Carolyn Johnstone

I joined the OU in 2024 as a Staff Tutor in Health and Social Care; below is a short summary of my career so far....

In 1990 I qualified as a nurse (sooooo long ago!) then studied part-time for a BSc followed by an MSc in Health Studies. My clinical career was mostly in Vascular Surgery where I became Charge Nurse.

 In 2001 I accepted a secondment to work in Higher Education which I found I really loved and especially enjoyed supporting students with complex support needs. Over the years I help many roles ultimately becoming Academic Programme Lead for Undergraduate Nursing Studies at the University of Dundee. Alongside this I was a GBV first responder, lead for student support in the School and was a member of various student learning/support committees in the wider university. I was a harassment officer and undertook additional training related to supporting staff. In 2022 I was successful in my application to become a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

 In 2022 I decided to leave HE to re-engage with clinical practice mainly because I had become increasingly aware of the gaps in my profile around Health and Social Care. I spent some time working in nursing homes them was invited to become the Regional Nurse for Scotland with Prestige Care. In this role I guided and supported carers who cared for adults living at home with complex health care needs. 

 I guess it is worth explaining why I made the leap back into care.... I am a mum and carer for my son who lives with Dystonic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. As he got older we increasingly engaged with social care and felt that I needed to understand this better. I am also volunteer trustee for a local carer centre and am passionate about carers and carers rights.

 The call back to HE was too strong so here I am enjoying being back in the Sector.