Professor Hugh McKenna
PhD, DipN(Lond), BSc(Hons), AdvDipEd, RGN, RMN, RNT, FRCSI, FEANS, FRCN
Professor Hugh McKenna was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing in 2003 for his outstanding contribution to nursing scholarship and research.
Hugh is Professor of Nursing and Dean of the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences at the University of Ulster. Before 2004 he was Head of the School of Nursing.
Acclaimed as a leader in his field, Hugh has helped to forge the development of nursing scholarship and theory. He has achieved this through his own rigorous and high-quality research and professional activity, and through the support he has given to many individuals and the nursing profession as a whole. His drive and commitment to nursing and health care research, with the aim of improving patient care, have made him a role model for many.
Hugh has obtained approximately one million pounds in grant income since 2001. His research includes work on audit and skill mix, primary care, mental health nursing, quality of care, palliative care and nurse education. Hugh’s scholarship has influenced the work of many other nurses, at home and abroad.
He is currently involved in research into nurse-led depression services and a UK-US collaborative study entitled Perceptions of Unit Quality. Professor McKenna has teaching and research collaborations with colleagues in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, China and India. In 2005-2006 he has been appointed to Sigma Theta Tau’s International Advisory Board, as Advisor to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and as one of the experts on the UK Clinical Research Collaboration.
His studies have informed the strategic work of research and development throughout the UK, especially within Northern Ireland. His innovative work in professional doctorates has led to the development of such programmes across a number of institutions within the UK and beyond. Hugh is treasurer of the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing and is currently involved in a related European Union funded project with three European universities and three US universities.
Hugh is a member of a number of scientific committees. He is founder and executive committee member of the International Nurse Doctorate Education Network, Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Research Forum, Chair of the Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Services Nursing R&D Committee, Chair of the RCN Research Conference Scientific Committee.
He is also Chair of the UK Higher Education Funding Council’s Research Assessment Exercise Sub Panel 11 and steering group member of the UK Mental Health Nursing Research Network. Hugh has been awarded a number of honours including Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Fellow of the European Academy of Nursing Science.
Always willing to share his experience and expertise with colleagues, Hugh is a distinguished conference presenter, who has accepted invitations to speak at prestigious meetings in many parts of the world, often delivering the keynote address.
Publications
Hugh’s body of published work is extensive. He has written over 200 publications including five books. He published two books in 2005 and is currently writing one text and editing two others. He is Associate Editor of ‘Quality and Safety in Health Care’ and the‘International Journal of Nursing Studies’. He is also an editorial board member of four other prestigious international journals.