I joined the former University of Paisley in August 2002 as a Nurse lecturer on the Undergraduate Adult Nursing programme. Prior to commencement in education I worked as a registered nurse in medical and stroke care.

I continued in undergraduate Adult Nurse education until 2012, when I became more actively involved in the BA Integrated Public Service programme. I then took on the role of Programme Leader for this programme, which following validation in 2015 became the BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care and BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care with Administration. 

Following the success of the undergraduate programmes I developed the MSc Leading People-centred Integrated Care programme. I now lead and deliver as cross-sectoral active learning with staff who have well established roles and aspirations to progress into leadership roles.  A key aim of this programme is to enable students to become courageous, transformative change agents in the delivery of people-centred integrated care

I am passionate about the role that education, at all levels, can play in supporting the delivery of integrated people centred services to enable the transformational changes required for a health and social care service fit for the 21^st century. Within the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes, I continually strive to ensure that a student-centred approach to learning and teaching is maintained throughout the programmes and at all levels. The programmes recognise the asset based that students can bring to the programme with a strength of being co-produced along with students.

I am a Senior Associate with International Centre for Integrated Care (IFIC) and an active member of IFIC Scotland’s core group and Reference Network. I established an academic collaboration with colleagues from Cummings Graduate Institute. I have supported IFIC Scotland colleagues in hosting study tours for visitors from Singapore, Seychelles and Brazil and supported a mentee in IFICs mentorship programme. I contributed to the Compassionate Communities SIG Active Learning Programme. In supporting the planning and delivery of the Transforming Together project with Sao Paulo State, I had a particular focus on the learning needs of community health and care professionals.   

My desired research direction is around the integration agenda particuarly within health and social care. This will incorporate a number of areas which includes education and housing to improve outcomes for people who utilise services and their families.

I am also interested in exploring the work-force of the future particulary within in public services. This includes the organisational and cultural challenges staff encounter when integrating services along with the evolving and changing roles and exploring the hidden talent that is often within services, which if recognised, nurtured and developed could make a valuable contribution to integrated services.

I am keen to be involved in research collaboratively with other colleagues from different interprofessional backgrounds to both inform myself and the research.

The organisations I would like to collaborate with from a national perspective is Alliance (Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland) and Health Improvement Scotland with links already being established.

From an international perspective this is with the International Foundation of integraed Care (IFIC). Links have already been made in relation to educational links and would hope that this could lead on to research collaborations.

Integration of Services and integrated ways of working

Organisational Culture

Experiences of articulation and wider access students

Student support