Dr Liz Brewster is a senior lecturer in Medical Education at Lancaster Medical School, with undergraduate, postgraduate teaching, as well as research responsibilities.
Her research covers topics around professional identities, wellbeing, and mental health, with a focus on the health inequalities that are prevalent to this day. For instance, some of her recent work has looked into challenges around non-medical prescribing for mental health, as well as issues related to the NHS workforce, such as access to care and the difficulties certain individuals like mothers and carers experience while building a career in the NHS. In a recent interview with N8, Liz shared what she believes encompasses a healthy research culture, and how she works every day to instil this into her practices as an academic.
As someone balancing teaching an intense course such as Medicine with her research activities, Liz explained that a key component of a healthy research culture is being given the time and space necessary to “develop ideas” and “make connections between people.” It is critical that researchers are able to share and build on their concepts in a collaborative and non-judgemental environment. Right from the initial stages of talking through an idea with a colleague to providing or receiving feedback, to sharing research findings that may be used for the future endeavours of others, a healthy research culture involves people working as a team.
Consistent collaboration between researchers has been critical for the success of Liz’s work. Health research often involves a lot of qualitative research, which is a useful supplement to the statistical data available for topics like workforce retention. In such situations, she benefits from having built strong relationships with colleagues who are proficient in topics such as statistical analysis, helping projects move along. In a healthy research culture, everybody should act as a team player willing to share their expertise with others. Each colleague contributes in their own way based on their skillset, which ultimately drives greater research outcomes and scientific progress.
Working in academia comes with a lot of challenges – from facing constant rejection, to the pressures surrounding funding and the long hours, these are few of the experiences of a new researcher. For this reason, as part of a healthy research culture, it is also vital for experienced individuals to build strong relationships with their younger colleagues striving to succeed in the academic world. At the University of Lancaster, Liz is a mentor and role model to her students, always encouraging them to achieve their goals and supporting them in their career progression. She is also a big advocate of a healthy work-life balance, actively demonstrating to younger academics that in order to be a successful researcher you do not need to always be working, which can cause many issues such as burn-out and increase the risk of talented individuals leaving academia entirely.
All in all, Liz serves as an excellent case study of an experienced scientist using their platform to foster a healthy research culture, based on equality, collaboration, and strong inter-personal relationships between researchers. She also recognises that researchers require sufficient support to succeed in academia, providing mentorship to her younger students and colleagues, which as she aptly puts it “makes life [in academia] a lot easier.”