Biography

PhD, BSc (Hons) Dip RN (Adult Nursing), Post Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (PGCHE)

Andrew undertook his nurse training at the then Keele University Department of Nursing and Midwifery in the late 1990’s. After registration, he moved into the speciality of Rheumatology and worked for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust at its Haywood Hospital site before the speciality provision moved to the local Primary Care NHS Trust.

Andrew joined the School in 2005 as a Clinical Skills Lecturer, Andrew formed part of a skills team that was responsible for the clinical skills teaching of all pre-registration student nurses across all fields. He vacated the role of Clinical Skills Lecturer in 2010 to undertake a full-time PhD funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and took up the post of Lecturer in Adult Nursing. The PhD was undertaken as a full-time secondment to the then Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences at Keele University.

Andrew completed and was awarded his PhD in 2014 when he returned to the School on a part time basis whilst maintaining a post-doctoral research role at the School for Primary, Social and Community Care. Andrew currently leads the School of nursing and Midwifery’s programme: 'Fundamentals in General Practice Nursing'; a programme commissioned by NHS England, whilst also maintaining a post-doctoral research role with research focussing on primary care nursing.

In addition to these roles, Andrew is Evidence-Based Practice lead for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffs CCG, working predominantly with primary care nurses to question and appraise ‘best evidence’ in their general practice roles (Finney et al, 2016). This role has received yearly funding since 2015. 

Andrew was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2019 and is currently the Research Theme Lead for the School of Nursing and Midwifery; working across the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to develop the School’s research theme of ‘Health, Care and Wellness’.

Research and scholarship

After successfully gaining a 2009 Pre-PhD award to undertake a research project at the Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Andrew built on this award in 2010 by successfully gaining a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Fellowship. This fellowship was achieved in a highly competitive field of Nurses and Allied Health Professionals. The prestigious research grant allowed Andrew to be seconded from the School of Nursing and Midwifery for three years in order to complete a PhD at the Arthritis Research UK (Now, Versus Arthritis) Primary Care Centre. Andrew’s PhD was nested within a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial entitled ‘The Management of Osteoarthritis in Consultations’ (MOSAICS). The PhD was awarded in 2014 and was entitled ‘Multisite Peripheral Joint Pain: Prevalence, Impact and Multidisciplinary Support in Community Dwelling Older Adults’ 

Andrew currently undertakes post-doctoral research as part of Keele’s Impact Accelerator Unit. Andrew is Evidence-Based Practice lead for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffs CCG, working predominantly with primary care nurses to question and appraise ‘best evidence’ in their general practice roles (Finney et al, 2016). This role has received yearly funding since 2015. He is currently the Research Theme Lead for the School of Nursing and Midwifery; working across the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to develop the School’s research theme of ‘Health, Care and Wellness’

Teaching

Andrew currently leads Keele’s ‘Fundamentals in General Practice Nursing ‘programme. A programme funded by NHS England. He also supports evidence-based practice teaching and assessment across the School at undergraduate and post-graduate level.