Mrs Caroline Lowe

Mrs Caroline Lowe

Senior Lecturer (Continuing Professional Development)

  • Email address Caroline.Lowe@wlv.ac.uk
  • Phone number 01902 518919
  • Location University of Wolverhampton Walsall Campus WP130, Sister Dora Building Gorway Road Walsall WS1 3BD
  • Faculty Faculty of Education Health & Wellbeing
  • Areas of expertise

    Continuing Professional Development

I have been a Registered Nurse for 34 years and a Senior Lecturer for 15 years with experience gained working within Acute Trusts and in partnership with Higher Education Institutions, Workforce Development Directorates and Primary Care Trusts. I have a MSc in Health Science/ Health and Policy Management and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. I I have been course leader for both undergraduate and postgraduate awards within the Institute of Health for many years, developing expertise in assessment, teaching and learning in clinical pracice, leadership, management, tissue viability and critical professional development. I am currently the programme leads for both the Return to Practice (Nusring) programme and the MSc Professional Prctice in Healthcare awards. I am passionate about helping other healthcare professional to achieve their potential.   

 

Royal College of Nursing, 1984 - present

 

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

PIN No: 84CO765E  Professional Register Entry: RGN 1, 1987 to present.

  • PGC Ed
  • MSc Health Studies (Health and Policy Management)
  • PRINCE 2 Foundation Programme in Project Management
  • DPSN High Dependency Nursing
  • English National Board 998 Teaching and Assessing in Clinical Practice

Journals (include web links if applicable).

Books/Book Chapters (include ISBN numbers).

Practitioner Publications and Reports. 

 

Conference Presentations

Oral presentations/seminars/workshops.

Posters.

Invited Presentations.

  • Senior Lecturer – Continuing Professional Development, Institute of Health Professions, University of Wolverhampton.

Practice and Professional Development Manager     ‘H’ Grade

Learning & Development Unit, Human Resources

Burton Hospitals NHS Trust

Principal duties and responsibilities

  • To promote the delivery of patient focused care and evidence based practice and to support the development of clinical knowledge and skills across the Trust.
  • Encourage, facilitate and support the development of innovative nursing practice.
  • Authorised signatory for the Post Registration Education budget and Nursing Courses and Conferences budget up to the value of  £80,000 ( Eighty Thousand Pounds)
  • Take responsibility for the design, development and implementation of the Practice and Professional Development Elements of the Learning & Development strategy.
  • To develop business cases as required in line with the Trust Learning and Development Strategy
  • To co-ordinate the delivery of appropriate nurse training and development across the Trust in conjunction with internal and external stakeholders, including Workforce Development Directorate and Higher Education Institutions.
  • To be the point of contact for nurses undertaking leadership development/post registration education and for the external agencies delivering the development programmes.
  • To facilitate and manage post registration education and leadership development for nurses through the development of protocol and processes for commissioning.
  • To develop Trust-wide policy regarding Practice and Professional Development as appropriate.
  • To employ and apply best practice policies in the areas of line management, leadership and pastoral care in respect of immediate direct reports and where appropriate the wider L&D staff. 
  • To lead, manage and support projects where appropriate that integrate PPD with L&D elements and PPD within the wider customer population within the Trust.

Success in post

  • · At the Request of the Director of Nursing took responsibility and a joint lead role in designing, developing, implementing and managing two overseas nurse adaptation programmes. Addressing issues relating to equality, diversity and pastoral care as well as education and fitness for practice.
  • · Later working with and advising other organisations across the Shropshire & Staffordshire Health economy, working in partnership to create and support an academically recognised Multi professional adaptation programme for Health Care staff. 
  • · Undertaking the development of management training modules for mid level multi professional managers in for example time Management and personal professional profiles.
  • · Twice a year as part of the Trust Study Days, deliver sessions on Continuing Professional Development, Personal Responsibility and Post Registration Education and Practice (meeting the PREP, CPD standard) to third year student nurses at Wolverhampton University.
  • · Member of the Wolverhampton University Mentorship of Health Care Professionals planning group. Working in collaboration with other partner organisations, students and the HEI to agree the development of standards, implementation of best practice in the field of Mentorship and relevant documentation for the new Mentorship module in light of the consultation document ” A standard to support learning and assessment in practice” (NMC 2004).
  • · Joint Lead with the Pharmaceutical Services Manager in the design, Development, organisation and delivery of a Medicines Management seminar day Burton Hospitals NHS Trust.
  • · Other recent success includes managing a team, successfully developing, implementing and managing a “Health Economy Model” for the facilitation, development and quality monitoring of pre registration clinical placements, working across geographical and professional boundaries.
  • · Fostering and maintaining strong, productive links between Burton Hospitals NHS Trust, Higher Education Institutions, Shropshire & Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority, Black Country Confederation, Burntwood, Lichfield & Tamworth Primary Care Trust and East Staffordshire Primary Care Trust.
  • · Other success demonstrated in the development and enhancement of good working relationships with Post Registration education providers and Shropshire and Staffordshire Workforce Development Directorate. Negotiating, Managing and monitoring quality so ensuring value for money contracts with the Higher Education Institution and within agreed contractual relationships.
  • · Led in the Design, Development and maintenance of Post Registration education commissioning databases, reducing wastage, ensuring value for money and providing transparent usage of available training budgets.
  • · Facilitated Trust in achieving positive outcomes in educational exit reviews e.g. NMC, QAA Major Review.
  • · Manage a training budget of £80,000.
  • · Joint Lead in the Development & Implementation of Patient Group Directions Policy, protocols and ongoing quality monitoring process at Burton Hospitals NHS Trust and Joint Founder member of Non Medical Health Care Prescribing Group.
  • · At request of Chief Executive and HR Director Led a Working Group to design, Develop, Implement and successfully manage the Burton Hospitals NHS Trust 1st annual Excellence Awards.
  • Practice Development Nurse     ‘G’ Grade, Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust, Sutton Coldfield

Success in post          

  • Presented a “D” Grade Rotational Programme workshop session on behalf of Trust at a regional conference.
  • Developed and implemented a Level 2 Registered Nurse Development Programme for Trust staff who needed continuing professional development but who did not want to undertake their enrolled nurse conversion. The aim of this programme was to provide continuing professional development and also support the delivery of the best evidence based practice by ensuring that staff had the knowledge and skills to deliver the service needs.
  • While responsible for nurse recruitment I developed a standard generic framework for nursing job descriptions.
  • At the request of the Director of Nursing took the lead in reviewing and interpreting the National guidance following the consultation into Patient Group Directions and Nurse Prescribing, then taking a lead in the development and implementation of a local Trust Patient Group Directions Policy, guidelines and associated implementation documentation.
  • Registered General Nurse  ‘E’ Grade, Emergency Medical Admissions Unit, Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust, Sutton Coldfield

Senior Staff Nurse of a busy emergency medical admissions unit, developing and delivering evidence based practice and patient centred care to acute medical patients admitted from A&E or directly from the General Practitioners. Mentoring Students and teaching clinical skills in the workplace to both students and colleagues. Ward management responsibilities developing excellent organisational and facilitation skills.

  • Registered General Nurse   - Staff Nurse Coronary Care Unit, Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust, Sutton Coldfield

Staff Nurse in a 16 bedded Coronary Care Unit.  Mentoring students and delivering clinical skills training.

  • Registered General Nurse – Staff Nurse., Coronary Care Unit, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

In a large 30 bedded Coronary Care Unit, this was a vibrant and challenging environment with clinical teaching and learning happening on a daily basis in both formal and informal situations. Learning and supervising others in developed roles and skills such as cannulation and venepuncture were common place and the culture was one of embracing learning and facilitating the learning of others as the norm.

  • Registered General Nurse  - Staff Nurse   Emergency Medicine & Dermatology, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Specialising in dermatology was an incredible learning experience, not just the technical theory of disease but the psychological care and support of individuals who’s entire existence was touched by prejudice and social exclusion. I believe it was within this role that I began to learn the importance and skills required to communicate with all ages and levels of clients and staff who were experiencing themselves a variety of emotions. I learned to listen.  The emergency medicine was my first initiation into the medical admissions transit unit pace.

  • Student Nurse -  Bedford General Hospital, Kempston Road, Bedford