Katie Higgins

I joined the teaching team at MMU in 2022 having recently left Advanced Clinical Practice however I still work in a clinical setting one day per week. Most of my nursing experience has been in a community health setting, and I am passionate about all aspects of public and family health. I have experience of managing acute and chronic health conditions in primary care. I have also worked as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in the wider community helping support the most vulnerable and frail by reducing hospital admissions and supporting facilitated discharge from hospital.

Leadership is paramount in the working life of any nurse, I have experience of leading in collaborative work and making changes in practice by continual assessment and evaluation of services and by supporting colleagues in peer supervision, reflection, and education. I have gained experience in leadership throughout my roles as a nurse being able to challenge practice and look at services, reflect and analysis how we go forward to improve service delivery and partnership working.

I have a particular interest in building community capacity and have undertaken a project within my community to improve access to fresh foods and provide cookery skills with local agencies to provide a better economical service and to address the growing trend in obesity. I have also been project manager for the delivery of health information videos on social medial within a CCG after audited practice found a lack of patient awareness of cancer red flags in the community I worked.

During the Covid-19 pandemic I developed and led a small project within my community team to facilitate early discharge from hospital and reduce admissions using a virtual monitoring ward. I contributed to leading and developing the service and have been commended by senior management to make a project work on a tight schedule with no additional money available. This demonstrated quality and safety for Covid-19 patients across the community with positive outcomes for patients and took the first steps towards integration of hospital and community teams. I have contributed to service audits and shared this with key stakeholders. I have also presented to board of hospital directors and medical consultants regarding the positive impact of integration.

Interests and Expertise

My teaching interests include:

• Public Health
• Leadership and Management
• Advanced Clinical Practice
• Primary and Community Nursing
• Sexual health

Academic and Professional Qualifications 

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice 

Independent/Supplementary Nurse Prescriber (V300 & V100)

BSc (Hons) Specialist Community Public Health Nurse - Health Visiting 

BSc Adult Nursing