Advanced Healthcare Practice

Researchers in the Advanced Healthcare Practice research group are focussed on studying topics related to Advanced Practice (AP) in Allied Health Professional and nursing clinical practice.

'Advanced clinical practice is a defined level of practice within clinical professions such as physiotherapy, nursing, paramedics and occupational therapy. This level of practice is designed to transform and modernise pathways of care, enabling the safe and effective sharing of skills across traditional professional boundaries. Advanced practitioners are healthcare professionals, with the skills and knowledge to allow them to expand their scope of practice to better meet the needs of the people they care for. They are deployed across all healthcare settings and work at a level of advanced clinical practice that pulls together the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research' (Health Education England).

We have regular group meetings where we discuss our ongoing research projects and consider any new ideas.

Our group consists of academic health staff and clinicians undertaking research degrees in AP. The academic staff have considerable experience in AP, having held specialist and consultant level NHS posts in a wide range of clinical specialities and settings.

Previous research by group members has reviewed decision making in AP literature and explored how AP clinicians and their patients use decision making in clinical consultations.

Our aims are to:

• Support and encourage group members to undertake high quality research studies, expanding the evidence base in existing and new Advanced Practice (AP) roles in healthcare.
• Explore how Advanced Practitioner clinical reasoning and decision making supports the clinical relationship between APs and their patients.
• Quantify the health outcomes from AP roles and how these benefit healthcare services and patient care.
• Develop collaborations in AP research between the university and healthcare providers and explore opportunities for collaborative funding bids.
• Explore opportunities for international collaboration in AP practice research.
• Support undergraduate and post graduate student involvement in Advanced Healthcare Practice research.

Get in touch

We welcome enquires from academics and clinicians interested in pursuing research into AP, or anyone interested in pursuing a research degree (MSc or PhD) in this field, or wishing to join the group.

Please contact Dr Jon Thompson or individual group members for further details.