Biographical note

Dr Samantha Freeman, RN, Phd MSc, BSc (Hons), PGCE, SFHEA, RNT. Sam Freeman is a Reader in adult nursing and the Director of Education for the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester. Sam has 30 years of experience in critical care and nurse education. Clinically, she worked in adult critical care where she was the department’s lead on clinical audit and held a lead role in staff education. Sam is particularly interested in exploring how we best support those waking in the critical care environment. Sam’s doctoral research explored the patient, family, and multidisciplinary team members’ experiences and perspectives of agitation and its management in the adult critical care environment. As a nurse educator, she is passionate about ensuring critical care education is championed across undergraduate and postgraduate education. Claire Burns is a registered adult nurse and lecturer in nursing at the University of Manchester, where she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students. Claire has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and a Master of Science degree in Advanced Leadership for Professional Practice. Currently a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Claire has 20 years of experience in nursing and nurse education. She has a background in critical care and intensive care nursing. In her current role, Claire educates both undergraduate and postgraduate students, focusing on principles of adult critical care, clinical skills, leadership, and applied bioscience. Claire′s passion is supporting nurses in applying their knowledge of biosciences to patient care to improve clinical decision-making in practice. She is a member of the Bioscience in Nursing National Group, where she collaborates with peers to enhance the integration of biosciences in nursing curricula. Dr Gregory Bleakley RN, D.Prof, PGCE, BSc (Hons), DipN, Adv.Cert (Critical Care), RNT, FHEA. Greg started training as an adult nurse during the 1990s. Clinically, he worked in acute areas of nursing including Critical Care. He has a diploma, bachelor’s degree, and doctorate in nursing. Greg also completed the university advanced certificate in critical care nursing as part of his first degree. In 2007, Greg was appointed as a Band 8a Regional Donor Transplant Coordinator/Specialist Nurse – Organ Donation. Greg started his clinically focused doctorate in 2012 whilst working in practice, graduating in 2018 with a thesis entitled ‘A grounded theory study exploring critical care staff experiences of approaching relatives for organ donation’. Dr Bleakley works as Associate Professor of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership at the University of Bradford. He returned to clinical practice during the Coronavirus pandemic as Matron / Practice Educator in critical care having previously held an academic role at the University of Manchester for 7 years. He facilitates teaching, learning and assessment of undergraduate and postgraduate students. He holds a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), is a registered nurse teacher and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.