Assistant Professor and Subejct Lead for Mental Health Nurisng

My role is varied and includes: acting as ambassador for the university and the nursing profession at national and local events. I advocate for the nursing profession via academic, clinical and research engagement and publications. Involved in curriculum development and module leadership,  I am a personal tutor for undergraduate students offering pastoral and academic support, this is both enjoyable and rewarding. My role also includes involvement with the PhD process, such as supporting PhD students and acting as subject specialist. I engage in research-rich teaching and the development of research.

National Contribution: Currently I am leading on a national project for Health Education England. I did lead for the Royal College of Nurisng (RCN)  for suicide awareness and prevention (2015-2018) and  represented the RCN at the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, I was elected to the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (2016-2018). Trustee for the national charity Papyrus (2013-2019)  and key instigator and contributor to ensurimg suicide awareness was identified as a competency for all student nurses and included in NMC standards. 

Subject specialities include: suicide, acute mental health care, solution-focused practice, Executive and leadership coaching, personal development, humanistic care and spirituality. 

Research interests: grounded theory, interpretivism, constructivism, participatory research

Professioanl Doctorate: Entitled: Meeting Spaces: crafting conversations about suicide in pre-registration nurse education, is concerned with  the co-construction of meaningful encounters in health contexts. It identifies the need for nurses to meet a suicidal person with  genuine intention of seeing otherness and being with the uncertainty of suicide. Meaningful conversations about suicide were co-created in illuminating space in what was considered a human pivotal encounter. A specific kind of space is required to support meaningful conversations about suicide as the experience of the encounter incorporates more than just words. Drawing on Martin Buber's teachings on spirituality, the formation of a meeting space requires fully embracing  the other with awareness and intention, energetically extending boundaries of the physical self into surrounding space. It is here, in the space in between, that an authentic experience can be co-created. The Meeting Space Framework was constructed from the grounded theory of this research.