I am a registered nurse and nurse academic currently working with the University of London and University of Essex Online. I have over 15 years' experience in health care and was particularly involved in safeguarding within emergency services and improving services for patients who had experienced domestic abuse.

I undertook my 2014 Fellowship into Domestic Abuse in Bangladesh. One of my findings related to using creative approaches to talk to healthcare workers about sensitive topics and develop empathy and compassion. This led me into the field of the arts for the wellbeing of healthcare staff, and I am currently working on the research project Humans Not Heroes, using the arts to help healthcare workers reflect on their experiences of the pandemic.

The pilot phase of this project was positively evaluated by participants and was shortlisted for a Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance award (2021). The resulting artwork has been used with student nurses to help them reflect, and disseminated widely to the public. I have recently been awarded a Covid-19 Action Fund Grant to support the second phase of the project which is swiftly gathering pace.