Amanda Drye

Amanda is a specialist in the area of Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) with a particular interest in family violence and improving access to healthcare advice and medicines. She works closely alongside student practice teachers studying in the postgraduate medical education programme.

amanda.drye@aru.ac.uk

Background

Ms Drye completed her nurse education within the National Health Service (NHS) and has since undertaken a diverse range of work within the practice setting, including six years in the Royal Air Force. During her time in the Armed Forces she was a Flight Nursing Officer specialising in Intensive Care Nursing. Amanda then transferred into community nursing, initially as a Nurse Practitioner within a medical centre and then as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse - Health Visitor (SCPHN).

Eleven years ago, Amanda started work in academia. During this time she has managed the non-medical prescribing programme and lectured within, community, specialist medical and nursing disciplines. Amanda returned to health visiting practice as a practice educator for two and a half years, during which time she was part of the Regional Education Group to support the ‘Health Visitor Implementation Plan’, tasked with supporting the education of the high number of new and returning health visitors. Having held the post of Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge as a member of the SCPHN academic team since November 2012; she leads the Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribing Module.

Amanda’s specialist subjects are family violence, improving access to health care, non-medical prescribing and mentorship, specifically of practice teachers. She is also a member of the postgraduate medical education team providing specialist input and practice support to those undertaking the course which leads to registration as a Practice Teacher. Amanda provides workshops in the practice setting to update registered practitioners in prescribing, mentoring and practice teaching.

In August 2014 Amanda delivered a workshop in the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) in Sri Lanka, following which she presented at the International Research Conference held here.

Research interests

• Family Violence
• Access to healthcare
• Ethics and Health Policy

Following a review of serious case reviews the inextricable link between family violence and child abuse is clear. It is therefore essential to discover the nature of violence within families and whether there is a point at which it can be identified prior to becoming out of control.

In order to ensure efficient access to appropriate health care services there is a need to evaluate the publics’ own understanding of their health care needs.

Ethical understanding within the context of health delivery in relation to current policy is essential in order for the public to receive just care and treatment.

Areas of research supervision

• Major Projects in relation to Practice teachers for students of the Post Graduate Medical Education course.
• Evaluation of aspects of student Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Post Graduate Medical Education course.
• Undergraduate Major Projects- a myriad of topics relating to the SCPHN Course

Teaching

Amanda teaches all aspects of SCPHN, in addition she delivers mentorship update and practice teacher update, providing ‘Virtual Sign Off’ workshops as demanded.

All aspects of Non-medical Prescribing with special interest in communication and Consultation.

Qualifications

Registered General Nurse –North Middlesex School of Nursing

ENB 100 (Intensive Care Nursing) West Middlesex School of Nursing

ENB 998 Homerton College

Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, NENE College

Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribing, Stirling University, Inverness

Inter-professional healthcare education, NMC registered 2005

Academic Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Health studies 1995 Roehampton Institute, Surrey University

BA (Hons) Community Healthcare 1998 Northampton University

PGCE Inter-professional healthcare education, 2005, University Campus Suffolk

MA Ethics, Politics and Public Policy, 2012 Essex University

Memberships, editorial boards

• Royal College of Nursing
• Institute of Health Visiting

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• Validation Panel for SCPHN, Stirling University
• Health Care Organisations throughout Essex and Cambridgeshire

Recent presentations and conferences

Drye, A, J. 2014 ‘Overcoming the Challenges presented by radically increased student numbers of Specialist Community public health Nurses-Health Visitors’ KDU International Research Conference, Sri Lanka.

Drye, A, J. 2015 ‘Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Health Visiting…what next’? East Of England Health Visitor Celebration Event, Hilton, Stansted.