Research for Respiratory Nurses: The Establishment of a research consortium.

This article describes how a Respiratory Nurse Research Consortium (RNRC) was established to promote and facilitate research relevant to respiratory nursing. In partnership with the Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists (ARNS), a national professional forum, the aim was to establish a group of research active respiratory nurses who could facilitate communication between respiratory nurse researchers, academics, and established respiratory nurse groups. The vision was to mobilise and aggregate the collective experience, knowledge and capacity for respiratory nursing research, raising its profile and subsequently empowering nurses to lead high quality funded research and map out options for clinical academic career pathways in the future. Funding for this project was through a start-up fund awarded by Edge Hill University.