Feature article
PENG Audit and Research Symposium
On 16th November 2015, PENG facilitated their Audit and Research Symposium at The Strand in London. Over 50 delegates participated in the workshop led symposium and this also allowed the opportunity for the six winners of the 2015 PENG Award to present their abstracts and share their findings. All delegates were invited to place a pledge – to state what they hope to achieve as a result of today in three months time. Each pledge was written on a London postcard and will be posted out to each delegate in February 2016 to keep the day's discussion and debate alive. Below are some highlights of the day.
PENG recently held a successful study day on undertaking research and audit. The study day was a culmination of work undertaken by PENG to facilitate greater involvement by dietitians in using data effectively, to build our evidence-base, enhance practice and support business cases.
The content of the study day flowed effortlessly.
With an upbeat presentation to kick-start the day, Jacklyn Jones, PENG Clinical Lead for Research and Audit, outlined the results of the survey of members to identify the barriers and facilitators in undertaking research and audit. Jacklyn emphasised how PENG utlilised the results of the survey to shape the PENG research and audit strategy, including the new mechanisms and funding streams to support research and audit amongst the membership.
Judy Lawrence, Research Officer, followed with a succinct overview of the national facilitators available, including those that may help with funding and backfill to enable the execution of studies, and emphasised the assistance available from Head Office. Our six PENG Award winners had the opportunity to share the results of their projects on a range of nutrition support topics, illustrating the breadth of the professions work, along with providing excellent examples for the audience on the fruits of one’s labour.
Winners of the PENG Award 2015
- Bruno Mafrici, Nottingham
- Janet Gordon, Birmingham
- Amy Eldrid, Edinburgh
- Mel Baker, Leicester
- Charlie Proctor, London
- Lisa Goldie, Glasgow
“The renal dietitians in Nottingham and I felt very honoured to have received the PENG Award for an audit that we conducted last year on refeeding syndrome in renal inpatients. The PENG Award has allowed me to attend a very inspiring study day where I learnt different sources of funding available at a national level and really underlined the importance to do regular audit, monitor our dietetic practice and continue to measure outcomes for our profession to show how important dietitians are in the clinical setting. I am planning to share the learning points of the event with the department where I work, and I hope to cascade the enthusiasm to my colleagues with the hope that they will be able to submit their audits in the future.
The PENG Award also gave me the opportunity to share my work with other dietitians at a national level and to discuss with them the key findings of the audit and critically appraise what went well and what could I do better next time I repeat the audit. The forum was friendly and very supportive and it was great to liaise with other dietitian and learning from each other.
Being granted the PENG Award non only meant that I was able to attend a relevant study day to my clinical practice completely free of charge (and my manager was very happy with this!), but also meant that I increased my knowledge and experience in the field of nutritional support, how to do an audit , as well as liaised with other experienced dietitians in the UK.
Finally, I think is a great forum and opportunity for dietitians working in the clinical setting interested in doing an audit and I would encouraged any dietitian working in nutritional support to consider this for 2016 and apply: nothing to lose and a lot to gain! I would like to thank you the PENG Group and the sponsors for their support during the event!”
Bruno Mafrici, Nottingham
“I was delighted to discover my abstract won a PENG educational grant allowing me to travel to the PENG Audit and Research Symposium in London. This was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the current dietetic research taking place throughout the UK and meet other dietitians involved in research.
I thoroughly enjoyed the symposium, especially the workshop on how to write and submit an abstract and the lecture on presentation skills. I was surprised at the simplicity of the abstract process and how this can be constructed from the clinical data we all have available in our dietetic departments!
Overall, the symposium highlighted the importance of audit and research in promoting the dietetic profession and inspired me to seek out further research opportunities within my own dietetic department.”
Lisa Goldie, Glasgow
After lunch, facilitated by those with experience in the field, delegates enthusiastically participated in a 'hands-on’ workshop to turn data into abstracts and reports.
Melanie Baker provided participants with an eloquent overview of her journey in the research arena, including her success in securing an NIHR grant and PENG funding. To finish, Anne Holdoway provided tips on effective presentations to enable participants to consider how they might effectively communicate their results and key messages. Comments received from delegates reflected the practical learning points and many referred to the day as ‘inspirational'. It was evident from the buzzing atmosphere that those involved enjoyed the day undoubtedly helped by what they put in.
Thanks to Carole-Anne Flem
ing and Jacklyn Jones who were instrumental in designing the event. A further thanks to Carole-Anne for organising the event in conjunction with Karen Leek at BDA Head Office and thanks to all who participated in the day – members, non-members and the Committee and Clinical Leads who all made it a resounding success.
All delegates wrote a pledge on a London postcard which will be posted back to them to them in three months time to remind them of the action they were to undertake back in the workplace as a result attending the study day.
The event provided an excellent example of PENG’s commitment to the profession.
Through effective teamwork and planning, PENG identified members' needs, agreed a strategy and SMART workplan, developed and resourced the support requested by members, and delivered a study day to address the needs of members whilst equally supporting the wider profession and the BDA strategy.
"It was a wonderful day, both educational and inspirational. It is a huge honour to be a PENG award winner. It was a great opportunity to practice writing an abstract, something that I haven't done before, and present to my peers and share my service evaluation. I enjoyed discussing with other delegates their experiences of audits both in ICU and in the non ICU setting. It was great to hear what other dietitians are doing in research and definitely gave me food for thought for my own PDP in the next couple of years.
Thank you to the PENG Committee for organising a fantastic study day, and thank you to the sponsors for enabling me to attend."
Charlie Proctor, Advanced Specialist Dietitian, Northwick Park & St Mark's Hospitals
PENG AGM
PENG's AGM was held during the PENG symposium to allow the Committee to feedback to members and for members to ask questions. Reports from the key Committee members on the key aspects of work that PENG are involved in, including Treasurers report, were circulated to members in advance of the AGM to allow time to review. Minutes from the AGM 2014 were approved and will be on the members section of the website, as will any details from this year's AGM. If there are any queries, please contact us via: peng@bda.uk.com
If you are interested to learn more about the day or speak to someone about your audit or getting started, please contact the PENG Committee Research and Audit Lead, Jacklyn Jones, via: peng@bda.uk.com
Slides from the day can be accessed via the member's section of the website.