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Mrs Claire McGuigan

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Lecturer in Advanced Clinical Practice
  • Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies
  • School of Health, Wellbeing & Social Care
  • Nursing
  • claire.mcguigan

Professional biography

Claire McGuigan

A little about me

I am a Registered Nurse (Adult) with over 25years clinical nurisng experience with a specialised practice background in Oncology & Palliative Care.  I joined the Open University in 2018 where I currently work as a central academic for Advanced Clinical Practice. Previously I worked as a Lecturer in Microcredentials & Expert Tracks and a Staff Tutor for Nurisng & Health & Social Care in the Open University Belfast. 

In 2017-2019, I was the Northern Ireland Representative on the Royal College of Nursing’s Professional Nursing Committee a national position I thoroughly enjoyed.  I was involved in two specific campaigns for policy change namely:

  1. Organ donation Opt-Out campaign
  2. Decriminalisation of Abortion campaign 

Prior to joining the Open University in 2018, I worked strategically in Northern Ireland as a Senior Nurse for Practice Education, facilitating change and coproducing solutions with a range of partners such as Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwiferyfile:///C:/Users/cm33298/Work%20Folders/Downloads/NMC-Standards-Compliance-Benchmark-Standards-July11.pdf

Professional memberships

  • Nursing Midwifery Council
  • Royal College of Nursing
  • British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) 

Research interests

Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Policy Analysis, Public Health, Storytelling, Qualitaive reseacrh methodoloiges and Cultures of Practice Analysis. I have a specific interest in palliatve and end of life care and autoimmune disease such as coeliac disease, multiple sclerosis, food allergies. I enjoy working with others to coproduce change through Knowledge Exchange.  

Teaching interests

Subject Matter Expertise: General Nursing with specialist interest in public health, palliatve care, autoimmune conditions & food allergies. 

Interisciplinary Connections: Exploring connections between subject areas and other disciplines encouraging students to think holistically.

Cirriculum Development: Designing & developing cirricula and instructional materials that align to contemporary practices. In 2023, I developed a microcredential "Best Practice in Palliatve & End of Life Care" at the Open University.

Student Monitoring & Support: Nurturing intelluctual growth and critical thinking. 

 

 

Impact and engagement

2021-present Knowledge Exchange & Research Project: Eating Out of Home with Food Allergies. The project was developed to identify what it is like to eat out of home with food allergies and share this knowledge with food business. Key aims are:

  • Identify what factors those with food allergies consider before deciding to eat out of home.
  • Discover what things those living with food allergies would you like to see businesses put in place to help them confident and safe when eating out of home.
  • Analyse & present the voices of those with food allergies to food business to allow them to adopt their business model for inclusion.
  • Develop a protype for an app which food allergy consumers and businesses can use to build safe practices and offer more choice.

External collaborations

2017- I worked as a consultant to Northern Ireland Commission Overseas Project which developed & delivered Nurse Mentorship Systems in Croatia.

2021- present- Collaboration on the Eating out of Home with Food Allergies Knowledge Exchange Project was between Belfast Metropolitan College and the award-winning Sinley Chinese in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. In 2024, there has been further dissemination of the educational outputs of this project between Open University and Northern Regional College in Northern Ireland who prepare those for work in the hospitality and catering industry. This work continues.