NHRP Academy

Brave 25/26: Dr Helen Pearson

Introducing Dr Helen Pearson

Helen is a Clinical Academic Nurse Researcher/Advanced Nurse Practitioner who is driving one-of-a-kind changes which are positively impacting patient outcomes in under researched children’s cancer. Her research dissects shared decision-making in the context of poor-prognosis childhood cancers where there is currently no standard of care treatment.

Interview One: The Journey

Helen was inspired to become a children’s nurse at the age of 11 following a bike accident where she found herself in hospital for two weeks with a broken arm and a ruptured spleen. Once old enough, she did a degree in paediatric nursing at the University of Southampton. Once graduated, she then took a position in the hospital where she was treated as a child, working across the paediatric inpatient ward and A&E.

Starting Out

As a student Helen enjoyed family centred care where she was able to build rapport with children and their families, with a focus not just on the condition, but the family as a whole. During this time, she undertook a placement on the children’s cancer ward and decided that this was the speciality for her. Once qualified and when the opportunity presented itself, she moved into a position at The Royal Marsden as a band 5 staff nurse working on the children’s cancer ward. She spent years progressing in this hospital and completed her Master’s in Advanced Clinical Practice, until she hit a blockade.

“There was no career progression for me then and I wanted something more.”

Values

To continue her professional development, Helen took a position in a private hospital working as a clinical nurse specialist; however quickly discovered that the setting was not for her. She uncovered the differences between NHS and private healthcare, noting that patients could be overtreated because of poor communication with families on the extent of their child’s disease. This resulted in limited shared decision-making when parents tried to make the best decisions for their child. She took this to her line manager at the time and cites their response.

“My manager said to me, “You have to realise that this is a business first and healthcare second.” And that’s when I realised that I needed to leave.”

Fortunately, at the same time a clinical nurse specialist for solid tumours post opened at The Royal Marsden, which Helen applied for and was successful. She resumed working at this hospital, noting the valuable experience and insights she gained working in private healthcare despite it not aligning with her values.

“I don’t regret that because I saw things from a completely different perspective, but it also reinforced who I was as a person and as a nurse and what my values are.”

Moving into Research

Helen’s experience in private healthcare, though negative, is what inspired her to begin her PhD. Noting the gap in practice, she went on to undertake research which would begin dissolving the problems she had seen. Despite not succeeding on her first application, Helen secured a prestigious NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship to undertake her PhD which she completed in 2024. In her PHD she decided to explore the difficulties parents faced making treatment decisions when their child had a poor-prognosis cancer with no standard of care treatment in private healthcare, noticing that it was also applicable in the NHS. Through the knowledge gained in her PhD speaking with parents about making treatment decisions, she co-designed a unique web-based intervention with parents to support them in making treatment decisions in relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma.

Once Helen completed her PhD, her role within The Royal Marsden was repurposed to acknowledge her specialised skills as both a clinical nurse and researcher. She began working one day a week as Chief nurse at Solving Kids’ Cancer UK charity where she utilises her extensive clinical and research skills to support the charity strategically. Around this time, she also successfully applied for a highly competitive NIHR Development Skills Enhancement award (DSE) which started in August 2025 for 50% of her time. She currently has multiple research projects in the works and finds herself busy with alternating commitments.

“I thrive on the different elements of my role and I don’t get bored.”

BRAVE

Coming across the advertisements for BRAVE, Helen’s initial thoughts were of the cost. She mulled over the course for a while, intrigued by how relevant the training was to healthcare professionals like her and eventually decided to apply anyway. Alongside this she applied to The Royal Marsden study leave committee for funding, hoping to be funded for half of the course costs; but after reviewing the exceptional impact her research skills have had in building capacity and capability within her department and future potential, the Trust funded it all.

Helen began BRAVE excited to meet the cohort. In BRAVE she has met other clinical academics in fields adjacent to hers and has found value in networking, discovering others’ ideas and being able to apply what’s useful in her own work and career development.

“I thrive when I’m with people that get what I’m trying to do and are on the same pathway as me.”

Going forward, Helen is optimistic about the clarity which BRAVE will provide her with and hopes that with her research projects and this training amongst others, she will be able to secure funding for a post-doctoral award to continue conducting transformative research and progress her career.

Interview Two: On the Cusp of Something New

“You have to be the chief executive of your own career. If you don’t cheerlead for yourself and what you’re able to offer organisations and what you can bring to the table and what your impact can be, people won’t necessarily seek you out.”

Walking away from BRAVE now, Helen is refreshed by the confidence she needs to represent herself, her work and most importantly, the value which she brings to a team. Equipped now with the toolkit, clarity and network which she has needed to boost her confidence, Helen is moving forward with intention to ensure that she can achieve and reach her full potential in her career.

Support and encouragement

Placed within a network of similarly challenged individuals as non-medical clinical academics, in BRAVE Helen found encouragement and support. Despite their different pathways, in the cohort Helen has found amongst other things that the challenges which she faces in justifying her value as a clinical academic are the same as the challenges others are facing. Relating with other members has provided support for Helen, easing her with the knowledge that she is not isolated in her struggles.

“There’s not many non-medic clinical academics around. We’re all forging different pathways and having a forum to discuss it with other like-minded people that are on this journey has been really useful”

Similarly, the cohort has boosted her in encouragement. Sharing her experiences and applications for grants whilst being given information from others about potential grants and programmes which could be useful to her, the participants made a supportive system of give and take. Since forming a BRAVE network, each individual has had the opportunity to share something useful whilst also receiving helpful advice.

“The group has been a give and take sharing of experiences.”

Building a toolkit

Feeling encouraged and inspired by her peers, BRAVE has built upon Helen’s leadership foundations in a way which leaves her confident in her abilities. Supported by the material of BRAVE, she is now equipped with a toolkit which she uses in challenging situations. With tactics in influencing, communication and understanding, the toolkit makes her feel more prepared in work to take on whatever difficult conversation is next.

“I’ve got a toolkit so if I’m stuck and unsure, I can go back to my folder and see what we addressed in the course.”

Practical leadership

Now utilising her BRAVE experience in the workplace, she is finding that things run much smoother. Taking the time to gather and understand feedback from her team about how they operate and how they could improve, Helen has found herself becoming a better leader of a much stronger team.

“I’ve had feedback from multiple people to say that the team is working smoother than it was.”

Reflection and self-awareness

BRAVE facilitated time and space for Helen to reflect. As a result, Helen now has greater clarity about her journey, strengths and weaknesses. Better understanding her strengths and limitations is helping Helen to move forward with power and purpose, reframing each opportunity in how it can benefit her, what she has to offer and whether this may support her career progression.

“It’s been really beneficial having time between each workshop to reflect, grow and have clarity on where I was, where I am, and what I want going forward.”

Making a supportive leader

As the positive effects of clarity, leadership skills and network which she has gotten out of BRAVE, Helen feels confident in her abilities as she demonstrates her value to others. Now feeling secure in her value and journey, she finds herself supporting other clinicians in her space to access research opportunities which are otherwise hard to come by.

“You’re cheerleading your own career, but you’re also cheerleading and trying to support others that may want to look at alternative routes for their careers.”

Reflecting on her journey Helen finds the most tangible effect of BRAVE has been her heightened confidence, cumulative of her dedication to improving her skillset, clarity and network throughout the programme. Having engaged with BRAVE, Helen feels assured in her abilities to continue progressing on her clinical academic career and leadership journey to achieve her goals.

Dr Marilyn Bradbury

Dr Marilyn Bradbury is a Paediatric Physiotherapist specialising in the movement of non-ambulant children. She joined BRAVE intrigued by its targeted nature and has since found comfort and clarity which is supporting her to continue her clinical academic career.

Dr Chris Lovegrove

Dr Chris Lovegrove is an Occupational Therapist at the forefront of neurology, specialising in Parkinson’s. Joining BRAVE to enhance his skills as a leader, he aims to make transformative research into his field to improve patient outcomes.