Dr Stephen Smith

Biography	Stephen trained as a general and mental health nurse and for 15 years worked in the area of palliative care. This involved clinical, research and managerial experience within the voluntary hospice sector as well as working in the National Health Service as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in a hospital palliative care team. Stephen completed a Bsc in Nursing Studies at Queen Margaret University in 1997, a Masters Degree in Cancer Nursing at the University of Glasgow in 2000 and a PhD at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in 2009. Stephen led a four year action research programme focused on palliative care for people with a dementia. This work formed the basis of Stephen’s PhD study. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University and teaching, research and practice improvement activities focus on the development of practice and learning in compassionate care. Stephen led an action research programme; Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme, utilising relationship centred care and appreciative inquiry approaches. The outputs of this programme are being utilised nationally within the UK and internationally. Stephen is a consultant editor on the Journal of Nursing Ethics, and a member of the Editorial Board on the Journal of Compassionate Health Care. Stephen is a Consultant Nurse in Compassionate Care (NHS Lothian) co-leading a leadership programme in compassionate care practice with multi-professional practitioners from health and social care. Within the School of Health and Social Care Stephen is a lead for Public Engagement and Staff Engagement. Stephen is passionate about real world research, practice development and learning that directly impacts upon the compassionate care experience of people who use health and social care services, their relatives but also the experiences of multidisciplinary practitioners and care providers.
Research Interests	Developing Compassionate Care in practice Supporting learning in compassionate care within Higher Education Leadership Relationship centred care and the Senses Framework Action research Realist Evaluation Use of Appreciative Inquiry in research Use of narrative / stories to influence change and practice development Use of emotional touchpoint stories for service improvement Transforming Care after Treatment - Evaluation of post treatment cancer services Grants and income: Edinburgh Napier University & NHS Lothian (2007) Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme (LCCP). Funded by private benefactor (£834,163.00). Funding secured prior to commencing post as Lead Nurse, position involved leading and managing the programme budget. S Smith P Black I Dosser L Adamson S Flower M Byers (2009) Providing Health Care Support Workers (Clinical and Ward Clerks) with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to engage in compassionate, caring conversations with patients and relatives. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£4,800) S Smith B Dewar J Surfleet R Tocher C Crowther S Sloan D Armstrong (2012) Development of on line training resources titled: Valuing Feedback. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£25,000) S Smith L Adamson J Surfleet S Sloan L Conway R Tocher J Pow (2012) Master Class and Learning Events Programme: Valuing Feedback: Listening, learning and responding using a person centred approach. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£31,500) S Smith A Taylor R Grieve (2012) NES Person centred Care Programme: Facilitating Feedback Conversations- a learning opportunity. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£2,330) S Smith A Taylor R Grieve (2013) Facilitating Feedback Conversations – roll out of workshops to NHS Boards in Scotland. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£6,349) S Smith, M Gentleman, J Johnston, L Campbell (2013) NHS Borders Senior Charge Nurse Leadership Development Programme. Funded by NHS Borders (£21,000) S Cruickshank, K Campbell, L Johnston, A MacFarland, S Smith, R Raeside, C Brunton Gray, J Afseth, P Brooks-Young (2014) Evaluation of the ‘Transforming Care After Treatment’ programme in Scotland. Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. (£250,000.00) S Smith M Harkness S Smith E Walker M Anderson J Greenock S Mathieson (2014) Evaluation of the Compassionate Connections Story Worlds Learning Resource. Funded by NHS Education Scotland (£29,574) S Smith (2015) Evaluation of complaints and feedback training. Funded by NHS Education for Scotland (£10,000) S Smith L Conway (2015) Patient Experience, Feedback and Early resolution workshops (n=4). Funded by NHS Education Scotland (£1637) Consultancy: Health & Social Care Integration Appreciative Inquiry Conversations. Funded by Scottish Social Services Council and NHS Education for Scotland. S Smith lead applicant, all funds came to Edinburgh Napier University (£1,000). S Smith (2016) Harnessing the Power of Personal Stories to Drive Improvement using ‘Emotional Touchpoints’ – An evaluation study, Funded by Integrated Care Fund (£3000.00) School Lead for Public Engagement As the Public Engagement Lead for the School of Health and Social Care I am a committee member of the school Research Degree Committee and the school Research and Innovation Committee. At these forums I am able to question, highlight and share PE issues / activity and focus on our citizenship and social responsibilities in regard to research. As Public Engagement (PE) lead I actively support researchers within the school to maximise the PE focus and outcomes of their studies. This involves collaborative working and identifying opportunities for PE. This has resulted in PE events, for example an event held in October 2016 at Sighthill Campus; The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: The voices of young people with learning disabilities; The voices of young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Aims of the event included the presentation of study findings, table-top discussions and exploration of findings and solutions. Participants in this event included 48 guests: research participants, researchers, practitioners, members of the public, and policymakers. Organisations represented included Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh College, Robert Gordon University, MEHIS, NHS Lothian, Frae Fife, NHS Health Scotland, People First, RE-EM, and Edinburgh University. The way forward – concrete proposals suggested by participants on the day included: Use of Boardmaker to design HPV information and media and to design a LearnPro – online training for staff within statutory and third sector organisations, and for Sexual Health Services to train teachers/educators. These proposals are being progressed. Feedback from the event found that participants found the event accessible and useful. People with learning disabilities reported that they felt listened to and had everything they needed during the event. Other stakeholders said that information was clearly presented, the atmosphere was inclusive and positive. Other activities in terms of PE include gathering evidence of PE activity in the school and developing our social media presence within the school
Teaching and Learning	Current teaching and learning activity is focused on the following subjects: Developing compassionate care in practice Communication Leadership Relationship centred care & the Senses framework Story worlds - the use of narrative to inform learning and practice Currently involved in the following roles; Deputy module leader for 1st year undergraduate nursing module - Developing Professionalism Module team member for 2nd year module - effective interagency working in health care, Personal Development Tutor, Link Lecturer for six care Homes in NHS Lothian. Currently supervising three PhD students all studies focussed on pedagogy related to compassionate care (May 2017)