My journey as a nurse leader in social care research

To celebrate International Nurses Day this year, Sailus Maphosa RN, Quality Improvement and Research Officer, shares how their social care nursing internship empowers nurses to save lives.

Being part of the inaugural cohort of research interns for The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Social Care Nurses Research and Development Program is more than a professional milestone; it’s a personal mission to reshape how we value care in our communities. Based in Greater Manchester, I find myself standing at a vital intersection where clinical nursing, community engagement, and academic enquiry meet.

Moving beyond the task: why nursing leadership matters

In social care, it is easy to get caught up in the logistical "how" of care delivery. However, my role as a nurse leader has taught me that the "why" is found in research. My internship isn't about promoting a specific project or provider; it’s about using my voice to advocate for the people - both those receiving support and those providing it, who make up the heart of our sector.

One of the most profound parts of this journey has been my work on the "Caring for the Carers" project. Rather than viewing this as a standard service evaluation, I see it as an act of nursing leadership. By using research to identify the root causes of stress and burnout in our workforce, I am using clinical evidence to advocate for the wellbeing of my colleagues. We know that when we support the person behind the care, we directly improve the quality of life for the people they support.

Changing the language of care

Part of my growth in this role has been a shift in perspective regarding how we speak about our work. I’ve moved away from describing our work as a "frontline"- which implies a battle - and instead see it as a shared space of support and connection. Similarly, I’ve learned that the people we support are not simply "service users"; they are individuals with lived experience, families, and unique stories.

By softening our language and humanising our research, we make it accessible. My goal is to move research out of the ivory tower and into the living rooms and community hubs where people feel safe. We aren’t doing research to a community; we are exploring solutions with them.

Breaking silos: the academic-provider partnership

One of the most rewarding aspects of this internship is building bridges between university researchers and social care practitioners. Historically, these two worlds have lived in isolation. As a nurse, I can act as a translator, taking rigorous academic methodology and applying it to real-world social care settings to solve human problems like isolation and staff turnover.

A call to my fellow nurses

To my fellow social care nurses: our voices are the most powerful tools we have. For too long, social care has been seen as the "Cinderella service," but through research, we are professionalising our craft and proving its worth.

I want to inspire you to see research not as an "extra" task on top of a busy shift, but as the very foundation of your leadership. It is how we prove what works, how we demand better resources, and how we navigate better outcomes for the people we care for. We aren’t just witnessing the future of social care; as nurses, we are the ones leading the way.

Discover fully-funded internships in social care nursing research.

Find out more about International Nurses Day.

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