Stephen Marks (MSc, FHEA, BSc)

• Responsible for the teaching, assessment, development and welfare of students in the School of Nursing and Public Health.
• Senior Lecturer on the Education, Pedagogy & Citizenship pathway, and hold Fellowship status with the Academy of Higher Education.
• Deputy Programme Lead and Acting Programme Lead of BSc Mental Health Nursing degree from August 2022 - August 2024.
• Responsible for developing the MH nursing curriculum and ensuring it was compliant with NMC Standards on pre-registration nurse education.
• I have led on multiple units on topics including public health, medication, and suicide prevention.
• Developed and evaluated the impact of a programme of simulation education.
• Active UCU member: elected onto the committee where I hold the role of Convener for the Faculty of Health and Education. Main responsibilities include growing the membership, carrying out casework, providing formal and informal advice, representing members in meetings, and regular meetings with Faculty executive team.
• Participate in research: I have published papers on risk assessment, psychotropic medication, and I am involved with a knowledge exchange project with a psychiatric nursing school in Uganda, contributing to their curriculum development.

• Worked with clinical team to carry out prescribed treatments addressing individual patient needs in a liaison psychiatry service within a busy urban hospital.
• Looked after a caseload of 50+ patients
• Established a training and education colleague for Acute hospital staff to upskill them on topics such as suicide prevention, Mental Capacity Act, psychosis.
• Led on project of accrediting service with Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• Demonstrated expert clinical skills and critical judgement to provide safe, appropriate patient-centred care. Risk assessment was a critical part of this job.
• Liaised regularly with patients' families to provide updates on progress and prognosis.
• Prescribed and reviewed medication plans in line with current evidence-based practice for optimised patient outcomes.
• Triaged referrals from all sources: our service processed hundreds of referrals each month, with many emergency and urgent consultations.

This was a 2 year secondment leading on a project to meet the NHS England CQUIN targets on reducing hospital attendance by a complex cohort. I was given the aim of identifying the most intensive users of A&E and providing a bespoke service to reduce this. The project resulted in a 45% reduction of attendance to A&E, resulted in savings of several hundred thousands.

• Identified a cohort of complex patients
• Obtained, analysed complex data sets from multiple sources
• Ensured project delivery met key milestones, with oral and written reports throughout to key stakeholders including senior leadership, CCGs, NHS England.
• Developed working relationships with key stakeholders including A&E staff, hospital management.
• Pioneered bespoke service taking an assertive outreach approach to engage with clients in their homes, in outpatient clinic, or at suitable third party venue such as homeless drop in service.
• Assessment and formulation of care plans to address nursing needs, and signpost to appropriate services to address unmet social needs.
• Partnered with social services, primary care, police, ambulance and other relevant teams to help coordinate quality care. I established a monthly Complex Cases panel to discuss and coordinate interventions for complex clients.

• Performed mental state examinations and risk assessments of people referred from the triage nurses in A&E.
• Supported people after episodes of deliberate self-harm or suicide attempts
• Was the link nurse to the University, ensuring our placement area was a good learning environment.
• Formulating safe discharge plans.

After qualifying as a nurse in 2013, I held various roles in the Dorset area, including PICU staff nurse, crisis team nurse, and care coordinator in a later life CMHT.

• Participated in health education programmes and nurse education activities in clinical and community settings.
• Liaised effectively with relatives, keeping them informed about patient progress.
• Monitored and recorded patient condition, carrying out and reporting regular observations.
• Assessed and evaluated patient needs, supporting accurate diagnosis and care planning.
• Established positive rapport with patients and families through active listening and compassionate care.