Dr Rebecca Kearney

Current Role:

NIHR Clinical Lecturer: Appointed 01/01/13

Background:

Dr Rebecca Kearney graduated from Teesside University with BSc Physiotherapy in 2004. She completed clinical rotations before moving to a clinical academic trauma and orthopaedic team at Warwick Medical School in 2007.

Since joining the team Rebecca has completed an MSc in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery (2007-2009), gained an Arthritis Research UK Fellowship to complete a PhD (2009-2012) and obtained a Scholarship with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2010-2011). Presently Rebecca is undertaking a NIHR Clinical Lectureship (2013-2017) in addition to leading research in the field of trauma and orthopaedic rehabilitation through funding from Arthritis Research UK and NIHR.

Clinical/academic interests:

As a NIHR Clinical Lecturer, Rebecca is committed to leading the training of other aspiring clinical academics. She is a co course director for an MSc Trauma and orthopaedic surgery (2012-present), supervises post graduate students and participates in PhD upgrade panels.

This academic supervision and teaching is linked with her clinical interest in trauma and orthopaedic rehabilitation. As an extended scope practitioner she provides assessment, investigation, diagnosis and treatment for musculoskeletal patients referred to the trauma and orthopaedic team. More specifically this involves determining the need for further investigation (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, MRI), ensuring patients are managed appropriately within the orthopaedic service (e.g. urgent surgery, injection therapy, surgical waiting list) and providing an expert source of advice and clinical expertise in musculoskeletal medicine to other senior professionals.

Research interests:

Since qualifying as a physiotherapist in 2004, Rebecca has always had a desire to deliver improved patient care by becoming a leading clinical academic allied health professional.

More specifically her research interest is in clinical and cost effectiveness of musculoskeletal interventions. She completed a PhD on the topic of Achilles tendon rupture rehabilitation and is Chief Investigator for a series of randomised trials and associated studies supported by grants from the National Institute of Health Research and Musculoskeletal Charities.

Motivations for mentoring:

As a NIHR trainee Rebecca joined the ‘Mentorship for Health Research Training Fellows’ scheme as a mentee in 2013. As a mentee she had a wholly positive experience. The mentee/mentor relationship has been pivotal to her future career planning and as such she is keen to offer the same to junior trainees.

Rebecca is committed to the opportunities available to develop trainees and contribute to the NIHR vision to increase the number of health care professionals capable of operating at a world class level. She can offer junior trainees the unique perspective of someone who has been though the NIHR training opportunities to a senior level, offering advice and support on the difficulties of balancing clinical academic careers and guidance on the advantages it can offer and making the transition from being a supervised PhD student to an independent researcher.

My mentoring style:

As a non-medical clinical academic the career path is rewarding but can be challenging. As a mentor Rebecca can offer an informal arrangement that will allow the mentee time to discuss and explore individual situations in confidence, whilst being actively challenged to question ongoing decisions and future planning.

Last three publications:

Kearney R, Metcalf D, Parsons N, Costa ML. Injection therapies for Achilles tendinopathy – Protocol. Cochrane Review. Published Online 5 February 2014.

Kearney R, Parsons N, Costa ML. Achilles tendinopathy management: A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing platelet rich plasma injection with an eccentric loading programme. Bone and Joint Research. 2013:2:227-32.

Kearney R, Lamb S, Achten J, Parsons N, Costa ML. The Achilles tendon total rupture score: A study of responsiveness, internal consistency and convergent validity on patients with acute Achilles tendon ruptures. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 2012:10:24