Masterclass for Clinical Nurse Specialists

Dr Mary Miller - Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Sobell House - Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in Palliative Medicine, University of Oxford - Director OxCERPC (Oxford Centre for education and research in palliative care)

Mary qualified from University College Cork, Ireland in 1988. Mary trained and worked in palliative medicine in Ireland, Sweden and the UK and has been a consultant in palliative medicine in Oxford since 1998. Mary has a strong interest in education; completing a Diploma in Learning and Teaching at Oxford University 2005, was Training Programme Director and Regional Specialty Advisor (2002 – 2008) and has led the Oxford Advanced Courses in Pain and Symptom Management since 2005. Mary is an elected member of the Education Committee of the Association of Palliative Medicine and joint lead of the postgraduate education special interest forum. Since the inception of OxCERPC in 2017, Mary and the team are focusing on building an exciting portfolio of courses, building research readiness, and reaching out to practitioners across the globe.

Mel Presland, Consultant Pharmacist, Palliative & End of Life Care

Melinda qualified from the University of Bradford in 2005, and has worked in many sectors of pharmacy including community, mental health and the prison service. Melinda started her specialist palliative care career in 2009 in a Macmillan palliative care team, focused on providing pharmaceutical support to patients in the primary care setting. Melinda moved to her Consultant Pharmacist post in Oxford in 2019 where she continues to work. Melinda has worked as Senior Clinical Lead in palliative care for NHSE/I, and is chair person of the Association of Supportive and Palliative Care Pharmacy (ASPCP).
Melinda is a qualified non-medical prescriber, and has a Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education, which supports her in her passion for planning and delivery of education, both to pharmacists and other health care professionals.

Dr Farzana Virani, Consultant Palliative Medicine

Dr Virani is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine in Oxford, having completed her specialty training in the Thames Valley deanery. Dr Virani is based in the inpatient unit at Katharine House Hospice, and also provides supportive palliative care to patients undergoing Early Phase Clinical Trials and CAR-T treatment in Oxford. She has presented and published her work in Early Phase Clinical Trials, and on Alfentanil.

Katy Hunt, Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist

Katy qualified as a nurse in Oxford in 1987 and worked for a year on a vascular surgical ward before heading to India to work as a nurse educator on a street clinic, teaching wound care and mother and baby clinics. When I returned to the UK I completed a District Nursing degree in Bristol and worked in the community, gaining valuable palliative care experience. This led me to Sobell House Hospice, Oxford, where I worked for 18 years, as a Senior Nurse and Nurse Educator. Following this I specialised in neuro-oncology, setting up the patient pathway in Oxford for patients receiving SRS for brain metastases and for the last 5 years I have worked as CNS in neuro-oncology.
Katy's particular passion is teaching communication skills which I have been involved with for 12 years.
Katy has a degree in Philosophy and Theology and has an interest in medical and applied ethics.

Helen Jackson, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Heart Failure, Oxford Universities NHS Trust, Oxford Heart Centre, The John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

Having qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1984 I have worked in a wide range of locations including London, the North East, Midlands, Bristol and then Oxford continuously since 1998. During my career I have worked in general medicine, psychiatry, intensive care, cardiac surgery, cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation. Since 2006 I have focused specifically on heart failure, initially as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and then as a Consultant Nurse since 2014. During this time I have developed a particular interest in ways of improving the experience of people with advanced heart failure so that they can understand their condition in order to plan for their future care in an informed way. I am keen to develop collaborative ways of working between cardiology and palliative care teams so that we can share our expertise.

08:50 Registration & Welcome
09:00 Managing Advanced Heart Failure - Helen Jackson
09:55 Break
10:10 Case Study – Bowel Obstruction - Mel Presland & Dr Farzana Virani
11:05 Break
11:15 ILD & Breathlessness - Dr Mary Miller
12:10 Break
12:25 Brain Tumours, Personhood and Living with Uncertainty - Katy Hunt
13:30 End of Day