Skip to main content
Alison James  SFHEA RGN

Dr Alison James

SFHEA RGN

Reader: Healthcare Leadership

School of Healthcare Sciences

cymraeg
Welsh speaking
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

I am a Reader in the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University and SFHEA. I am a Registered General Nurse and teach across the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Healthcare and am an active researcher, supervisor and PhD examiner. I am co lead for the Interdisciplinary Student Leadership Academy. 

My research interests include leadership, quality improvement, organisational cultures and healthcare education. I have an M.A in Healthcare Law and Ethics(Swansea), and am a Doctor of Advanced Healthcare Practice ( Cardiff University). I recently led a research project funded by the GNCT exploring the experiences of Executive Directors of Nursing in the wake of Covid-19.

My clinical background includes Neurosciences at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, osteopororsis clinincal research at Oxford University and Fracture Liaison Specialist Nurse at the Nuffield Orthopaedic centre, Oxford. I began my academic career in 2008 in Knowledge Transfer and postgraduate teaching in leadership and management in Health and Social Care at Oxford Brookes University. I moved to Cardiff University in 2014 and have held positions of Deputy and Programme Manager for the MSc Advanced Practice and Advanced Clinical practice programmes, Recognition of Prior Learning Lead and International Academic Student Link as well as Module lead for undergraduate and postgraduate modules.

I am a member of the Wales Centre for Evidence Based Care (WCEBC),https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/explore/research-units/wales-centre-for-evidence-based-care and have been a Scientific Writer for the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Centre of Excellence. I have presented at conferences in the UK  and internationally and publications include evidence-based reviews in internationally peer-reviewed and evidence-based databases, peer reviewed journal commentaries, contribution to national reports for Department of Health and books ( most recent publication https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119869375 ) 

I am a PhD examiner and have experience as an external examiner at Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London (MSc Programme for Leadership), Manchester University, De Montford University and Learna and have experience of external reviewing programmes for validation in the UK and Greece. I am a member of the editorial board for RCNi Nursing Management.

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2000

Articles

Book sections

Books

Conferences

Other

Thesis

Websites

Research

My interest in research is focused on leadership development in the healthcare workforce and how this impacts delivery and quality of patient care. I am particularly interested in values-based leadership theory and practice, and how this influences cultures within healthcare environments and I aim to translate evidence into practice by informing the work of healthcare practitioners, academics and policy. I am  interested in understanding how leaders in healthcare have chosen to approach leadership during the current pandemic and how this has impacted patients and staff.

I recently  led a research project funded by the GNCT, exploring the experiences of Executive Directors of Nursing in the wake of Covid-19: identifying priorities and actions for recovery and future learning from the pandemic.

I am a qualitative researcher and am particularly interested in the use of narrative inquiry and visual methodologies such as photographic elicitation.My doctoral research focused on experiences and perceptions of leadership, of student nurses, academics and senior nurses using narrative inquiry and photographic elicitation.

As well as being a registered nurse, I have also worked within clinical research in osteoporosis genetics, dementia and Cretzfeldt Jacob disease. From 2008-14 my rolw included applied research and Knowledge Transfer in public care, contributing to publications and reviews of public services, developing leadership and integration within teams in Local Councils and Health Authorities in England and working with Local Authorities in Wales on Commissioning strategies.

Teaching

I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and mentor and evaluate HEA fellowships at Cardiff University. I am a member of the InternationaI Society of Teaching and Learning ( ISSOTL) ad the Society for Research into Higher Education (SHRE). I am co lead for the Interprofessional Student Leadership Academy and I teach on a range of healthcare programmes including undergraduate and postgraduate modules and am module lead for Transforming care, Sytems and Services through Leadership, a level 7 mutidisciplinary module. I continue to develop my scholarship and pedagogical interest in leadership, emotional intelligence and quality improvement and have a special interest in experiential learning and Action Learning. I have previous experience as a deputy and programme manager, curriculum and programme design and am personal tutor for undergraduate and postgraduate students. 

Previous teahing experience includes leadership development with nurses in Namibia, leadership and quality improevment for Social care managers across Wales and programmmes developing outcomes focused care in health and social care in south west England.

I am an External Examiner at Manchester University and De Montford University and previously at King's College London and have experience of reviewing external validation programmes at Oxford Brookes University, Derby, Edinburgh Napier, Athens  and Middlesex.

Biography

I am a Reader at Cardiff University and co lead for the Interdisciplinary Student Leadership Academy I have held roles of RPL lead, International student link, clinical placements and deputy programme manager and programme manager for the MSc Advanced Practice and Advanced Clinical Practice programmes. I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA, member of the editorial Board for RCNi Nursing Management Journal .

From 2008-2014 I worked as a Consultant and Senior Consultant in Knowledge Transfer and applied research at the Institute of Public Care at Oxford Brookes University. During this time I developed further interest in Leadership and Quality Improvement, working with local authorities and health across the UK and was a lead tutor for the Team Management Development Programme in Wales, commissioned by the SSIA.

My nursing clinical nursing background of 22 years began in 1986 in Oxford where I worked within neuroscience nursing, osteoporosis, and as a clinical research nurse with Oxford University, and Fracture Liaison Specialist Nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

Honours and awards

SFHEA  2019

FHEA 2017

The Lord Nuffield Trust Fund, Achievement Award 2008

The Lord Nuffield Trust Fund, Girdlestone Memorial Nursing Scholarship Award 2004

Professional memberships

 

 

  • Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
  • International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
  • Society for Research into Higher Education
  • INHWE
  • Senior Fellow of HEA
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council

Academic positions

  • Reader, co-lead for leadership Academy
  • Senior Lecturer, programme manager for Msc Advanced Practice and Avanced Clinical Pratice, module lead
  • Lecturer, RPL lead, International mobility lead ( Cardiff University)
  • Senior Knowledge Transfer Consultant, Oxford Brookes University
  • Knowledge Transfer Consultant and tutor, Oxford brookes University

Speaking engagements

·       Developing an Interprofessional Leadership Academy for Healthcare Students in Wales. Chief Nursing Officer for Wales Research Conference, Cardiff. October 2023 

·       Nurses in the Boardroom: Exploring the changing role of the Executive Nurse Director Identifying priorities and actions for leadership strategies post pandemic: the CovLead study. Chief Nursing Officer for Wales Research Conference, Cardiff. October 2023

·    

·       INHWE International Conference,  Developing Compassionate Leadership and an interdisciplinary leadership academy for HealthCare students in Wales June 23

·  

·       Applying values and compassion in leading the future of nursing education.  December 2022 Academic Nursing Conference, University of Cumbria. (Invited)

·       Developing Compassionate Leadership and an interdisciplinary leadership academy for HealthCare students in Wales. 3rd Annual Conference for Compassion healthcare Education. Collaboration for Compassion in Health and Social Care December 2022. (invited)

Committees and reviewing

Committee member for Honorary Degrees, Cardiff University

Reviewer for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Editorial Board, Nursing Management Journal RCNi

Reviewer for Nurse Education in Practice, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Nurse Education Today

Supervisions

I am interetsed in supervising students in areas of :

  • healthcare leadership and quality improvement
  • workplace and organsiational cultures
  • healthcare education
  • values based leadership
  • Social Justice

Current supervision

Lisa Cordery-Bruce

Lisa Cordery-Bruce

Research student

Salma Alshammari

Salma Alshammari

Research student

Sumayyah Aldosari

Sumayyah Aldosari

Research student

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Nursing workforce
  • Nursing
  • Leadership and management of Healthcare Systems