Working in COVID-19 research: Lynn Wren

Lynn Wren, Senior Research Nurse and Cross-Speciality Lead at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, speaks about working in COVID-19 research. 

How has your job changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began? 

Before I was overseeing multiple specialities, whereas now I’m overseeing purely COVID-19. The job has been more hands-on and very reactive to the changing situation. It's been a very fluid and fast-paced situation, so it’s collating information we receive from the local clinical research network and making sure the research team and relevant healthcare teams are updated in a timely and efficient manner. 

What does your day-to-day job involve now?

It now involves oversight of the COVID-19 studies and supporting team members. We have adjusted our working system so that everybody’s pulled together to work on the studies and we are rotating the coordination, so that everybody has the opportunity to gain experience. The co-ordinator decides which patients need to be seen, who is going to see them and who is collecting the data. When we enter clinical areas, we must ensure we are protected and protect those in the area by putting on personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a mask, gloves, apron, gown and headscarf. We approach patients about taking part in research, recruiting them if appropriate and speak to clinical teams about their patients and the research options. We wouldn’t be able to carry out studies without this collaborative approach across the trust and it’s an opportunity to raise awareness of research. 

What studies are you currently working on and what do they involve? 

We’re working on ISARIC, which is an observational study collecting blood samples, swabs and data from people with COVID-19. We are also recruiting to RECOVERY, which involves randomising those patients to different treatment options and comparing their outcomes to see which treatment has the best results for patients. The drugs include antiretrovirals used for HIV, corticosteroids, hydroxychloroquine used for malaria and we are adding more as the trial progresses. In GenOMICC we collect blood samples, with their consent, to help identify genes that make some people more susceptible to COVID-19. We have most recently opened PRIEST, which is looking at optimising the triage during a pandemic to get the most accurate method of predicting severe illness. We also have UKOSS, which is looking at anonymised data collected from pregnant women, again with their consent, with the virus. 

How have patients responded to being offered these studies?

It’s quite variable. Some patients say ‘I’ll do whatever you need to help you learn as much as you can’ but other people say ‘I’m too ill at the moment and don’t have the energy to think about this’. Generally people have been quite open and quite keen to be able to help us learn more about this virus. 

Are there any challenges with working in COVID-19 research?

With the newness of it all, the changing landscape of the studies and current situation, you have to adapt. It’s also emotionally difficult as quite a few of our patients are not making it out of hospital. We are required to follow our patients’ journeys with this virus, whether they’re younger or older and that can be tough if there isn’t a positive outcome. There is also the personal concern about keeping ourselves and our families safe.

How do you and your team support each other?

We’ve got everybody working together, we’re all cross-covering the studies, talking and taking time out for each other. I set up a mental health check-in, where I send a Whatsapp message to my team with a diagram of coloured hearts to indicate how they are feeling. They don’t need to verbalise anything, just message me with the correlating coloured heart to let me know how they’re getting on. The different colours can mean ‘I’m okay’ or ‘I’m struggling’. It’s just a way people can ask for help without having to face-to-face. 

What do you enjoy most about working in research? 

That we are helping the country and the world to have a better method of fighting this virus. I want to learn more about it, so that we can help turn the tide on the amount of patients affected by the pandemic. 

What would you say to the public about taking part in research? 

It is the way forward to understanding this virus and improving the situation. I like the analogy that the hospitals are firefighters trying to look after their patients as best they can and our job and the role of participants is to give them better fire extinguishers. We are really appreciative of all of the patients who have agreed to take part. When we tell patients about our studies we also spend time with them and they appreciate the additional human interaction they are receiving. We aim to make them feel better, not solely focus on research. 

Find out more about NIHR-supported studies into COVID-19 on the NIHR website.