I first began my nurse training in 1985 and after completing 2 years I left the course due to a family crisis. I went on to have a family and then took up jobs in a number of different industries including banking, custodial services and retail. My interest has always been in healthcare so once my family grew up I returned to my first passion – Nursing. By this time the nurse training programmes had changed and were now delivered by higher education establishments. I completed my training in 2006 and began my first role on a busy surgical ward. My main interest was in community nursing so after a year I moved to a community nursing role. It was during this time my family and I decided to emigrate to New Zealand and I secured a job working on an acute surgical ward in a large public hospital. Shortly after I was appointed to the role of District Nurse working for Nurse Maude based in Christchurch, NZ. Unfortunately being so far away from home took its toll on the family and we returned to the UK in 2009. This experience enabled me to have first hand experience of delivering healthcare in a different country and culture and gave me some valuable insight into the integration of two vastly different cultures. I first began my nurse training in 1985 and after completing 2 years I left the course due to a family crisis. I went on to have a family and then took up jobs in a number of different industries including banking, custodial services and retail. My interest has always been in healthcare so once my family grew up I returned to my first passion – Nursing. By this time the nurse training programmes had changed and were now delivered by higher education establishments. I completed my training in 2006 and began my first role on a busy surgical ward. My main interest was in community nursing so after a year I moved to a community nursing role. It was during this time my family and I decided to emigrate to New Zealand and I secured a job working on an acute surgical ward in a large public hospital. Shortly after I was appointed to the role of District Nurse working for Nurse Maude based in Christchurch, NZ. Unfortunately being so far away from home took its toll on the family and we returned to the UK in 2009. This experience enabled me to have first hand experience of delivering healthcare in a different country and culture and gave me some valuable insight into the integration of two vastly different cultures.

Organisational behaviour within healthcare organisations and healthcare education Wellbeing in healthcare staff and students The psychological impact of long term health conditions Experiences of nursing students in clinical practice Teaching, assessing and mentoring healthcare students