The University of Cumbria has appointed two new Visiting Professors to support its continuing mission of shaping the healthcare workforce of the future.
Dr Karen Deeny and Dr Sarina Beacher join the Institute of Health team at the University of Cumbria, which has sites across Cumbria, Lancashire and London.
The university’s Institute of Health is a leading provider of undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD (continuing professional development) programmes for aspiring and existing professionals in nursing, midwifery, paramedic practice and other allied health professions such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Karen currently holds roles as a non-executive director of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
She started her career as a speech and language therapist and has over four decades of experience across health, social care and education organisations and systems locally, regionally and nationally.
Her work as a clinician, senior leader, commissioner, researcher and author has been driven by an enduring focus on working with and learning from patients, families, communities and colleagues to improve people’s experiences and outcomes of care.
Since 1997, Karen has worked in the facilitation of change and improvement with a focus on compassionate and strengths-based leadership and effective team working.
Quality assurance, inclusion and transformation are key elements of her extensive work leading local, regional and national programmes in the NHS across community, acute and primary care settings.
Karen has completed the NHS Top Leaders programme, holds a PhD in healthcare improvement and is an Institute of Leadership and Management qualified executive coach and mentor.
She has previously held roles as a visiting lecturer and honorary research fellow at two universities and has a passion for practitioner led research and appreciative, participatory approaches that generate learning in and for practice.
Karen said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been offered a role as Visiting Professor at the University of Cumbria.
“I am inspired by the university’s overarching vision to transform lives and livelihoods through learning, applied research and practice and am excited by the prospect of making an active contribution to this.”
Sarina qualified as a State Enrolled Mental Health Nurse in 1988 and went on to gain her Registered Mental Health Nurse qualification three years later.
Since then she has continued to study, gaining a number of clinical and management qualifications. In 1996 she completed the first Kings Fund Nursing Leadership Programme for aspiring nurse leaders of the future.
Sarina has spent 30 years working in the NHS as a deputy director of nursing and director of nursing in several NHS England and NHS Scotland organisations.
She holds Nursing and Midwifery Council and Australia Health Professional registration in adult and mental health nursing.
Among her clinical qualifications, she has completed a BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing, a MSc in Strategic Leadership & Management, and a PhD in Organisational and Human Behaviours and Leadership.
Since 2022 she has continued to practice as a cognitive behavioural therapist, working closely with Cumbria police, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, and a number of local schools.
She specialises in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), solution focused brief therapy, and narrative therapy to address emotional and psychological distress. Sarina is also a qualified structured trauma therapist.
With her academic interests lying in mental health, ethnographic research, and clinical leadership, she hopes to contribute to these fields in her Visiting Professor role at the University of Cumbria.
Sarina said: “The University of Cumbria has a strong sense of community and working alongside the community to deliver 21st century academia to a wide range of people from all walks of life.
“It is this key objective that I really appreciate – the diversity of the University of Cumbria and the ability to stretch their ambitions.”
Professor Karen Stansfield, Dean of the University of Cumbria’s Institute of Health, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sarina and Karen as Visiting Professors.
“They bring a wealth of experience across healthcare, nursing, leadership and wider public sector organisations.
“Bringing their extensive expertise, they will make a significant contribution to our academic community and its wider partnerships. We look forward to the insight, innovation, and collaborative opportunities their appointments will bring.”
