Nursing Research / Midwifery Research / Health Studies Research

I applied to do my doctorate at King’s because of the facilities on offer, the expertise available and its reputation as a top research institution. My research focuses on the use of vouchers for maternal health care in India and I was impressed by the resources available for those doing research outside the UK. Since I started a year ago I have been to Hindi lessons in the Modern Language Centre, attended seminars in the India Institute and the other global institutes, and visited Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi thanks to a King’s Partnership Grant.

The members of staff in the School of Nursing & Midwifery have been supportive, and my two supervisors have really helped me to develop and focus my research plans. I have enjoyed interacting with other doctoral students through ‘Research in Action Group’ meetings in the School and found the meetings to be a great resource to discuss methodological problems. I presented my proposed research topic and methods during a meeting a few months ago and the group provided very useful feedback. Another great resource for my work has been the methods courses run by the School of Nursing & Midwifery and the King’s Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Centre, through which I have gained the skills that I will need to conduct my research.

I would happily recommend King’s to prospective doctoral students based on my experiences. I have only been at King’s for one year but I have made new friends, picked up new skills and am now looking forward to returning to India to do my fieldwork.

I am a registered nurse and a midwife. I completed my registered general nurse training in Republic of Ireland, 1996. I worked as a general nurse inLondon for five years before completing my midwifery training at Thames Valley University in 2003. I gained MSc in Human reproduction and developmental biology at Imperial College London in 2006. I am presently working part-time as a community midwife.

I chose to study at King’s College London because King’s has a great reputation for producing high quality research which is recognized both nationally and internationally. Supervisors are experts in their fields. They are leaders in developing a wide range of specialisms in nursing and midwifery.

My research project focuses on the antenatal predictors of mother-to-infant bonding. I am interested in perinatal emotional health. Impairment of mother-to-infant relationship can adversely affect the emotional and behavioural development of the infant. The detection of this problem from as early as the antenatal period would allow intervention strategies to be undertaken at an early stage, thereby improving maternal and infant relationship.

I particularly found the researcher development programme at King’s attractive. I have the opportunity to book courses that helps me to achieve the knowledge and skills needed for research and personal development. There are excellent facilities and good environment for studying.

I enjoy meeting PhD students from other parts of the world. I have a remarkable supervisor who is very helpful and supportive. It has been a joy studying at King’s College London. I would highly recommend King’s to anyone who wants to study at PhD level.

I am a chemotherapy nurse consultant and have worked for many years in partnership with leading cancer nursing researchers from the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery, Kings College London University. My academic colleagues gave me the opportunity to get involved in nursing research within my place of work and to acquire a Masters level qualification in cancer nursing. More recently, Emma Ream, Professor of Supportive Cancer Care at Kings, encouraged me to study at PhD level and assisted me with an application for a National Institute of Healthcare Research (NIHR) grant, which I was awarded in 2010. My doctorial research is exploring why cancer patients delay presenting to hospital with neutropenic sepsis, which is a life threatening complication of chemotherapy treatment. This research grant has enabled me to study full time and to focus on my PhD studies without the distraction of clinical work. Through Kings I am undergoing a robust training programme which will enable me to carry out my own research when I return to my nurse consultant role. I have excellent regular PhD supervision sessions with leading academics in qualitative research and grounded theory which is my chosen methodology. I attend high quality in house and external training and the university location at London Waterloo is ideal as I am near to my cancer nursing contacts and my research field. Kings have gone to a lot of trouble to create a great learning environment. The library has been newly refurbished and I have my own desk in a quiet room with other PhD students. My next step will be to work with Kings to carry out an intervention study. I would advise others considering a PhD to make contact with academics based at Kings and who specialize in your area of interest to explore the options available to you.

I am studying full-time for a PhD Health Studies Research degree at KCL, supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) doctoral research fellowship. My graduate study experience with KCL first started 16 years ago when I studied with Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery (FNSNM) in 1996 for a MSc Nursing degree, as an overseas qualified mental health nurse from Hong Kong with a KCL scholarship. Back then and now, KCL is always internationally renowned for healthcare research and studies. I have since worked in the UK for over 14 years, both clinically and academically. When I considered doing my PhD study, it was only natural for me to pursue it with KCL, knowing first hand its reputation, robust graduate research training and supervision, and positive impact on employment opportunities.

My PhD project aims to develop and evaluate an online information-giving and peer support resource for siblings of individuals affected by psychosis. KCL’s connections within the UK and indeed internationally, enhance my access to experts in the field around the world, though quite some of them are based at FNSNM and Institute of Psychiatry (IOP). In addition to a variety of world-class training at KCL, international exchange opportunities are also widely available to all graduate research students. Within the last year, I was fortunate enough to be awarded a King’s Partnership Grant.to have a scholarly visit to University of California, San Francisco, USA and an Erasmus mobility fund to visit a leading research group in University of Turku, Finland. The overseas visits allowed me to network with like-minded researchers and to learn from the cutting-edge development in a rapidly evolving field using online media.

Within the UK, KCL has partnership within the King’s Health Partners and beyond that optimizes my research collaboration with clinical services and leading non-governmental agencies. For my current PhD project which covers five NHS Trusts, we are also collaborating with Rethink Mental Illness, the biggest membership-based mental health charity and campaigner in the UK. Best of all, all these are happening in a combination of nurturing yet stimulating and inspiring learning and research atmosphere in the heart of London - never a dull moment.

I chose King’s for my graduate research study for many reasons. Firstly, King’s was highly recommended to me by a friend of mine who was a current student at the time. Secondly, its reputation and my supervisors’ expertise certainly influenced my decision. Also, I knew that King’s was working towards establishing a partnership with the University of Sao Paulo (USP), in Brazil. Finally, I just felt that King’s was the right place for me to do my PhD.

I am studying the factors and influences on women’s decisions on how to feed their babies during the first six months post birth. Despite the recognized benefits of breastfeeding for the growth, health and development of children; and for the health of the mother, breastfeeding rates in the UK remain among the lowest in Europe. My research could help to develop effective interventions to promote and support breastfeeding; and to develop infant feeding advice and support for individual women and their partners during pregnancy and until their child is 6 months old.

The opportunity to study and collect data in the UK has been highly valuable and beneficial professionally, contributing to my development as an independent researcher. In addition, I received a FNSNM conference fund to attend an international conference in May 2011, which enabled me to present my research and network with other researchers working in the same field and with common interests.

I believe that being a student at King’s has contributed in many ways to my personal and professional development, and consequently, to my ultimate professional goal of becoming a successful researcher.

I chose to study nursing at King’s College London because the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery was the world’s first professional school of nursing. Also King’s is one of the top universities in the world with a great reputation for teaching standards and research.

I have experienced an enjoyable life at King’s. There are a wide range of study resources available which provide great opportunities to develop learning and research skills and to improve myself. High quality modules, seminars, lectures and other research activities create a wonderful environment for study.

As an international student, meeting students from all over the world from different backgrounds has been an unforgettable experience - particularly sharing different ideas, opinions and research experiences, supporting each other, and learning from one another. More importantly, my supervisors care about me and give me a lot of help and support. I think that the great supervision is the foundation for success for all PhD students.

I will continue my teaching career after the programme. There is no doubt that studying at King’s will help my professional development, and it has been a fantastic experience in my life. I would strongly recommend studying at King’s.