Marilena is a nurse specialised in orthopaedic, trauma and general surgical nursing.
Marilena's MSc focused on how the role of student education facilitator as educational support role can be developed from mentors'/practice assessors’ perspectives to support all learners in clinical areas.
Her areas of expertise include pre-registration nursing (both practice and theory), personal tutoring, and leading the Managing and Monitoring Quality in Healthcare and Promoting Quality in Nursing modules on the BSc Adult Nursing course. In her previous role at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), she was course leader for Year 1 of the FdSc Assistant Practitioner Higher Apprenticeship.
In 2021 Marilena was nominated by students for Outstanding Personal Tutor at the ARU Student Union Awards. The same year, Marilena obtained the HEMS Dean's Award for teaching for being part of the virtual simulation placement team of tutors who delivered this types of placements and who received excellent feedback from nursing students
Before joining ARU, Marilena spent four years working in EPUT's Workforce Development and Training Department as a Student Education Facilitator (SEF), supporting students, supervisors and assessors in practice placements, as well as facilitating a range of workshops to upskill the workforce.
In this role, Marilena worked in partnership with seven UK universities to ensure student nurses experience the highest standards of clinical training within clinical placements, in both community-based and inpatient settings. This included participating in auditing of clinical placements as suitable clinical learning environments, providing support to qualified nurses training to become mentors, and signing off mentor/practice assessors and practice supervisors. Marilena was also part of the team of ARU lecturers selected as Finalist at the Student Nursing Times Awards (SNTA), 2022.
At EPUT, Marilena also assisted with healthcare social workers' Band 1-4 development by providing care certificate workshops. She was involved with course development, academic assessment, and learning and teaching activities for the foundation degree in Health and Social Care. As course leader and module leader for Year 1 of the FdSc Health and Social Care Higher Apprenticeship, she delivered all five modules and the clinical skills workbook.
Prior to this, Marilena worked for 15 years as Registered General Nurse (Adult) at Southend University NHS Foundation Trust in several wards such as: urology, medicine for the elderly, surgical assessment unit, medical assessment unit, accident and emergency, elective orthopaedic, and trauma. During this period she worked with several pre-registration Nursing students, as mentor and as sign off mentor.
Marilena would be pleased to consider supervising pre-registration student nurses undertaking bachelors or masters with the following research interests/topics:
Marilena has undertaken a literature review of the role of orthopaedic nurse in the prophylaxis and management of venous thromboembolism for patients post total hip replacement and post total knee replacement. She has also completed a service evaluation analysing the role of the student education facilitator as support and guidance for mentors in clinical areas.
Marilena has supervised several students undertaking postgraduate and undergraduate major projects who have successfully undertaken critical literature reviews or service evaluations of various topics highlighting the nurse’s roles in immediate life support education, assessment and management of type 2 diabetes, and the prevention of pressure ulcers in primary care.