Journey of a PhD sleep researcher

Sleep is one of the three pillars of health along with diet and exercise, says Flinders PhD researcher Nicole Grivell, who has dedicated her research degree to changing the way sleep health is managed in our communities.

Working alongside the National Centre for Sleep Health Services Research, Nicole is exploring the role that primary care nurses can play within sleep health care and understanding the barriers and facilitators that exist for nurses providing care.

“I have been a primary care nurse for many years and have been involved in the development and provision of models of care that were not sustainable for a number of reasons,” she says.

“Cessation of these programs can have a devastating effect on patients. I now want to contribute to knowledge that can improve the success of nurse-delivered models of sleep health care.

“This will hopefully enhance continuity of care for patients and promote retention and upskilling of nurses.”

Her PhD aims to make a broad difference in sleep health.

“I’ve had the freedom to pursue something I think I can make a difference in, in a way that suits me. I’m hoping that by combining my clinical knowledge with research I can have an impact on a wider scale,” Nicole says.

An advocate for the role of primary care nurses within the health care system, Nicole has worked for many years as a primary care nurse as part of a successful clinical career.

With a young family, she wanted a career with more flexibility and took a position as a research assistant at Flinders University in a different field to primary care.

With plans to eventually teach nursing students, she completed an Honours degree while working part-time and raising two young children. She later progressed to a PhD, taking on a full-time load while both her children were at school.

Beginning her PhD at Flinders in 2020, Nicole finds her research – investigating how sleep disorders insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea can be managed by general practice nurses – fascinating and motivating.

An inaugural recipient of the Nick Antic Sleep Research PhD Scholarship, she is also a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student representative for Medicine and Public Health at Flinders and enjoys supporting her peers.

"Doing a PhD has challenged my thinking and assumptions. It pushes me and it has changed the way I think and how I solve problems,” Nicole says.

“It’s been an amazing process. I’m getting paid to learn and there’s not too many situations where that happens.”

Nicole credits the support and encouragement she’s received from her supervisors and her research team with helping her understand how her clinical nursing experience can be applied to inform research. 

“My supervisor challenges my thinking and points me in the right direction, while still allowing me to make the decisions about my PhD,” she says.

“I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to choose my own PhD topic, inspired by my clinical and contextual knowledge of primary health care but informed by his vast knowledge and expertise in sleep health care, to make it a PhD that I believe will make an impact.” 

Nicole is excited about where her research could take her.