Dr Alison H James
SFHEA
Reader: Healthcare Leadership
- jamesa43@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2068 87818
- Room 3.26, 3rd Floor, Ty Dewi Sant, Heath Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4XN
- Welsh speaking
- 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.
My research interests include Leadership, Quality Improvement and Innovation and organisational cultures. I have an M.A in Healthcare Law and Ethics and am a Doctor of Advanced Healthcare Practice ( Cardiff University). I am currently leading 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 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 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 have experience as an external examiner at Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London (MSc Programme for Leadership) and currently at Manchester University, and De Montford University 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.
Biography
I am a Reader at Cardiff University, and have held roles of RPL lead, International student link, clinical placements and deputy programme manager and interim 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 Institite of Public Care at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford. During this time I developed further my 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 began in 1986 in Oxford where I worked within neuroscience nursing, osteoporosis and as a clinical research nurse with Oxford University and 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
NMC, SFHEA,CAIPE, INWHE
Academic positions
Senior Knowledge Transfer Consultant, Oxford Brookes University
Speaking engagements
- Perceptions and Experiences of leadership: A Narrative Inquiry. RCN International Nursing Research Conference. 8th September 2021
- “Nothing becomes real 'till it is experienced” - exploring students, educators and senior nurses’ experiences and perceptions of leadership. Online Congress. International Health Workforce Education & Research. Sept 2021
- Perceptions and Experiences of leadership in undergraduate nurse education: A Narrative Inquiry. Advance HE Nurse Education International conference. September 2021
- Experiences of Leadership Learning: Student Nurse Narratives. RCSI Faculty for Nursing and Midwifery’s 40th Annual International Nursing and Midwifery Research and Education Conference, Dublin. Meeting the Needs of Modern Healthcare. Feb 23-March 4th
- “Nothing becomes real 'till it is experienced” - exploring students, educators and senior nurses’ experiences and perceptions of leadership. 3rd European Conference of International Health Workforce Education & Research. Virtual, Online, 7th -8th January 2021.
- Enhancing the leadership knowledge and skills of Namibian and Welsh qualified nurses and student nurses. 3rd European International Conference of Health Workforce Education & Research. Virtual, Online, 7th -8th January 2021.
- Action Learning for interprofessional learning. INWHE European Conference. Conference paper and oral presentation accepted. 3rd European Conference of Health Workforce Education & Research. Virtual, Online, 7th -8th Jan.
- Preparing for leadership. Experiences and perceptions of pre-registration nurse education- NET HEA conference Sept 2021
- Leadership in undergraduate nursing, exploring experiences and perceptions using narraive Inquiry- NET, NETP conference, Stiges, Spain April 2020 ( now postponed until 20201)
- Leadership development for undergraduate nursing students through Action Learning. European Conference of Health Workforce Education and Research- International Network for Health Education Workforce Education. Athens May 2018
- Developing an Osteoporosis Fracture Liaison Service, 2004, The Thames Valley Standing Conference for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, Reading, February, oral presentation. (Lord Nuffield Award received)
- Developing an Osteoporosis Fracture Liaison Service, 2003, Orthopaedic Nursing Conference. London
- Developing an Osteoporosis Fracture Liaison Service, 2003. Oxford Brookes University –Celebrating Age Conference, July, oral presentation.
- The Fracture Liaison Role ,2003. Osteoporosis Conference– The Botnar Institute of Research, Oxford University, September, oral presentation
Committees and reviewing
Editorial Board, Nursing Management Journal RCNi
Reviewer for Nurse Education in Practice
Publications
2022
- Bennett, C. L. and James, A. H. 2022. Chapter 7: leading change. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. London: Wiley, pp. 157-182., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch7)
- Bennett, C. L. and James, A. H. 2022. Chapter 8: patient safety and clinical decision making. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Wiley: London, pp. 183-204., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch8)
- Bennett, C. L. and James, A. H. 2022. Chapter 16: quality improvement. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, (10.1002/9781119869375.ch16)
- James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. 2022. Chapter 10: leading teams. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, pp. 227-244., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch10)
- James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. 2022. Chapter 18: power, politics and leadership. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, pp. 385-402., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch18)
- James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. 2022. Chapter 19: from empowerment to emancipation – developing self leadership. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, pp. 403-420., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch19)
- James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. 2022. Chapter 20: leading through a crisis. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, pp. 421-437., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch20)
- Bennett, C. L. and James, A. H. 2022. Chapter 5: leadership and management. In: Stanley, D., James, A. H. and Bennett, C. L. eds. Clinical Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare. Vol. 3rd Ed. London: Wiley, pp. 119-135., (10.1002/9781119869375.ch5)
- Stanley, D., Bennett, C. L. and James, A. H. eds. 2022. Clinical leadership in nursing and healthcare. London: Wiley. (10.1002/9781119869375)
- James, A. H. and Arnold, H. 2022. Using coaching and action learning to support staff leadership development. Nursing Management 29(3), pp. 32-40. (10.7748/nm.2022.e2040)
- James, A. H., Watkins, D. and Carrier, J. 2022. Perceptions and experiences of leadership in undergraduate nurse education: A narrative inquiry. Nurse Education Today 111, article number: 105313. (10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105313)
2021
- James, A. H., Carrier, J. and Watkins, D. 2021. Nursing must respond for social justice in this ‘perfect storm’. Journal of Advanced Nursing 77(11), pp. e36-e37. (10.1111/jan.14957)
- James, A. H., Bennett, C. L., Blanchard, D. and Stanley, D. 2021. Nursing and values-based leadership: a literature review. Journal of Nursing Management 29(5), pp. 916-930. (10.1111/jonm.13273)
- Watkins, D. and James, A. H. 2021. Enhancing the leadership knowledge and skills of Namibian and Welsh qualified nurses and student nurses. Presented at: 3rd European Conference of Health Workforce Education & Research 2021, Virtual, 7-8 January 2021.
- James, A. H. 2021. Experiences of leadership learning: student nurse narratives. Presented at: 40th Annual International Nursing & Midwifery Research and Education Conference 2021, Virtual, 23 February - 03 March 2021.
- James, A. H. 2021. Preparing for leadership: experiences and perceptions of pre-registration nurse education.. Presented at: NET2021 Conference, Virtual, 1-3 September 2021.
- James, A. H. 2021. Experiences and perceptions of leadership: a narrative Inquiry. Presented at: RCN International Nursing Research Conference 2021, Virtual, 7-9 September 2021.
2020
- James, A. H. 2020. Leadership for health promotion. In: Bennett, C. and Lillyman, S. eds. Promoting Health and Wellbeing. Lantern Publishing Ltd, pp. 167-180.
- Bennett, C., James, A. and Kelly, D. 2020. Beyond tropes: Towards a new image of nursing in the wake of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Nursing 29(15-16), pp. 2753-2755. (10.1111/jocn.15346)
- James, A. and David, S. 2020. Values-based nursing leadership: a way to restore integrity. Nursing Management 27(1), article number: 18. (10.7748/nm.27.1.18.s10)
- James, A. H., Bennett, C. and Stanley, D. 2020. How to maintain enthusiasm and demonstrate values-driven leadership in challenging times. Nursing Management
- James, A. 2020. Perceptions and experiences of leadership: a narrative inquiry of leadership in undergraduate nurse education. , Cardiff University.
2019
- James, A. H. and Stacey-Emile, G. 2019. Action learning: staff development, implementing change, interdisciplinary working and leadership. Nursing Management 26(3) (10.7748/nm.2019.e1841)
- James, A. H. 2019. Inter-professional leadership education at postgraduate level.. Presented at: 2nd European Conference of Health Workforce Education., Dublin, 9-10 January 20192nd European Conference of Health Workforce Education Abstracts Book. pp. -.
- James, A. H. 2019. Compassionate leadership. [Online]. Caring Practitioner: https://caringpractitioner.co.uk/index.php/. Available at: https://caringpractitioner.co.uk/index.php/compassionate-leadership
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary: Leadership style: Nursing staff satisfaction.. Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Wound management: Hydrogel dressings without additional therapeutic additives. Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Fish oil (Omega-3 fatty acids). The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Parental Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disclosure to their children: Interventions. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Pediatric tuberculosis (low and middle income countries): Treatment adherence.. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Diabetes Mellitus: Vitamin D. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Hypertension: Vitamin D. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary: Impact of magnet designation. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Pre-diabetes: Risk assessment tools. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Antimicrobial stewardship programs in children. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
- James, A. H. 2019. Evidence Summary. Medical emergency teams.. The Joanna Briggs Institute.
2018
- James, A. H. 2018. Cardiovascular disease (prevention and management): Tai chi exercise. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Cardiovascular risk reduction: Xanthine oxidase inhibitors. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Heart failure (self-care): Interactions between patients and healthcare professionals. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Evidence Summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Cardiac resynchronization (heart failure): Left ventricular vs biventricular pacing. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Heart failure: Cardiac resynchronization therapy plus implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Postoperative MRSA Infections: Antibiotic Prophylaxis. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Atopic eczema: Management. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Child immunization in developing countries: Interventions to increase coverage. Evidence summary.. Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database.
- James, A. H. 2018. Action learning: A process to support change implementation. British Journal of Healthcare Management 24(9), pp. 426-427. (10.12968/bjhc.2018.24.9.426)
- James, A. H. 2018. Action learning can support leadership development for undergraduate and postgraduate nurses. British Journal of Nursing 27(15)
- James, A. H. 2018. Action learning: Presentation at the European Conference of Health Workforce Education & Research in Athens. [Online]. Student Mobility Site. Available at: https://studentmobilitysite.wordpress.com/2018/06/29/alison-james-presentation-at-the-european-conference-of-health-workforce-education-research-in-athens/
- James, A. H. 2018. What are the perceptions of final year undergraduate nursing students of their personal development in leadership skills following Action Learning Sets in the higher education university setting?. PROSPERO.
- James, A. 2018. Leadership development for undergraduate nursing students through Action Learning.. Presented at: European Conference of Health Workforce Education and Research 2018, Athens, Greece, 24-25 May 2018.
- James, A. H. 2018. Evidence Summary. Ankle sprain (Chronic): Physical therapy management. Ovid: Joanna Briggs Institute.
2000
- James, A. 2000. Osteoporosis cause and treatment. Nursing Times 96
Teaching
I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and mentor and evaluate HEA fellowships at Cardiff University. 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.
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 models, 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 am currently leading a rsesrch 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.
Supervision
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
