Melanie Humphreys
Associate Professor for Skills and Simulation
School of Nursing and Midwifery
- Email:
- Melanie.Humphreys@bcu.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 0121 331 6049
Mel is the strategic lead for skills and simulation within the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences. Her areas of expertise include work-based and flexible learning, virtual and physical simulation, cardiac and emergency care, curriculum development and the advancement and development of professional practice.
Mel has over 18 years of experience in higher education with diverse and far-reaching experiences and opportunities within teaching. She has held strategic leadership positions as Director of Postgraduate Studies, Director of Learning and Teaching and Curriculum Lead (LBR and blended learning) leading significant portfolios within each role. Mel is passionate about ensuring meaningful learning experiences for students with outstanding effectiveness in relation to high quality teaching, leadership, curriculum development and pedagogic practice.
Moving individuals and organisations towards a new approach to leadership within learning and teaching is something she feels excited about. Educational approaches of choice have a focus on experiential, inter-professional and peer-led learning with particular regards to advancing skills and simulation within the curriculum.
Mel's Doctoral studies have been the culmination of a professional programme within Education (EdDoc) and she has enjoyed developing subject and pedagogic research through the professional doctorate thesis entitled ‘the exploration of student nurses’ and nurse educators’ experiences of simulation-based pedagogy using case-study research’.
Mel's research publications in relation to education demonstrate the positive transformational effect that her work has had on learners. Projects and conference workshops have involved interactive inter-professional implementation of the ‘KAVE’ a 3D stereoscopic ward based teaching and learning facility within a school of Pharmacy. Work has principally focused upon the development of non-technical skills, to enhance patient safety. Furthermore, she has made a significant contribution to the strategic and operational development of simulation within the UK. Mel has held a secondment post with the HEA as a National Simulation Development Fellow and an educational consultancy position for the Resuscitation Council (UK) an Advanced Life Support Group (ALSG). Mel led the Keele Inter-professional education (IPE) virtual reality team that were awarded runner up ‘Learning Technologist of the Year, 2013’ at the Association for Learning Technology, UK and more recently awarded Education and Skills Innovation Award Winner (2016) by the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network.Development (WMAHSN) for the collaborative development of shaping the new workforce. She was awarded the status of Senior Fellow to the Higher Education Academy in 2014 (SFHEA).