Karen Khan,

Professional Lead Midwifery&Reproductive

Biography

After 15 years in clinical practice, I took a secondment into higher education with the midwifery team at the University of York. My clinical background is both general nursing and midwifery. After my secondment in midwifery education, I decided to continue an academic career and took up a post as a lecturer in midwifery in 2005. I completed an MA in Womens’ Studies at the University of York and have continued my interest in feminist theory and research, applying it to teaching and learning in UG and PG education. My academic career has spanned 15 years and offered a range of opportunities to lead various projects including the use of blended learning on virtual learning platforms, academic skills development for UG students and the enhancement of therapeutic communication skills using immersive simulation. I am currently co-leading a project designed to build student’s knowledge and understanding of professional responsibilities, patient safety, and collaborative working through an immersive simulation called In the Dock™. My interest in immersive simulation stems from my work with a research colleague with a specialist interest in emotional intelligence, and actors trained in communication education. We collaborated for 6 years on the delivery of communication education for student midwives using a bespoke design of immersive learning through small peer group simulations. My current role as Lead Midwife for Education involves a range of responsibilities including supporting the development of our new pre-registration midwifery UG & PG programmes. As a strategic lead for midwifery education, I am a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Strategic Reference Group, a national network of LMEs across the UK and the Local Maternity Systems (LMS) group. As an NMC Visitor, I contribute to the quality assurance and approval of midwifery education across AEIs in the UK. I am also involved in the quality assurance of educational programmes at both the University and Faculty levels. My key area of research interest is patient safety with maternity care. I am currently a part-time Ph.D. student with the University of Bradford. My project will investigate the role of uncertainty in the decision-making process during labour and birth.