RCN Foundation Scholarship MSc Advanced Practice Learning Disability
The RCN Foundation Scholarship MSc Advanced Practice Learning Disability provided funding for Registered Nurses Learning Disability (RNLDs) working in social are settings or across social care and the NHS.
Five grants were awarded - one for each of the devolved nations and two for England. Read more about their work below.
Ciara Hughes – Professional Lead Nurse – Learning Disability, Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT)
Ciara qualified as Learning Disability Nurse in 2009. In her current role she is responsible for professional nurse leadership and work as part of a collective leadership structure in the management and development of Learning Disability services Trust-wide, also working closely with pre-reg learning disability students.
Ciara’s experience spans across children and adult disability services, which has highlighted the significant health inequalities and gaps in provision that still exist. This has driven her commitment to ensuring that individuals with a learning disability receive equitable, person-centred care.
She received funding for an MSc Advanced Professional Practice Intellectual Disabilities which is supporting her to further develop the skills and knowledge required to influence change more effectively, as well as strengthening her clinical reasoning, leadership and ability to apply evidence-based practice to complex situations. Additionally, the course is equipping Ciara with the tools to challenge existing systems and address gaps in physical and mental health provision for people with learning disabilities.
On her future ambitions, Ciara said: “I want to continue advancing in a role where I can influence both practice and policy to improve outcomes for people with learning disabilities. I would love to develop an Intellectual Disability Adult Mental Health service within our directorate which I know is a massive ambition but is something I am so passionate about.”
Tom Jones – Enhanced Community Residential Service Team Manager, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Tom qualified as a Learning Disability Nurse in 2018 and has worked across a range of different roles – from specialist behavioural support, CAMHS, to managing an NHS-provided domiciliary service, supporting people with learning disabilities in their own homes.
Tom was successful in securing funding for his MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice which is supporting his career by helping him develop the knowledge, confidence and skills needed for more senior and advanced roles in Learning Disability Nursing. It has encouraged him to think more critically about how leadership, clinical decision-making, service design and evidence-based practice can improve the quality and consistency of support for people with learning disabilities.
Tom wants to use the knowledge and skills gained through his Advanced Practice MSc to support better care coordination, stronger clinical decision-making and improve outcomes for children, young people and families. Longer term, he hopes to keep developing so that I can help influence the environments and cultures that allow good person-centred care to happen consistently. Tom shared: “In my experience, when people with learning disabilities talk about their care, they rarely talk about the policies or management structures. They talk about the people who support them, who know them well, listen to them, understand their communication and make their day-to-day lives better. For me, this means helping to create services where people with learning disabilities are genuinely listened to, treated with dignity and supported to live lives that feel meaningful to them. It also means ensuring frontline staff feel valued and supported, so they can provide the consistent, thoughtful care that people and families remember.”
Liam Campbell – Practice Development Nurse, Enable Cares, Scotland
Liam is a Practice Development Nurse in Scotland and has been awarded a grant to undertake an MSc Nursing: Advancing Professional Practice at Glasgow Caledonian University. His current role is Scotland-wide, caring for people with a learning disability and ensuring their health needs are met by supporting local operational teams to develop and maintain best practice and through developing governance structures within the organisation.
A key part of my Liam’s current role is to develop health governance systems, and the study will strengthen his knowledge in how to design and implement these systems and implement change within a large organisation. He is keen to develop the evidence base for learning disability nurses working in social care and believes advanced practice activity will give him the skills he needs to fulfil this.
Through the MSc, Liam is keen to develop his skills and knowledge to meet the health needs of people with learning disabilities as well as improving care and developing the social care workforce to ensure they also meet the health needs of the people they support.
Kelly Edwards – Senior Nurse Care Manager, Leeds City Council
Kelly is a senior nurse based in Leeds and was awarded funding to undertake an Advanced Clinical Practice (Learning Disability and/or Autism).
She works in a social care service, caring for individuals with learning disabilities, complex health needs, autism and mental health needs. The MSc will equip Kelly with the necessary skills to develop further, promoting her autonomy, critical insight and leadership skills. It will enhance my practice and develop my skill set in becoming an advanced practitioner.
There are a limited number of RNLDs in her team, and she hopes the learning from will enable her to support the wider team further, with health advice and signposting.
The study will also support Kelly in creating safe, effective, evidenced based, person-centred management plans, ultimately improving the quality of life of people with a learning disability, ensuring they live healthier for longer and with the correct support.
Zoe O’Reilly – Community Learning Disability Nurse, Norfolk Community Health and Care
Zoe is a learning disability nurse in an integrated health and social care team in Norfolk and was awarded funding to undertake an MSc Advanced Professional Practice.
Zoe’s personal goal is to help implement policies and procedures considering the realities of working with patients and their families and believes the Advanced Practice MSc would help her gain further knowledge of how to implement policies and procedures and also how to manage herself and others.
The study will provide Zoe with further insight into learning disability practice and how to address the health equalities within Norfolk, and in particular, highlight potential health inequalities that are not being addressed in Norfolk. As such, the service improvement element of the study will also encourage her to identify areas within the service that could be improved or modified to the benefit of the patients she cares for.