Research should not merely be for professional groups with long-cycle higher educational qualifications, such as doctors. Also nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical laboratory technologists and midwives with medium-cycle higher education (MVU) should be able to carry out research, if they meet the formal qualifications. A year ago, Rigshospitalet decided to support research-committed MVU employees in their research efforts, by e.g. creating shared positions. In 2008 the first group of students attained a master’s degree from the Master of Health Science programme at Copenhagen University. Today, 82 nurses, 18 physiotherapists, five occupational therapists and six midwives have obtained a PhD./doctorate in Denmark, which proves that professional groups with medium-cycle higher education have considerable interest in research. Throughout the years Rigshospitalet has been the first to support research efforts of such professional groups in a number of connections, and as general front-runner within Danish health research, Rigshospitalet will continue in the future to demand innovative efforts to strengthen the total stock of talent among its employees, regardless of professional group.
Medical experts from Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet have in collaboration with international colleagues developed European guidelines on how to handle abnormal uterine bleeding during and after menopause aiming inter alia to reduce the number of unnecessary uterine Dilatation and Curettage (D&C) procedures.
One thing is to have state-of-the-art scanners; another thing is to decode the scan images. Rigshospitalet was one of the first hospitals in Europe to acquire an ultra-fast CT scanner. The hospital is now teaching physicians from all over the world to read scans of the heart.
Measurable effects of prioritised and focussed health and safety initiatives only come after implementation; transforming words into action in daily routines. This is what makes a winner and it is on this basis that Rigshospitalet received the European Good Practice Award in April 2013.