Catherine Murphy PhD student, 2014

Final year student

Hi, I'm Catherine Murphy and I studied PhD student within Health Sciences at the University of Southampton.

Becoming a student researcher has been the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done professionally or academically and it’s an absolute privilege to be able to carry out this kind of work. It may be incredibly challenging but it’s contributing to our knowledge and helping move our understanding forward.

I originally undertook the postgraduate diploma pre-registration training at the University of Southampton before going straight into my PhD.

I chose to continue here because I knew it had a fantastic reputation and Health Sciences is home to world-leading researchers who are forward-looking in the careers of nursing, combining clinical work with research.

Both my supervisors are based at the new Clinical Academic Facility (CAF) which is a brilliant base to work from and very inspiring.

During my postgraduate diploma I was placed in a urology surgical ward where I saw first-hand the physiological and social problems, as well as infections, that urinary catheters can cause.

It was an area I immediately felt I could make a difference in through a PhD and my research focuses on exploring how and why clinicians decide to use a urinary catheter in acute care.

My ambition for the future is to become a clinical researcher and continue my work looking at the use of catheters in practice. I've really found my niche here!