn from other PhD researchers' experiences."
Matilde is a Speech and Language Therapist and graduated with a BSc from the University of Genoa, Italy, in 2015 before completing a MSc in Speech Difficulties at the University of Sheffield in 2017. Matilde worked for 18 months as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in the Acute and Rehabilitation Stroke Units at the Royal Derby Hospital.
Working with people with aphasia from the early days until three to four months post-stroke raised Matilde's awareness of the significant impact of stroke and aphasia had on their ability to engage in daily activities and their mood.
Matilde joined Glasgow Caledonian University as a PhD student in 2019. She works under the supervision of Professor Maggie Lawrence, Professor Madeleine Grealy, Professor Anja Lowit and Gill Pearl.
You can also listen to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3wgVnGJ, Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3BN2iZo, PocketCasts: https://pca.st/x7bgjpjv and Anchor: https://anchor.fm/9plus.