Collecting COVID: Oral Histories

Georgina Ferry interviews Siobhan Gardiner, Clinical Research Nurse, 11 April 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:18) early interest in nursing and studies at Cambridge, work in New Zealand and Australia, teaching at Thames Valley University, research nursing and work with the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network [DeNDRoN]; (00:04:31) dementia portfolio, including commercial studies; (00:06:58) primary role of the research nurse, including patient recruitment; (00:13:00) gastroenterology role; (00:14:00) first awareness of COVID-19; (00:18:30) nursing taskforce for COVID-19, involvement with the RECOVERY trial; (00:28:30) COVID patient recruitment for three studies [RECOVERY trial, Sepsis Immunomics, and ISARIC]; (00:37:30) PPE, work with A&E team; (00:39:57) patient schedules for studies; (00:43:07) morning huddle with team; (00:44:30) information gathering for ISARIC study; (00:45:52) leadership and teamwork; (00:50:16) grounded theory and use in research resulting from the pandemic; (00:51:00) interviews with colleagues and eventual article; (00:54:50) disbanding of the nursing taskforce, research governance role, creation of study protocol; (01:00:30) interviews with A&E team during winter 2020; (01:02:50) role within the immunology team; (01:04:36) current role, work in cardiology at the Acute Multidisciplinary Imaging and Intervention Centre; (01:05:44) personal experience of COVID-19; (01:08:17) working hours during the pandemic, delivering Novavax vaccine, Jansson trial; (01:10:16) support for wellbeing; (01:11:41) changes in attitude to career as a result of the pandemic.