Biography
Stephen trained as a general and mental health nurse and for 15 years worked in the area of palliative care. This involved clinical, research and managerial experience within the voluntary hospice sector as well as working in the National Health Service as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in a hospital palliative care team.
Stephen completed a Bsc in Nursing Studies at Queen Margaret University in 1997, a Masters Degree in Cancer Nursing at the University of Glasgow in 2000 and a PhD at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in 2009.
Stephen led a four year action research programme focused on palliative care for people with a dementia. This work formed the basis of Stephen’s PhD study. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University and teaching, research and practice improvement activities focus on the development of practice and learning in compassionate care. Stephen led an action research programme; Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme, utilising relationship centred care and appreciative inquiry approaches. The outputs of this programme are being utilised nationally within the UK and internationally. Stephen is a consultant editor on the Journal of Nursing Ethics, and a member of the Editorial Board on the Journal of Compassionate Health Care.
Stephen is a Consultant Nurse in Compassionate Care (NHS Lothian) co-leading a leadership programme in compassionate care practice with multi-professional practitioners from health and social care. Within the School of Health and Social Care Stephen is a lead for Public Engagement and Staff Engagement.
Stephen is passionate about real world research, practice development and learning that directly impacts upon the compassionate care experience of people who use health and social care services, their relatives but also the experiences of multidisciplinary practitioners and care providers.