Pharmacy research is commonly perceived as an activity confined to universities or advanced academic settings. However, it is deeply integrated into daily clinical operations across various sectors, including community pharmacy, primary care, hospital wards, and critical care units (ICUs). Within ICUs, decisions must be made rapidly, patients are often in a highly unstable condition, and treatments are frequently modified. In these settings, research is not an isolated endeavor but arises organically from clinical practice—a reality that ICU pharmacy professionals will recognize. The most impactful questions in practice typically originate not from formal research proposals but from bedside inquiries, particularly when clinical decisions lack supporting evidence-based knowledge. Such instances frequently motivate substantive research efforts focused on enhancing patient care directly.
Why Research Matters to Clinical Practice
As pharmacy research enters a new phase of professional identity and public recognition, following the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s transition to the Royal College of Pharmacy on 15 April 2026, the argument for everyday research becomes concrete rather than theoretical. It serves as a practical tool for enhancing medication use in complex patients, bolstering decision-making under pressure, and delivering optimal personalized care. Research stands out as one of the most evident ways the profession showcases its value: it questions established practices, fills evidence gaps with improved findings, and converts frontline insights into better patient outcomes.
Such insights frequently originate as informal clinical observations before evolving into structured areas of investigation. This viewpoint is vividly captured in a recent interview with Cathrine McKenzie, who holds the position of professor of intensive care pharmacy at the University of Southampton, serves as an honorary consultant pharmacist in critical care at University Hospital Southampton, and chairs the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine’s pharmacology and pharmacotherapy section. During the interview, McKenzie discusses the evolution of clinical questions into research endeavors, the perseverance needed to bring ideas to fruition, and the importance of pharmacy professionals recognizing their potential to contribute substantively to impactful research.
How a Routine Observation Led to New Research
According to McKenzie, research did not initially stem from a theoretical career objective. Rather, it originated from patterns she repeatedly observed in practice that defied explanation. Early in her professional journey, she noted that certain critically ill patients did not regain consciousness as anticipated following a switch from propofol to midazolam, especially those with renal or multiple organ dysfunction. She recalled: “All I saw was patients not waking up after we transitioned them.” At the time, existing literature provided scant explanations for what she was observing on the ward.
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Instead of accepting this uncertainty, she chose to pursue it. This unresolved clinical query eventually became the foundation for deeper inquiry and ultimately led to her PhD. Her experience shows a point many pharmacy professionals acknowledge: some of the most significant research questions emerge directly from patient care, arising when clinicians encounter inconsistencies, unforeseen harm, or knowledge gaps and feel driven to ask “why?”
Research enhances clinical practice. McKenzie asserts that research significantly improved her skills as a clinical pharmacist. It transformed her approach to medications, prompted her to challenge assumptions, and deepened her considerations of patient safety. Research was never an isolated activity; it became integral to her practice. This represents research-minded practice in its most actionable form: identifying risks within routine care, scrutinizing systems more closely, and generating evidence that can directly enhance patient safety.
Steps for Pharmacists to Start Their Research Journey
McKenzie offers practical and grounded advice for pharmacists keen on research. She advises them to: Begin with small steps; cultivate habits of inquiry and critical analysis; share work within local communities; submit abstracts to conferences; present findings; publish where feasible; and gradually build confidence and credibility over time. She highlighted forums, such as the RCPharm annual conference, as a valuable and supportive platform for pharmacists at earlier stages of their journey.
Her career exemplifies the cumulative nature of research achievement. Most recently, she obtained £2.7m in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for a double-blind randomized clinical trial examining IV thiamine versus placebo for preventing and treating delirium in ICU, a project that required years of refinement, persistence, and overcoming repeated challenges before securing funding.