Laura Cunningham
Glasgow,United Kingdom
Summary
I am a resilient, practical and articulate nursing professional with a diverse background in critical care, education, research and site operations management.
I thrive in complex and evolving situations which require strong leadership, problem solving, coordination and communication skills.
I enjoy improving systems and practices while developing professional relationships and partnerships.
I aim to inspire teams and exceed performance metrics.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
Clinical Site Coordinator
NHS Lothian
, Scotland
2025.08 - Current
- My main responsibility within this role includes patient flow coordination within acute hospital sites; aiming to ensure patient safety, enhance care quality and improve site performance metrics in line with Scottish Government targets
- Site leader during all clinical and non clinical emergencies ensuring business continuity plans are implemented and successful
- Providing clear direction and nursing leadership including management of hospital site nursing staffing while out of normal working hours
- Effective communication with senior management and executive leadership, providing clear and concise site status and event reporting and providing practical recommendations for site metrics, safety, care quality and service improvement
- Managing complex, dynamic and high stress or sensitive situations
- Bronze level category 1 responder escalating and actioning appropriately through heirarchy of command structures as per Civil Contingencies Act 2004
- Liaising with other NHS Lothian sites and supplementary services including security, patient transport, scottish ambulance services, police scotland and fire services to ensure normal operations, patient and public safety
Clinical Nursing Supervisor
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2025.01 - 2026.06
- This role involved the management of all nursing operations, providing senior nursing leadership within a 399 bed complex care hospital in the UAE
- Responding to clinical and non clinical emergencies as clinical leader; providing clear direction when required, coordinating logistics, ensuring the successful implementation of business continuity plans and providing expert nursing and site status advice.
- Autonomous senior nursing leadership out of hours, responsible for escalating to executive leadership on call if required, management of site staffing issues, conflict resolution, patient/relative complaints, and service recovery.
- Working collaboratively with security, Abu Dhabi Police and Abu Dhabi Civil Defense when required; often leading the de-escalation of high-risk incidents with negotiation skills to ensure patient, staff and site safety, and minimising risk of service disruption
- Oversee the coordination of complex regional and international patient transfers including helicopter or emergency retrieval to ensure safe and efficient patient journeys on and off site. This includes critical patients requiring life saving interventions (e.g. ongoing cardiac arrest, PCI, ECMO, organ donation)
- Working collaboratively with Emirates Red Crescent humanitarian aid to oversee the coordination of patients and families evacuated from Gaza for sponsored care and treatment at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
- Daily event reporting to major stakeholders including executive leadership and Abu Dhabi Department of Health on site status, staffing and performance metrics
Lead Research Nurse Coordinator
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2022.06 - 2025.01
- The main responsibility within this role was acting as a Lead Nurse for the coordination and management of all human subjects research within Emergency Medicine Institute, Critical Care, Anaesthesia, General Surgery and Surgical Subspecialities and Clinical and Nursing Institute
- The studies vary from Master's dissertation level research; in-house single site research; multi-site hospital or university collaborations, grant projects and funded industry sponsored studies
- Working closely with investigators; providing advice on the feasibility and logistics of new research projects and supporting them to obtain all required IRB and Department of Health approvals
- Networking, collaboration and building professional partnerships with investigators, external collaborators and sponsors to encourage and support research. This includes attending all research conferences within the UAE to promote research
- Assisting with the development of study budgets and coordinating the appropriate legal agreements required for new and existing projects
- Educating investigators on all research policy, local authority and ICH GCP requirements and providing continuing support and monitoring to ensure compliance and safeguard patients
- Developing and managing the CCAD Research Student program; a program for residential and overseas undergraduate health sciences students seeking an introduction to human subjects research.
- Recruiting patients and maintaining trusting, communicative relationships with them throughout their study experience
- Conducting study activities including vital sign monitoring, venepuncture, IV cannulation, IV investigational product administration and specimen collection
- Utilising different data management tools; perform adverse event reporting and facilitate data monitoring and study close out
- Typical caseload of clinical studies is around 30-40 active studies.
Nurse Educator
Simulation and Life Support, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
2020.10 - 2022.06
- The main responsibility within this role was to teach and facilitate American Heart Association Life Support Courses (in all disciplines) to all learners (internal and external) to ensure competent accreditation as per Health Authority Abu Dhabi.
- Appointed American Nurses Credentialing Centre Nurse Planner for Simulation Centre, worked collaboratively with the Nursing Education Specialists across different hospital specialities (stroke; emergency care; critical care; acute care; ambulatory) to develop other American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC) approved CE outcome-based simulation learning programmes
- Medical residency program coordinator, assisting Medical Residency Program Directors with the development of simulation programs based on their curriculum and learning objectives. This mainly involved providing simulation modality advice on scenario building and development of performance outcomes, coordinating simulation room bookings, feasibly and appropriate equipment availability and set up, running simulations and facilitating debriefing with subject matter expert, assisting with course evaluation
- Developing Organizational Code Blue Program; a quality improvement program auditing cardiac arrest care throughout the hospital and identifying system related issues for improvement. This included the coordination and setup of simulated mock cardiac arrest scenarios throughout the hospital using high fidelity manikins; recording and documenting in real time data metrics, providing team debriefings and report writing to Emergency Medical Response Committee with recommendations for improvement
- Developing and delivering the Code Blue Education Programme; a multi layered programme teaching clinical teams cardiac arrest skills from basic delivery of skills to training preceptors how to evaluate skills and provide corrective feedback with low fidelity simulation equipment
- Assisting with the setup and teaching of clinical skills or evaluating competency of clinical skills in nursing orientation or skills revalidation within the sim centre
- Working with simulation technician to transport, set up and utilize high fidelity simulation equipment outwith simulation centre, in hospital or external conference
Clinical Nurse Coordinator
ENT and Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2019.04 - 2020.10
- My main responsibility within this role was to provide specialist nursing care and patient education for head and neck surgery patients and plastic surgery patients across ambulatory, acute, perioperative and critical care services
- Leading hospital-wide coordination of tracheostomy patient care; initiating quality improvement projects to improve patient safety and quality care; updating relevant policies and procedures
- Working alongside ENT specialists in response to the management of ENT emergencies including tracheostomy emergency, upper airway bleeding and epistaxis
- Providing specialist education to nursing and medical residents for the management of tracheostomy, head and neck surgery patients and plastic surgery patients including major reconstruction surgeries.
- Documenting patients' assessment and treatment plan in line with the ENT physicians' plan of care
- Providing psychological and emotional support for patients and relatives
Registered Critical Care Nurse
General Medical/Surgical ICU, Level 7, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2017.09 - 2019.04
- I provided level 3 care for critically ill medical surgical patients with multi-organ failure
- I developed an expert level of competency in complex clinical ICU skill including the management of mechanical intubated patients; CPAP, high flow nasal cannula, central venous vascular access and invasive cardiovascular monitoring; inotropic support, parental/enteral nutrition and continuous renal replacement therapy
- I cared for post-operative kidney, liver and lung transplant patients at centre of excellence
- I provided psychological and emotional support for patients and relatives
Registered Nurse
Intensive Care Unit 1, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Glasgow, Scotland
2015.06 - 2017.08
- I provided level 3 care to medical, surgical and trauma patients with multi-organ failure
- I developed proficiency in complex clinical ICU skills including assisting with endotracheal intubation; the management of patients on/with mechanical ventilation, CPAP/BIPAP; high flow nasal cannula; invasive monitoring, central venous access devices, IV medication administration, enteral/parenteral nutrition, targeted temperature management and continuous renal replacement therapy
- Patient population included post cardiac arrest, substance misuse, septic shock, post operative surgical patients, major trauma patients including severe burn patients unable to be transported to the regional specialized care facility
- I was the ICU link nurse for post op neurosurgical and maxilliofacial patients when required
- I provided psychological and emotional support for patients and relatives
Registered Nurse
Ward 60, Neurosurgical High Dependency Unit, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Glasgow, Scotland
2014.08 - 2015.06
- I provided level 2 and level 3 care to critically ill neurosurgical, neurology and post op maxillio facial patients within the specialist care unit for the west of Scotland region
- I developed competency in the complex critical care skills required for these patients including neurologically assessment with glasgow coma scale, external ventricular drain management, lumbar drain management and free flap observation assessment and monitoring; IV medication administration, invasive monitoring and care of central venous access devices, enteral nutrition and urinary catheter care
- I supported the intensive care unit when required depending on patient needs, caring for patients requiring intracranial pressure monitoring, brain stem death and organ donation
- I provided psychological and emotional support for patients and relatives
Education
MSc in Advanced Nursing Practice -
Glasgow Caledonian University
Scotland2014
BSN in Adult Nursing -
Glasgow Caledonian University
Scotland2013
Skills
Transformational leadership
Scene safety assessment
Management of clinical/ non-clinical emergencies
De-escalation, conflict management and negotiation skills during complex incidents
Simulation outcome based learning and scenario development
Debriefing
Event reporting
Quality improvement
Clinical Research
Networking and partnership building
Certification
- Basic Life Support Instructor (05/2021 - 08/2025)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support Instructor (02/2021 - 01/2025)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support Provider (01/2025-01/2027)
- Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support Instructor (07/2021 - 07/2023)
- Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support Provider (12/2024-12/2026)
- Simulation Educator Workshop (Remote) (02/2022)
- Simulation Faculty Development Course (11/2021)
- Fundamentals of Critical Care Support Course (05/2018)
Accomplishments
COVID 19 Frontline Heroes Medal awarded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Operation Smile Volunteer, Registered Nurse, UAE, 2019-Present
References
- Lorraine Ferrier, Clinical Nurse Manager Site & Capacity & Hospital at Night Team, NHS Lothian, lorraine.ferrier@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
- Lauren Sedgman, Nurse Manager CCT, Hospital Transfer and Nursing Operations, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, sedgmal@clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae
- Minna Graham, Impact Manager Laerdal Medical (Previously Simulation and Life Support Manager, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi), +971559543125, minna.graham@laerdal.com
Languages
Arabic
Beginner
Timeline
Clinical Site Coordinator
NHS Lothian
2025.08 - Current
Clinical Nursing Supervisor
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
2025.01 - 2026.06
Lead Research Nurse Coordinator
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
2022.06 - 2025.01
Nurse Educator
Simulation and Life Support, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
2020.10 - 2022.06
Clinical Nurse Coordinator
ENT and Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
2019.04 - 2020.10
Registered Critical Care Nurse
General Medical/Surgical ICU, Level 7, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
2017.09 - 2019.04
Registered Nurse
Intensive Care Unit 1, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
2015.06 - 2017.08
Registered Nurse
Ward 60, Neurosurgical High Dependency Unit, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Greater Glasgow and Clyde
2014.08 - 2015.06
MSc in Advanced Nursing Practice -
Glasgow Caledonian University
BSN in Adult Nursing -
Glasgow Caledonian University