Information

TERN is a new research network, and so working relationships are developing, although the core structure of TERN is simple.

Core Structure

Currently the core structure of TERN is:

Committee

We currently have a further three committee members, with an as-yet unfilled committee member role. If you’d like to fill it, please email an expression of interest and a CV!

• Education Leads
  • Celestine Weegenaar, Rajesh Chatha
• Events & Publicity
  • (Unfilled)
• Funding Lead & Treasurer
  • Hridesh Chatha

Regional Representatives

We now move beyond the core structure of TERN (the Executive) to the wider TERN network. Decisions made about TERN and its administration are taken in consultation with the Regional Representatives. The role of the regional representatives is to promote TERN within their region, find & support trainees who are interested in participating or leading TERN studies locally. The regions are divided (roughly) as such:

There, is of course, more variation than that, and you can find out who your actual regional rep is by visiting our map.

Hospital Leads 

Hospital Leads are responsible for leading on a single project. This will be recognised through inclusion on the study manuscript as being a lead for that project at that site. For some hospitals or R&D departments who are not happy to have trainee Principal Investigators, it may be a consultant who is a nominative PI whilst the work is performed by these hospital leads; your efforts will be acknowledged.

Collaborators are practitioners who help the hospital lead with study set-up, data collection or another aspect of the project. This will be recognised through inclusion on the study manuscript as contributing to that project.

TERN, as a part of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, maintains close working relationships with many parts of the college.

RCEM Learning 

TERN’s mission to demystify clinical research and improve everyday engagement with research means we have a heavy presence on RCEMLearning. We have a dedicated area and publish a monthly post on the first Thursday of each month (or #TERNSDay). Through educational (and deeply entertaining) articles on RCEMLearning we hope to make research a more approachable part of every-day practice. We are looking to develop this further, through developing podcasts, webinars, and other educational content. Watch this space.

Emergency Medicine Trainees’ Association

We hold close ties to EMTA, and as a trainee-facing organization hope to help trainees. One of the aims of TERN is in improving the lives of our trainees, and so through working with EMTA hope to make this happen. We are currently involved in working on developing a new survey platform to better understand how changes to the training programme & working conditions impact upon trainees’ lives longitudinally.

RCEM Research Committee

As a body under the auspices (and funded!) by RCEM, we maintain close links to the RCEM Research Committee. It should be noted that all grants and funding applied for undergo the same process of competition, and we do not engender any specific benefits when it comes to this competitive process.

Do you want to submit an idea to TERN? Previously, the process of submitting ideas has been undertaken at TERN meetings, in person, decided democratically by voting. As a trainee-led research network, it is vital that trainees have a say in which studies are taken forward. However, with COVID-19, it is likely that this will not be possible for some time.

We are currently working on a Delphi process to determine TERN’s research priorities. There may also be a call for submissions next year (2021).  It is likely it will be through an online submission process to a panel that will judge submissions, who will present them to a vote. When thinking about your submissions, it may be helpful to think about what you submit.

If a project is selected, we will usually work with the original submitter of the concept, and take them on as a co-chief investigator. However, this is not mandatory.

The TERN model of research is one which is designed to complement the work of a busy ED. Some study designs will work better than others, and it’s always good to consider if your idea is a good fit for TERN. That’s not to say you need to come to us with a completely worked up project – we’ll happily support you in your efforts. It’s just good to think through your study and consider if it is suitable for this model of research.

Want to submit your idea to TERN? Think about:

Relevance to Emergency Medicine

• Has the question been answered previously?
• Is the question a JLA PSP priority?
• Is the question a TERN research priority?
• Are the outcome measures patient-centred?

Quality of science / methodology

• Does the literature support your proposed project design?
• Are the outcomes well defined & appropriate to the research question?
• Will the methods described be able to answer the research question?
• Is the proposed methodology compatible with current practice?
• Is the methodology legally and ethically sound?

Deliverability

• Are the outcome measures easily measurable?
• Is the proposed timeline appropriate for a TERN study?
• Have you considered potential pitfalls and how to mitigate these?
• Will the study be deliverable across multiple different types of ED?
• Will the study be deliverable without requiring any specific or novel equipment?

Suitability for TERN to lead this project

• Can this project be run as a multisite centre?
• Does the project involve limited follow-up?
• Is data easily collectable?
• Would this project be eligible for the UKCRN Portfolio?
• Can this project be delivered without conflicting with any ongoing or planned TERN studies?