About

I am a Lecturer in the College of Health and Social Care and I teach predominantly on the BSc Nursing in Mental Health. I am also Stage 2 Lead for the BSc Mental Health Nursing Programme.

I am a registered Mental Health Nurse and prior to working at the University of Derby, I worked in a variety of clinical practice areas. My most recent and longest clinical experience involved working with adults in a community setting, and I am passionate about making a difference to those that experience difficulties with their mental health.

Teaching responsibilities

I teach across the programme on mental health-specific and shared modules and I have a keen interest in simulated practice within the BSc and MSc Mental Health Nursing programmes. This allows students the opportunity to practice real life situations in a simulated environment and can take a variety of different forms.

Professional interests

I am passionate about reducing stigma for those with mental health difficulties and in particular those with a diagnosis of personality disorder and psychosis. I have a degree in Psychosocial Interventions and I strongly believe that embedding a recovery-focused approach to care is fundamental to the success of these interventions.

Research interests

I am interested in how innovative simulation techniques can be used to enhance the teaching and learning experience for students from an interprofessional perspective, and have presented my work on this at National and International conferences. 

Membership of professional bodies

• Registered Mental Nurse - Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Fellow of Higher Education Authority

Qualifications

• Diploma in Mental Health Nursing - University of Nottingham
• BSc (Hons) Specialist Studies (Psychosocial Interventions in Mental Health Nursing) - University of Derby
• Post Graduate Certificate in Interprofessional Practice Education

Recent conferences

• 25 International mental health nursing research conference. RCN, London 12-13 Sept. 'Using simulated learning for values based nurse education; development of an evidence based approach'  (E Collier, G Brietshadel, M Shand, C Foster)
• Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 'Teaching in the Spotlight - Innovation for Teaching Excellence', Newcastle, 2-4th July 2019.  'The use of an innovative high-fidelity simulated practice approach in interdisciplinary teaching and learning'  (G Breitschadel and B Wyke)

Experience in industry

Since qualifying as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in 1998 I have a worked in a variety of NHS settings including acute inpatient adult, rehabilitation, liaison psychiatry and community.  

I have always had a passion for supporting students out in practice as a mentor and I am delighted to be able to continue to do this in my capacity as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Derby.