Nursing

The OU Nursing team includes academics and practitioners who undertake research into nursing and related healthcare topics. Our research broadly focuses on professional education; the quality of nursing and healthcare provision and the experiences and perspectives of nurses, the multidisciplinary team, and patients/service users and carers.

We use a range of methodological approaches in our research including mixed methods, participatory, online and secondary analysis methods. Key areas of research include the role of online teaching and learning; the recruitment and regulation of nurses, the delivery of care in different settings (e.g. maternity and hospice care), and service users’ and carers’ experiences of living with acute or long-term conditions (e.g. diabetes, mental ill-health and dementia).

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and an MA or research methods training at MA level (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Current/recent research projects

• The experience of nurses in inpatient acute psychiatry and their perception of restrictive practices and the impact on their wellbeing
• Health and care leadership
• Developmental feedback to student nurses following a Practice Assessment Interview
• Cancer education in the pre-registration nursing curriculum
• The experience of military discharge following a non-operational injury
• Learning about abortion care in Northern Ireland from the standpoint of nurses and midwives
• Bullying experiences of Filipino women migrant nurses in the NHS
• Student nurses with dyslexia in clinical placement
• Psychological support within district nurse provision of palliative care to patients and families
• Maintaining and improving patient care quality

Potential supervisors

• Professor Felicity Astin
• Dr Lyndsey Blake
• Dr Geraldine Boyle
• Dr Jane Cook
• Dr Katie Davis
• Dr Rebecca Garcia
• Dr Wendy McInally
• Dr Vince Mitchell
• Dr Mark Molesworth
• Dr Gemma Ryan-Blackwell
• Professor Joan Simons
• Dr Tasmin Smith
• Dr Naomi Watson

Fees and funding

PhD fees

Professional doctorate fees

Some of our research students are funded via the Faculty or The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, visit Current studentships.

Links

• School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care
• Nursing Research Group | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies