Dr Jackie Hill
Dr Jackie Hill is an expert in rheumatology nursing; she was one of the first rheumatology nurse practitioners in the country and is now a leader in the field of rheumatology research.
Jackie was appointed as arc Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology Nursing in 2001 and was instrumental in setting up the Academic and Clinical Unit for Musculoskeletal Nursing (ACUMeN) at the University of Leeds in 2001. She is one of three co-directors of the unit.
She has represented rheumatology nursing in many organisations, including Shering Plough’s Advisory Panel for Nursing, the DHSS Initiative on Health Technology, and WHO’s Working Group on Rheumatology Nursing. Jackie was the Chair of the RCN Rheumatology Nursing Forum from 1993 until 1997 and is at present the President Elect of British Health Professionals in Rheumatology.
Her inspirations include Lisbeth Hockey who was the director of the nursing research unit at the University of Edinburgh; Alan Pearson who established and developed Nursing Development Units in the UK; and Janice Smith Pigg, a nurse consultant in rheumatology in the USA whose abounding knowledge, vision and eloquence were an inspiration to all who knew her in the 1980s.
Her vision for the future of rheumatology nursing is a situation in which all people with a chronic rheumatic disease will have access to a rheumatology clinical nurse specialist. As nurse prescribing becomes more commonplace, Jackie envisages nurse-led care becoming standard practice for those with a diagnosed rheumatological condition within the primary and secondary sector.
She has received a number of awards in recognition of her contribution to the development of rheumatology nursing, most recently, the arc Silver Medal for Research in Nursing.
Publications
Jackie is associate editor of the journal Musculoskeletal Care, is a member of the editorial advisory panel for Journal of Orthopaedic Nursing and regularly reviews articles for a number of nursing journals. Here are a few examples of her extensive list of publications:
- Editor of Rheumatology Nursing: a Creative Approach (1998). Second edition in press
- Co-author of Rheumatology: a Handbook for Community Nurses (2000)
- Co-author of Combined Care of the Rheumatic Patient (1985)
- Co-author of a chapter in Chronic Disease, Nursing: a Rheumatology Example (2004)
- A chapter in Ryan’s Drug Therapy in Rheumatology Nursing (1999)
- Main author of Outcomes for patients with RA: a rheumatology nurse practitioner clinic compared to standard outpatient care. Musculoskeletal Care, 2003.
- Main author of The effects of rheumatoid arthritis on sexual activity and relationships. Rheumatology, 2003
- Main author of Effect of patient education on adherence with drug treatment for rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised controlled trial. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2001