Heather has many years of experience of curriculum development within professionally and statutory body regulated programmes, with a focus on quality assurance. She has been an external examiner for physiotherapy education at a range of UK institutions, as well as being a panel member for internal programme approval at UCLan. Heather is an education representative for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, overseeing the approval and quality assurance of physiotherapy education nationally.
Heather qualified as a Physiotherapist in 1990 and has worked in a variety of NHS settings, with her clinical career focussing on intensive care and acute surgical management. Heather moved into education in 2001, and began working within Physiotherapy education at UCLan in 2003. She has held many roles within the physiotherapy team at UCLan, including clinical placement co-ordinator, admissions tutor, course leader and professional lead. Heather has been the Principal Lecturer for the Allied Health Professions since October 2020.
Heather completed her PhD in November 2019. This investigated the use of continuing professional development portfolios in undergraduate physiotherapy education, and the influence of these on physiotherapists attitudes to lifelong learning. She presented some of her findings at the World Congress of Physiotherapy in Geneva in May 2019.
