Baroness Mary Jane Watkins to return to King's as Visiting Professor
The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery are delighted to announce Baroness Mary Jane Watkins' appointment as a Visiting Professor at King's.
Professor Watkins, a PhD graduate from the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, was appointed as a crossbencher of the House of Lords in 2015, as one of the four new non-party political peers recommended by the Independent House of Lords Appointment Commission.
Professor Ian Norman, Executive Dean of the Faculty, said: “I am delighted to welcome Mary back to King’s as a Visiting Professor. Mary has made a major contribution to the development of nursing and midwifery and to the wider community, which has been recognised by her appointment as a life peer in the House of Lords. She is a superb advocate for our professions and I am delighted that she will be sharing her knowledge and experience with staff and students at King’s."
Professor Watkins visited King’s in October to speak with staff and students within the Faculty about her vision for the future of nursing education. She said: “I am very pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to the future development of the Faculty and to meeting and interacting with students who will be the future expert clinicians and leaders of the nursing and midwifery professions in the years ahead.”
Professor Watkins will deliver the Inaugural Perseverance Trust Nightingale Fellowship Lecture on 8 March 2017. She will discuss Florence Nightingale’s impact on the development of nursing and healthcare and will build on Nightingale’s legacy with reference to the British Government’s, Triple Impact Report which she co-authored as a member of the All Parliamentary Group on Global Health, chaired by Lord Nigel Crisp.
About Baroness Mary Jane Watkins:
Professor Baroness Watkins qualified as a general nurse in 1976 and as a mental health nurse in 1979. She was appointed to the Nightingale School in 1981 as a clinical teacher, with responsibility for general nursing students undertaking their mental health placements. Mary received her PhD from King's in 1985, and was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Work at Plymouth University in 2003, Pro Vice-Chancellor Health in 2005, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in January 2007.
She has published widely in the field of nurse education and leadership, and was inaugural editor of the Journal of Clinical Nursing. She has also been invited to represent the views of the nursing profession on a range of Department of Health working parties and is a nurse advisor to the BUPA Medical Advisory Panel.