Hi … a bit about me

My name is Kirsty and I have three passions in my working life

-        I have a strong passion for the delivery of inclusive healthcare that is accessible to all, whether you are young or young at heart, whether you are neurotypical or have additional challenges to overcome, whether you have good support networks or whether you don’t. I believe in personalised care delivery and celebrate the uniqueness of each and every one of us.

-        I am an advocate for lifelong learning. I consider that every day is different and that each day brings new opportunities to learn from. I am very privileged therefore to be working in healthcare education where I continue to learn every day, learning as much from my students, my colleagues in practice and from the experts by experience that we engage with, as they do from me. I love working with healthcare students at undergraduate level, working with our future Nurses and Allied Health Professionals to develop their practice and to support their developing professional identity as practitioners. I am also thrilled to be leading an Advanced Practice module in Learning Disability Practice, ensuring that learning opportunities are extended beyond professional registration.

-        I love the outdoors. For me, being outside stimulates all the senses opening my mind to new ideas and new perceptions, whilst being at one with nature grounds me. This approach leaves me flexible to balancing the two approaches in exploring innovative ways to teach and to engage with each student on an individual level.

I joined the UEA in February 2015 as a lecturer in Health Science, predominantly teaching on the nursing programmes, although I also specialise in teaching around issues concerning capacity, consent, communication, reasonable adjustments and the impact of disability together with the legal frameworks that underpin these concepts and the professional values that underpin us as healthcare practitioners.  

Prior to this I worked within a local NHS trust as a Community Learning Disability Nurse, having qualified from UEA as an RNLD in 2007.

Publications

Harper, L., Henry, K., Oluyuinka, L., & Cogher, L. (2023) Role of the intellectual disability nurse in promoting health and wellbeing in Mafuba, K (ed) Learning and Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice, 2^nd ed. Routledge.

Morgan, R., Blair, J., Henry, K., & Rees, S. (2023) Community intellectual disability nursing in Mafuba, K (ed) Learning and Intellectual Disability Nursing Practice, 2^nd ed. Routledge.

James, N., Thomas, S., Richardson, S., Henry, K., & Higgins, S. (2020). Exploring the future needs of Learning Disability Services To meet the objectives of the NHS Long Term Plan

Phase 1: Understanding service challenges and workforce aps in Learning Disabilities and Autism

Phase 2: Exploring the contribution of New Roles in Learning Disability and Autism Services https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/learning-disability/exploring-new-roles-learning-disabilities-autism-services

Henry, K (2018) Planning with people and their families in Gates and Barr (eds) Oxford Handbook of Learning and Intellectual Disability Nursing (2018). Oxford Handbooks in Nursing.

James, N & Henry, K. (2018) Emergencies in Gates and Barr (eds) Oxford Handbook of Learning and Intellectual Disability Nursing (2018) Oxford Handbooks in Nursing.

I qualified as a registered nurse (Learning Disability) in 2007. I have had the privilege of working with and for people with learning disabilities both in institutions and the community. After qualifying I undertook my preceptorship in a secure hospital for people with learning disabilities who had been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Since then I have been working within a Community Learning Disabilities Team supporting individuals with learning disabilities, their families and carers, and other health professionals to meet their individual health needs and to challenge the inequalities in healthcare faced by people with learning disabilities.

During this time I have had the privilege of care co-ordinating the resettlement of individuals affected by the closure of the NHS campus services in 2008-2010.

In 2015 I joined the School of Health Sciences at UEA. I teach and facilitate learning across different programmes at an undergraduate and post-graduate level. I am registered with the NMC as a Nurse Teacher, and I have a Masters in Higher Educational Practice, specialising in the development of nurse identity within educational settings.

I have been priviledged to be the Course Director for Learning Disability Nursing and I am the Module Lead for Advanced Learning Disability Practice. 

I am currently also a Professional Doctorate student, exploring health inequality experienced by people with a learning disability. 

I have a particular interest in research relating to the health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities and overcoming the barriers in accessing healthcare. I am interested in communication, behaviours seen as ‘challenging’, chronic health issues and palliative care.

My teaching interests include communication, empowerment, barriers to accessing healthcare, societal perception of disability, and community nursing. My primary teaching and facilitation relates to supporting people with learning disabilities across all sectors of healthcare; although many of the issues that are addressed within this field of nursing are highly applicable to a wider range of service user.

I am also privileged to work alongside experts with lived experience who bring a unique perspective to the teaching of healthcare practitioners.