Dr Joanne Cooper appointed to national nursing role | Latest news

We are delighted to announce that Dr Joanne Cooper, Assistant Director of Nursing (Research, Innovation and Professional Regulation) has been appointed to the national nursing team as Head of Nursing Research – Research Transformation.

Jo will join the national team, led by Susan Aitkenhead, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, from early September for a 2-year secondment working 3 days a week. Jo will continue in her role here at the Trust for 2 days a week.

Reflecting on her appointment Jo said: “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work with the national team in advancing research transformation for nurses, and ultimately best care for patients and families.  I have the privilege of existing working relationships and networks with colleagues across the country, and believe that this is a pivotal time for us to embed a culture of evidence based practice, research leadership, including clinical academic career opportunities as core business for our profession.”

Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “I am delighted that Jo will be joining us to drive transformational change across the nursing profession in England. There has never before been such a need for our nursing research capacity and capability to be so front and centre.

“Jo brings a wealth of experience from her role at NUH, where she has been leading and supporting nursing clinical research and has embedded a culture at of innovation and research delivery. Jo will play a key role in developing and delivering aims for supporting, developing and embedding research”.

Mandie Sunderland, Chief Nurse at NUH added: “Jo has worked tirelessly to advance the agenda of nursing and midwifery research at NUH and we are now recognised as a great place to work to advance a research career. We are very proud that one of our NUH nurses will be working at national level and influencing this important agenda still further”.

Jo’s prestigious appointment comes at a time when the entire nursing workforce have been demonstrating the importance of evidence-based nursing research throughout the Covid pandemic, at remarkable pace and scale. Work to support, develop and embed research in nursing was largely put on pause as a result of the initial response to the Covid pandemic, but this work is now being formally re-commenced. Ultimately Jo and her colleagues in the national team will be working to ensure that evidence-based research is at the heart of the nursing profession, and individual nursing careers.

Jo will be joined in the national team by a new Head of Nursing Research – Academic Strategy which is currently being recruited to. This role will be complementary to Jo’s with a focus on translating ambitions into reality and to provide leadership in enhancing academic research capacity in nursing.

On behalf of everyone at NUH, we congratulate Jo on her appointment and wish her continued success in driving forward the nursing profession, now on a national scale.