About Me

I have spent the last 20 years working in the NHS in a variety of roles and settings, but all with a nursing focus. My early nursing career had a very acute surgical focus, with my first jobs in theatre recovery, accident and emergency, pre-assessment, and site management.

My background has largely been focused on pain management, and I've worked as both a clinical nurse specialist and lead nurse across acute, chronic, and complex cancer-related pain settings. I have a passion for cancer-related pain, pain education, and the development of pain services. In my previous role as Lead Nurse for Acute Pain services, I led the team to win the Acute Pain Team of the Year at the UK National Acute Pain Symposium 2018.
My passion for high-quality education and the development of professionals extends beyond my current role; I am also the chair of the Royal College of Nursing Pain & Palliative Care Forum, as well as a past chair and co-founder of the Pain Nurse Network. I also hold positions with the European Pain Federation as a member of the nursing task force, and I am the secretary of the British Pain Society Cancer-related pain special interest group. I have also held positions with the British Pain Society Pain Education special interest group and the Association of Advanced Practice Educators. I have developed a portfolio of publications and have a track record of presenting at local, national and international conferences and events.

My research interests focus on supporting and developing advanced practice roles in cancer nursing, as well as on the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding pain management. I have been awarded a pre-clinical academic fellowship awarded by the Royal Marsden Charity and a Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship. This has allowed me to complete pre-doctoral research work into the needs of health care professionals when managing complex cancer-related pain. I was awarded an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship and am undertaking doctoral studies at King's College London.