Karen Holland

Research Fellow (Evidence Based Nursing Education Innovation)

• Mary Seacole MS1.20
• T: 0161 295 2765
• E: k.holland@salford.ac.uk
• SEEK: Research profile

My career in nursing practice and nursing education has spanned 45 years, having started nurse training in September 1967. I have seen and been part of many significant changes over this period of time but have retained that initial commitment to nursing that has educated caring at its roots.

I have during the course of this time undertaken many roles from staff nurse to Associate Dean (Research) and although 'retired' from full time work in 2009, enjoy the challenges of nursing education internationally in my part-time two days a week role as a research fellow.

I am totally committed to ensuring the quality of the student learning experience and to ensuring that nursing education has a rigorous evidence- base. My main area of expertise in teaching and learning is curriculum development and I have led a number of major curriculum changes including the one leading to a degree in nursing in keeping with the revised NMC 2010 Standards for an all graduate workforce of the future. My other interests and teaching commitments include research and evidence -based practice and cultural awareness in nursing and health care. In keeping with these interests  my 'passion' in facilitating learning is to ensure that students become self- confident, knowledgeable nurses , who are able to make decisions in practice based on an underpinning belief in caring with compassion for their patients and clients as well as working together in their professional practice.

I have a specific research interest in partnership working, practice development and curriculum innovations and have undertaken and led a number of research projects and development work in these fields. Having had to 'give up ' PhD studies due to family and work circumstances I have now embarked on a personal goal to complete my original study , focusing again on the way in which anthropology can help us understand how student nurses become engaged in nursing work. I have been fortunate due to my research project portfolio in being able to supervise post graduate students up to doctorate level and have a number of completions as both main and co-supervisor.

I am currently involved in working with a team of colleagues from seven partner countries in an international EU funded project, ( EmpNURS ) where we have developed and piloted an Introduction to mentorship programme in four of the countries with a view to introducing the final programme to other EU countries in order to enhance learning and working as well as knowledge transfer .  The University of Salford has the responsibility of project evaluation.

I am Editor of Nurse Education in Practice, an Elsevier journal and was instrumental in its inception and ongoing development. I am also Subject Chair for Nursing/ Health professions for the Elsevier SCOPUS International Content Selection Board (CSAB) which is a major role in selecting journals for inclusion in the Scopus database. I have written a number of books for student nurses and am series editor currently for a series of books for Oxford University Press and Elsevier. I have recently co-authored a book with another editor colleague on Writing for Publication for Wiley Blackwell and trying to maintain my own writing for publication profile. I am co-chair of the NETNEP International Nursing Education Conferences Organising Committee, and the 4th of these is being held in Baltimore USA in 2012. I also run and support writing for publication workshops when invited, such as at NET international Nurse Education Conference in Cambridge and this year at NETNEP 2012 in Baltimore as a pre-Conference event.