2023 Trainees Event: Words from a Trainee

I attended my first NIHR School of Primary Care Research (SPCR) Annual Trainees Event in 2022, and since then, I have been excited and eagerly waiting for the 2023 event. This is because the Trainee Event is a gathering of a diverse and brilliant group of people who are part of the NIHR SPCR. It is an opportunity for all award holders, board members and training leads to connect with one another and feel a sense of belonging and community while enjoying some learning time with colleagues and friends.

The 2023 NIHR SPCR Annual Trainees Event was held at the Peter Chalk Centre, University of Exeter on 13-14 September. Exeter, which is about 2 hours from London, was a great choice to host this as the weather was simply amazing, with the sun shining brightly for both days of the event.

This year was unique, and I will discuss this as it comes. It all started with an opening speech, followed by a presentation skills session with Simon Cain, which was the ‘talk of the day’. Simon was a great presenter, quite obviously, considering what the session was focused on. It was more interesting that he followed a hands-on approach and provided feedback on our colleague Stella’s presentation, who kindly agreed to volunteer for us all. In short, this presentation session was helpful to everyone with tips to engage the audience and make presentations lively.

The second session, led by Dr. Kourosh Norouzi, was again an excellent session, where the focus was more on the message and not the presentation. In my opinion, this session had a powerful message and was conveyed very well by Kourosh. He encouraged researchers to think beyond academia and to think of ways to transfer research evidence into an innovation or intellectual property. Considering my inclination to implementation research, I feel connecting with partners beyond academia, especially in healthcare, is crucial to achieving the impact at various levels.

The evening dinner was a delicious 3-course meal with riddles and chit-chat being the fillers. We had a wonderful time sharing our stories at the table and realised everyone had made a unique and incredible journey up to this point. As some of our table struggled to find the trick to cutting the pineapple in the dessert, Prof. Richard Neal demonstrated the easier way to do it. It seems he has other expertise when he is not too busy with cancer screening research.

The second day was energetic as Dr. Andy Cope took us through a spiritual journey to become an optimistic leader. It was a great talk with a combination of a good presentation and a great message. Post-lunch, we had elevator pitches whilst we all reflected consciously or subconsciously on Simon’s session from day 1 and how we could have improved our elevator pitches. Day 2 closed with sharing the SPCR’s future plans for supporting us as a community, with masterclass series, funding opportunities and other programmes that can be looked up on the website.

This was not all of it. Apart from the top sessions and discussions, the behind-the-scenes work was simply perfect. The consideration of learning needs, dietary requirements, and careful selection of the presenters was simply amazing. Some might not know, but the trainee committee voices were considered while planning the event. The networking opportunities were fantastic, similar to the previous year. As well as the talks on day 1, there was also a suggestion and feedback session where cohort groups could discuss with training leads what more is required and how that can be provided.

This year, the abstract booklet and the elevator pitches connected us with the research work of other members of the school, something that was unique. It also showed how broad, inclusive, and diverse the research in primary care is, and something that SPCR should be proud of.

Finally, a big thank you to the SPCR for organising such a well-planned and enlightening event. It was great meeting new colleagues and making some friends along the way. Looking forward to the next one!