I joined the NHS in 2014 as a registered mental health nurse, where I juggled my clinical role on an acute mental health ward with both research and quality improvement work.

In 2018 I was awarded a £300,000 National Institute for Health Research grant to conduct research in my clinical area and complete my PhD.  In 2021 I completed my PhD entitled "Understanding and improving therapeutic engagement on acute mental health wards using Experience-based Co-Design and the Behaviour Change Wheel."  There are several peer reviewed publications from this work, some co-written with the service users and carers who were involved in the research.  The work has also informed NHS policy on therapeutic engagement and observations.