Dr. Tom Roberts is a multi-award-winning Emergency Care Registrar whose enthusiasm for asking questions has paved the way for a career in research.
We spoke to Tom as part of our #MyRoleInResearch series to find out how he got involved in research and what he’s working on.
What’s your educational background and what interested you becoming a researcher?
I studied Medicine at Edinburgh University and qualified as a Doctor. I'm very curious and I’ve always had lots of questions. Working in Emergency Medicine we’re always asking what the best way to do things is. I discovered research was a way for me to progress from asking questions to answering them, so I set up my own Research Network.
What excites you about working in research?
No two days are the same when you’re working in the fast-paced and diverse Emergency Department. We are often the first to spot new problems, challenges and phenomena, which is very exciting. We can quickly identify whether it would be beneficial to carry out research in that area, and if there’s an opportunity to improve patient care.
What does carrying out research in Emergency Medicine look like?
Alongside my clinical duties, my research is very mixed. I do some of my own research as part of my PhD, which mainly looks at patients with headache. I also do a lot of collaborative research with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM),looking at questions including doctors and mental health, and an E-scooter project. There’s such breadth of things to look at in Emergency Medicine and you can get involved in so many different types of research.
Tell us more about the E-scooter project
We saw an increasing volume of patients coming to the Emergency Department with E-scooter injuries. There were lots of talks about how severe all these injuries were, but until you study it closely you don't get an appreciation of what the injuries are, who’s getting injured and why. Without that information you can't change anything. We came up with the idea of doing a short project in a number of hospitals to see how we could improve things.
Do you feel like you have made an impact with the research you have carried out?
Yes I do, definitely. Through Professor Ed Carlton and his team we've been able to deliver some novel models of research. It’s also important to note that in some studies you can undertake and implement change quicker than others. The larger studies can take years to be adopted into National Guidance. It’s helpful to understand the potential timeframe and outcomes from the start.
What support have you received working as a Researcher in North Bristol NHS Trust?
I've had great mentorship from Professor Ed Carlton who's based in the Emergency Department. I’ve also been incredibly lucky to be recognised for my efforts and work through winning the RCEM and NIHR ‘Young Investigator’ Award, among others. It's fair to say that research in the Emergency Department is always going to be challenging. However, the medical teams all work closely together and are very supportive, helping us to improve how we deliver research for Emergency Care patients.
What advice would you give to someone who's considering a research career?
If you want to have a research career my advice is to do it! Think of questions that you want to answer that interest you, and then find mentors that can support you in your research journey.
Further information
- Careers in research and active research vacancies at North Bristol NHS Trust
- Support for your research journey
- Our Current Research
Whether you’re a doctor, administrator, nurse, healthcare worker, we have a dedicated team to support you in developing your research project from start to finish.
Get in touch today to discover more about research at North Bristol NHS Trust.
Video Transcript
My name is Dr Tom Roberts, I'm an Emergency Medicine Registrar and I also am doing a PhD looking at patients with acute severe headache and their subsequent Healthcare resources. So I'm someone who's very curious and has lots of questions and in Emergency Medicine where we don't always know what the best way to do things are. It's a specialty that is very good for for kind of answering big questions because even the most basic things, we don't really know if you into it we don't have great evidence for what we do so research was a way for me to rather than just ask questions actually answer them.
The most exciting thing about work in research especially in emergency medicine is the fact that if there's a new problem that comes up we see it first. So it comes through the door and we can question why this is happening why this new phenomenon is happening why a patient presented like this and then we can quickly turn around research to answer that question and help. So Covid is a great example of that. We've recently done some research on E-Scooter for example where there was a problem and we looked into it and we can quite quickly have impacts with that research. If it's a problem that you're seeing whilst working and on the front line and then quickly develop a research question in a project, then you can actually change practice with the answers of your questions and you can improve patient care.
If you want to have a research career my advice is to do it. Think of questions that you want to answer that interest you and then find seniors that can support you in that in that research journey. It doesn't have to be someone definitely in your specialty, it can be a Doctor, it could be a Nurse, Researcher, an Allied Health Professional Researcher, anyone who can support you in your journey need to find and get that sort of senior mentorship. But the most important thing is to have a question.
Video Transcript
What team are you in and (briefly) what does your role involve day to day?
my name is Dr Tom Roberts I'm an emergency medicine regist and I also am doing a PhD looking at patients with acute severe headache and their subsequent Healthcare resources
What first attracted you to health research?
So I'm someone who's very curious and has lots of questions and in emergency medicine where we don't always know what the best way to do things are it's a specialty that is very good for for kind of answering big questions because even the most basic things we don't really know of you into it we don't have great evidence for what we do so research was a way for me to rather than just ask questions actually answer them
What excites you now about working in research?
the most exciting thing about work in research especially in emergency medicine is the fact that if there's a new problem that comes up we see it first so it comes through the door and we can um question why this is happening why this new phenomenon is happening why a patient's presenting like this and then we can quickly turn around research to answer that question and help so
Can you tell me about the most interesting research study you’ve been involved in?
CO's a great example of that we've recently done some research on E Scooters for example where there was a problem and we looked into it um and we can quite quickly have impacts with that research if it's a problem that you're seeing in the um whilst working and on the front line and then quickly develop a research question in a project then you can actually change practice with the answers of your questions quickly and you can improve patient care quickly
What advice would you give to someone who is considering a research career?
if you want to have a research career my advice is to do it um so think of questions question that you want to answer that interest you and then find seniors that can support you in that in that research Journey it doesn't have to be someone definitely in your specialty it can be a doctor it could be a nurse Reacher an Allied Health uh uh professional researcher anyone who can support you in your journey need to find and get that of senior mentorship but the most important thing is to have a question