About

I am a Registered General Nurse and qualified in 1991 after training at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. I initially worked on a short-stay surgical ward caring for patients undergoing day-case surgery. In 1992 I transferred to the Intensive Therapy Unit at Chesterfield Royal and remained there until 1999. This experience enabled me to develop knowledge and skills in caring for critically ill adults from all specialities including trauma/orthopaedics, surgical, medical and obstetrics. My role involved one-to-one care of these patients, their families and loved ones, working closely with all members of the multidisciplinary team. 

In 2000 I left Secondary Care and moved into the Primary Care setting. Initially working as a Nurse Advisor for NHS Direct and the out-of-hours GP service, performing telephone triage of children and adults requiring further assessment or health information. Following this experience, I successfully obtained a Practice Nurse post in a GP practice and obtained experience and qualifications in long-term conditions, health promotion and disease prevention. Although I became a competent General Practice Nurse, my particular interest was in diabetes and I was able to set up nurse-led clinics which improved patient access. This model was also used for other long-term conditions clinical and proved successful in improving the quality of patient care. 

In 2008 I was accepted into the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programme at the University of Nottingham, in their second cohort of students, and here I also completed the Independent and Supplementary Non-Medical Prescribing course. Since then I have worked as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in several primary care settings, including GP practice, walk-in centres, urgent care centres, community settings and out-of-hours services. I continue to work clinically for the Derbyshire out-of-hours service currently. 

I have always been involved in education and training within my clinical roles, and in 2020 I joined the University of Derby as Lecturer. I first worked on the undergraduate adult nursing programme and then transferred to the post graduate team in 2021. I now work on the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice team which I thoroughly enjoy and am privileged to work with trainee Advanced Practitioners. 

Teaching responsibilities

I am a Senior Lecturer on the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) Programmed and attached modules. I am module leader for Symptom Management within Palliative and End of Life Care. 

Professional interests

I am passionate about Advanced Practice and Interprofessional Learning. 

Membership of professional bodies

• I am a member of the Royal College of Nursing and have an interest in their Advanced Practice focus group
• I became a Queen's Nurse in 2019 and regularly attend updated and educational events related to this

Qualifications

• Registered General Nurse 1991 (Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital School of Nursing and Midwifery)
• ENB100 General Intensive Care Nursing 1997 (Sheffield Hallam University)
• ENB998 Teaching and Assessing in Clinical Practice 1997 (Sheffield Hallam University)
• Diploma in Diabetes Management in Primary Care 2004 (Bradford Diabetes Centre)
• Diploma in COPD Management 2005 (University of Warwick) 
• Diploma in Asthma Management 2004 (University of Warwick)
• BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies 2000 (University of Manchester)
• Independent and Supplementary Prescriber (V300) 2010 (University of Nottingham)
• MSc (Merit) Advanced Clinical Practice 2012 (University of Nottingham)
• Core Principles of Paediatrics in Primary Care and the Acute Sector 2016 (Sheffield Hallam University)
• Principles of Palliative Care 2017 (Ashgate Hospice, Chesterfield)
• Current Studies: Post Graduate Certificate in Interprofessional Practice Education (University of Derby)

Recent conferences

• March 2021 Queen's Nursing Institute Annual Conference. 

Additional interests and activities

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family. I love music and play the piano and accordion. I like to go to the theatre and enjoy seeing live music.