About

I am Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Health, Psychology, and Social Care at the University. I am a registered diagnostic radiographer and joined the University of Derby in 2013. I have worked in a mix of educational and clinical roles throughout my career. I became Head of Allied Health and Social Care at the University in 2018 and subsequently acted as Head of the School of Psychology and Deputy Dean. I previously managed pre-qualifying healthcare and our foundation degrees/higher apprenticeships. I was awarded my doctorate in 2022.

Professional interests

I have worked with the Nursing Degree and Nursing Associate Trailblazers to develop the apprenticeship standards and End Point Assessments for both. Following on from this, I have been invited to support the Department of Health and Social Care, Health Education England, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council to support apprenticeship development. I am a lay visitor for the Nursing and Midwifery Council. I am a public governor for the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton.

Research interests

I am currently studying for a professional doctorate exploring how apprenticeship policy is being implemented in the National Health Service.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)-registered diagnostic radiographer and member of the Society of Radiographers. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Qualifications

• DCR (R) - Diploma of the College of Radiographers (Radiography)
• BSc (Hons) - Health Science
• MA - Research Methodology
• PG Certificate - Interprofessional Practice Education

Recent conferences

• Conference Paper: Build a nurse. UCAS annual conference for teachers and advisers, Brighton (February 2020)
• Conference Paper: Introducing apprenticeships – lessons from nursing (Invited Speaker). Health Education England Radiography Apprenticeship conference, London (March 2019)
• Conference Paper: Apprenticeships. Association of Radiography Educators’ Conference, Leeds (November 2018)
• Conference Paper: Developing the future workforce – Are apprenticeships the answer? NET conference, Cambridge (September 2018)
• Conference Paper: Apprenticeships in Health and Social Care (Invited Speaker) Society of Radiographers Radiotherapy Conference, Newcastle (2018)

Experience in industry

I worked as a radiographer in the Midlands for over 20 years. My particular area of practice was large bowel imaging but I practiced as a general radiographer.

In the media

• I am a regular contributor to the University of Derby blog
• University appoints new Pro Vice-Chancellor Dean

Recent publications

• Baker, D and Robertshaw, D (2021) what next for end point assessment? higher education, skills, and work-based learning (in press)
• Whiffin, C.J., Baker, D., Henshaw, l., Nichols, J. & Pyer, M. (2019) the value of providing pre-nursing care experience for aspirant nurses. nursing times volume 115, number 11, p33-36
• Baker, D. (2019) post-levy apprenticeships in the NHS – early findings. higher education, skills and work-based learning  vol 9, no 2, p189-199
• Baker, D (2019) potential implications of degree apprenticeships for healthcare education. higher education, skills and work-based learning, vol 9, issue 1, p2-17
• Whiffin, C.J., Baker, D. Henshaw, L., Nichols, J. & Pyer, M. (2018) ‘am I a student or a health care assistant?’ a qualitative evaluation of a programme of pre‐nursing care experience. journal of advanced nursing, 74(11) pp. 2610-2621 doi: 10.1111/jan.13788 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.13788 free online version https://rdcu.be/6iy4
• Whiffin, C; Clarke, H; Brundrett, H; Baker, D; Whitehead, B (2018) collaborative development of an accelerated graduate entry nursing programme outside of traditional funding mechanisms. nurse education in practice. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2017.09.017
• Baker, D (2017) what does it mean to be registered as an assistant practitioner? synergy, May 2017 book chapter in leading research and evaluation in interprofessional education and collaborative practice - going 4d: embedding the four dimensional framework for curriculum design (2016)
• Baker, D (2016) designing a curriculum for the assistant practitioner of the future: ensuring interprofessional care aspects and other stakeholder requirements are met. radiography 22 (161-165)