About Me
Director: Dr Lynn Furber
I hope the next few paragraphs tell you something about me, which will encourage you to want to work with me and healthcare communication matters.
Nursing
I have over 25 years’ experience as a nurse, working in the NHS and Academia. And my specialism is in cancer nursing. In particular, I worked in and managed a clinical trials unit and a chemotherapy unit. Throughout my work, I have tried to lead by example. My work ethic is to treat others as I would want to be treated. During this time I helped change and develop services to make them work better.
It is fair to say that my clinical practice informed my PhD. I wanted to explore how we could improve communication and the way we shared information. Most importantly, I focused on breaking bad news and sharing sensitive information. Furthermore, I wanted to use the information collected to improve the continued professional development of doctors. As a consequence, a lot of my work has focused on training healthcare professionals on how to communicate better. It has also been the focus of further research.
Academia
My research and training experience opened up opportunities to work in a University. I became an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at De Montfort University. I was a module leader for various undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Additionally, I created bespoke courses for Spire Healthcare and Macmillan. Because of my backgound, I loved teaching basic and advanced communication skills courses.
Additionally, I have supervised students and mentored colleagues along the way. I get a real buzz from seeing people grow and flourish.
My background knowledge and skills, enables me to understand the benefits of
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change,
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quality improvement,
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creative and adaptive managerial and leadership skills
Publications
Please take a look at my publications page where you can find a list of my papers and my PhD Thesis: https://healthcarecommunicationmatters.co.uk/about-us/publications/
Professional Qualifications
- PGCert (Distinction) – 2016, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom
- PhD – 2010, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
- BSC (HONS) Clinical Nursing Studies with a specialty in cancer nursing – 2000, University of Central England, United Kingdom
- Diploma in Higher Education, 1994, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
- Registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, 1994, Staffordshire and Shropshire College of Nursing and Midwifery
Professional Groups and positions
I am a member of the following groups:
- Teaching committee of the International Association of Communication in Healthcare http://www.each.eu
- Fellow of the International Institute for Practice Transformation
- PIF Online https://pifonline.org.uk/
And I have honorary positions in the following Institutions:
- Senior Research Fellow position at De Montfort University https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/health-and-life-sciences/redirects/nursing-and-midwifery.aspx
- Honorary Lecturing position at the University of Leicester https://le.ac.uk/
- I sit on the IRB panel for Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust https://www.anthonynolan.org/
- I have sat on an NHS England Clinical Advisory Group as a patient and public voice member
A bit more insight about me
When faced with the possibility of dying, you soon realise what is important in life. For me, the simple things in life shine out. My soul becomes energised when I am outdoors and immersed in nature.
What am I like, and why should you invest in me? It’s always hard to sell yourself, but I recently completed the Strengths Finder test. My 5 key strengths were:
- Developer
- Individualisation
- Empathic
- Learner
- Responsibility
These strengths all tie in with me being a nurse, researcher, and educator. Most importantly, I want people to flourish and to help them learn. I take pride in what I do. Furthermore, when given a job to do, I can be trusted to get on with it professionally and competently. I thrive on being challenged and enjoy meeting new people and working with new teams.
My Team
Our Clients
- International Association of Communication in Healthcare
- De Montfort University – providing advanced communication skills training, research and supporting the organisation of a conference for Spire Healthcare
- Patient Information Forum Online
- Kinetic Youth
- Mesothelioma UK
