As a nurse, Josie Morley has worked in a variety of specialties including renal, burns and orthopaedics. She always had an interest in pursuing a career in research and was excited to take on the role of research nurse in 2018. Her desire to know more about how research is planned and conducted in the NHS, particularly qualitative research led her to apply for her PhD, funded by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West, which is exploring patients’ perspectives and experiences of healthcare in the context of the national evidence-based interventions programme.