Karen Cook

Self-management may offer a means of bridging the gap between the needs of those with long term conditions and the capacity of care services. Self-management support can be offered by nurses but requires effective person-centred communication. There is little evidence of the effectiveness of communication and self-management support training in undergraduate nurse education. Understanding student and staff experiences of communication and self-management support and the adequacy of training may inform development of an effective cross-curriculum educational intervention.

The overall aim of this project is to understand how pre-registration nurse education can be enhanced to improve the acquisition of knowledge, skills and confidence in students and therefore supports how they enable self-management for people living with long term conditions.

My Biography

My early career began in Women's Health - gynaecological nursing and gynae-oncology research. From there the majority of my clinical career has been in specialist palliative care within the hospice setting, in the community and acute sectors; as a nurse specialist, team manager, researcher and practice educator. This included enabling care staff in their delivery of high quality end of life care through education, facilitation, clinical supervision and advice. More recently I have worked in and continue to support health science education where my interest lies in communication development, long term conditions and end of life care.