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Background: Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are integral to research, yet rarely engage simultaneously in research and clinical practice. Clinical academic internships offer a route for accessing academic research training. Aim: To determine facilitators and barriers to nurses' participation and engagement in research internships, and to suggest improvements for future programmes. Discussion: The experiences of ten health professional research interns were explored, using a method based on a synthesis between grounded theory and content analysis. Four categories emerged: integrating clinical and research aspirations; support – or lack of it; the hidden curriculum; and the legacy effect. Respondents identified facilitators and barriers to engagement in these categories, including unforeseen challenges. Conclusion: Formal support is necessary but is insufficient for fostering engagement and maximising benefits. Participation must be supported by colleagues and enabled by institutional structures. The potential effects of internships on engagement with research is considerable but requires collaboration between all stakeholders. Implications for practice: Deeper institutional engagement is needed so that internship opportunities are fully supported by all colleagues and practically enabled by institutional structures. Future schemes should attempt to promote opportunities to collaborate through group projects to reduce researchers' isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented from Caroline Watkins, incoming United Kingdom (UK) Stroke Forum Chair, discussing the 11th Stroke Forum Conference that will be held in Liverpool, England on November 28-30, 2016.

In June, the University of Central Lancashire opened its clinical trials unit, where staff will run complex intervention trials in a range of care areas, including stroke, musculoskeletal health, public health and mental health. One of the first trials looks at how hospital nursing policies in the first 24 hours after patients have had stroke affect their subsequent survival and disabilities. Known as HeadPoST, the study will recruit 20,000 patients globally, with the 6,000 UK research participants managed by Lancashire. This article explores the role of emergency nurses in supporting the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 11th UK Stroke Forum Conference, hosted by the Stroke Association, is the largest stroke conference in the UK. It aims to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with opportunities to share learning and best practice in stroke care and rehabilitation.