Sue Atkin

Principal Lecturer /Team Leader Health, Department of Pharmacy, Health & Well-being, University of Sunderland
Email: sue.atkin@sunderland.ac.uk 

Deputy Chair of the RCN Northern Region RCN Research Society

Background

I qualified as an Enrolled Nurse in 1986 initially working in Radiotherapy Theatres at the Newcastle General Hospital. In 1988 I moved into the Regional Radiotherapy Unit which then became the Northern Centre for Cancer Treatment (NCCT) and is now the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC). In 1992 I completed my conversion course to become a Registered Nurse and continued to work in NCCT in various roles. In 2002 I moved across to Patient Services within the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust to manage the Modern Apprenticeship Programme. This role also involved working with the Vocational Training Team supporting and managing NVQ training within the Trust and linked with Northumbria University. My first University teaching post commenced in 2005 at the University of Sunderland. During this period I graduated with an MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Current role

My current role is Principal Lecturer/Team Leader Health at the University of Sunderland.  I provide leadership and responsibility for the Health Team and health provision. My role is to build and support health, pharmacy and nursing education and research within the region.

Research Interests

My interests fall into two distinct areas, educational research and research in relation to cancer services/staff roles in the NHS. Examples include the development and use of E Portfolios in collaboration with regional universities and the use of humour in teaching and learning in higher education. Keep Improving the Experience Project (KITE), and the current North East Cancer Network Key Worker Project.