Nellie Makhumula Nkhoma

Nurse on an Acute Assessment Unit, James Cook University Hospital
Email: Nellie.nkhoma@stees.nhs.uk

Committee member of the RCN Northern Region RCN Research Society

Background

I qualified as a registered nurse/midwife in Malawi, Central Africa, and worked in different departments of a Central, District and Health Centre in the country. After a few years I undertook a degree in Nursing.  This led me into the role of Nursing Officer. After a year in this post I joined the University of North Carolina (Malawi Project) where I worked as a research nurse/supervisor.

I immigrated to the UK in 2001 where I worked in a Nursing Home before I joined James Cook University Hospital, Acute Medicine, in 2002. While here, I also secured a short term contract in Primary Care where I worked as a Clinical Trials Coordinator; North East Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases (DeNDRoN) Research Network and in the Centre for Clinical Infection working as a research nurse/coordinator and had the opportunity to coordinate the biggest commercial study the trust had ever conducted; as well as other portfolio studies.  I am presently pursuing a Masters Degree in Evidence Based at Teesside University.

Current role

I currently work on the Acute Assessment Unit at James Cook University Hospital (JCUH). This is a busy department that admits mainly medical patients directly from home, GP practices and A&E. The work here is challenging, it requires focus to detail and swift action at all times.  

Research interests

I feel that working on the ward gives me a lot of opportunities for identifying areas that need researching. I now aim to combine the experience gained in clinical research and knowledge so far gained in the MSc programme by conducting research as a co-investigator as well as the investigator.