I have worked in the NHS since 1999, first in complaints and litigation, then in NHS management. I completed the NHS management training scheme in 2003 and was awarded an MSc in Health Management from the University of Birmingham in 2005. I then re-trained as a nurse specialising in acute medical and then respiratory nursing. In 2016, I was awarded a Health Foundation scholarship to undertake a full-time PhD, identifying and characterising patient experiences of burden of treatment in lung cancer and COPD. I am in the process of submitting this PhD by publication.

I am currently working at the University of Southampton with the Macmillan Survivorship Research Group on “Cancer Nursing Across Boundaries”, an 18-month Health Education England funded workforce development project that aims to test the introduction of boundary-spanning cancer nurse specialist roles to promote integrated working between primary and acute care. The project is led by Wessex Cancer Alliance, and delivered in partnership with Thames Valley Cancer Alliance and University of Southampton. I am co-ordinating and evaluating the project.