My name is Kelly Porteous, and I am a Lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland. I teach across the DipHE Operating Department Practice programme, which is currently phasing out, the Graduate Apprenticeship BSc Operating Department Practice programme, and the BSc (with/without hons) Adult Nursing programme.

Within Operating Department Practice, I teach across all modules and support students in developing the knowledge, skills, and professional understanding required for contemporary perioperative practice. I am also an Admissions Officer for entry to the BSc Adult Nursing programme at the Paisley Campus. In addition, I supervise MSc dissertation students across a range of topics, including failure to escalate concerns and the effectiveness of the NEWS2 chart.

My qualifications include:

• BSc Operating Department Practice with Merit, awarded June 2017
• MSc Health and Social Care, awarded June 2020
• PgC Academic Practice, awarded November 2022

As part of my MSc studies, I conducted qualitative exploratory research examining the advantages and disadvantages of critical incident debriefing within the perioperative environment. This research was undertaken between January and May 2020 and identified five key themes: time constraints, the need to learn from mistakes, fear of persecution, poor-quality debriefs, and the need for a protocol or guideline to support debriefing conversations. This work was later published in the Journal of Perioperative Practice: Porteous et al. (2024).

I am currently a part-time Doctor of Education student at the University of Strathclyde and am in the final year of my doctoral studies, with the aim of submitting in Summer 2026. My doctoral research explores Operating Department Practitioners’ perceptions of their professional identity and considers how this identity influences engagement with feedback provision, particularly in relation to fostering a professional community.

I have recently obtained an Editor position on the new Journal of Perioperaive Care. 

My key areas of expertise include perioperative care, critical incident debriefing, educational leadership, Operating Department Practice, professional identity, and communities of practice.

I welcome opportunities to support further MSc dissertation students, particularly in areas related to perioperative practice, professional identity, patient safety, escalation of concerns, education, and professional community development.