Heather Kirby

I am one of the programme leaders for pre-registration nursing programmes (adult, child and mental health) at Liverpool John Moores University. As well as being a Principal Lecturer in the university I have been a general registered nurse for over 30 years, working in the fields of ophthalmology, diabetes and general medicine. I have a keen interest in curriculum development and particularly the assessment process. I am also passionate about practice learning having worked for many years as a Practice Education Facilitator. I help to ensure content in modules is contemporary and support staff and students with issues and university processes.

I believe that students are at the heart of everything we do in the university and their experience is paramount to both theirs and our success. The student voice is therefore something very important to me as this is how we gauge the quality of the programme and the teaching delivery. This year I am very honoured to have been offered a place on the Fellowship programme at the Florence Nightingale Foundation Academy and am excited to undertake this leadership development opportunity and represent LJMU.

I am currently completing a Doctorate of Education and my focus is on how nurse lecturers use storytelling in the university classroom. Being able to apply the theory to practical situations is really important and using authentic examples from real life nursing helps to illustrate this. I can still remember the stories I heard as a student nurse which brought the teaching to life for me. This is something I have incorporated into my teaching for many years without realising and this spurred me on to wanting to understand how others use stories when teaching. Telling stories closely links to learning styles and the quality of the learning environment. My interest lies with understanding how stories are used, which stories are chosen, why are they chosen?

Degrees

Open University, United Kingdom, MEd, Education
Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, BSc, Clinical Management

Certifications

1993, City University, Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing
SEDA, SEDA Award - Developing People and Enhancing Practice
University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom, Certificate in Career Planning
TEFL, Teaching English as a Foreign Language 180 hours

Academic appointments

Principal Lecturer - Programme Leader - pre-registration undergraduate nursing, Nursing, Liverpool John Moores University, 2023 - present
Principal Lecturer - Programme and Placement Learning Manager, Nursing, Liverpool John Moores University, 2022 - 2023
Senior Lecturer, Nursing, Liverpool John Moores University, 2019 - 2022

Postgraduate training

Care of the Older Adult ENB 298, United Kingdom, ENB, ? - present
Ophthalmology ENB 346, United Kingdom, Moorfields Eye Hospital, ? - present
Care of the Dying CPD, United Kingdom, Liverpool John Moores University, ? - present
Diabetes CPD, United Kingdom, Liverpool John Moores University, ? - present
Art and Science of Clinical Education, United Kingdom, Liverpool John Moores University, ? - present
Teaching and Assessing ENB 998, United Kingdom, ENB, ? - present