Briefly, could you tell us about your background and career up to this point?
My nursing career began in Portugal in 2006 working as a registered nurse in a medical ward with a high-dependency unit before becoming a Charge Nurse and Practice Educator. Alongside clinical work, I completed a teaching qualification and a Master’s in Bioethics, with my thesis contributing to Portugal’s legislation on advance directives.
I moved to the UK in 2014, working in NHS Critical Care as a Staff Nurse and progressing to Senior Staff Nurse after completing a PGCert in Critical Care Nursing. I entered higher education in 2018 at the University of West London, later becoming Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for Nursing Associate Apprenticeships. In 2021, I joined King’s College London, where I since then I lead the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies programme, serve as Deputy Chair for the Faculty Fitness to Practise Committee and, more recently, co-lead educational research projects in nursing ethics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality simulation.
What is your involvement with the Nanjing project in the Faculty and how did you start working on it?
My involvement with the Nanjing partnership started quite naturally when I was appointed as Programme Lead for the BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies. The programme has been receiving applications from registered nurses who had completed their nursing qualification at Nanjing Vocational Health College (NVHC), so supporting their transition, learning and overall student experience quickly became a central part of my role.
That initial connection was then strengthened when I was invited by Mary Crawford, then the Academic Lead for the King’s Nanjing Collaboration, to contribute to module updates and participate in an in-person peer review in Nanjing. Visiting NVHC in December 2024, meeting students and educators and observing teaching in the environment where our students trained was incredibly meaningful. It enriched my understanding of their academic and cultural context, informed how I support them at King’s and has genuinely contributed to my development as programme leader and personal tutor of these particular students.
What have been your favourite moments working on the partnership?
It’s the collective student journey that stands out the most. Watching cohorts of registered nurses who completed their nursing qualification at NVHC arrive at King’s, find their voice, build confidence and adapt to a new academic and professional culture together is incredibly rewarding. They bring such relevant clinical foundations and cultural background and seeing them translate that into academic and professional growth, while championing each other along the way, is inspiring!
The partnership has also given me one of my favourite professional experiences: visiting Nanjing and the institution where our students were educated to become registered nurses. Being able to learn about their culture and context first-hand was personally enriching and has had a meaningful impact on my practice and approach as both their programme leader and personal tutor. And of course, the peer review conversations with colleagues in Nanjing (where shared insights lead to positive changes and improvements for future cohorts, while also recognising and valuing the many areas of excellent existing practice) are exactly what partnership should be about: collective learning, collective progress and collective impact.
You also use your service time to volunteer with your golden retriever Kolby as a therapy dog in hospitals and schools – tell us more about that.
Yes! Kolby, my four-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever, is the real star. We volunteer with Pets As Therapy in schools, universities (including wellbeing events at King’s), and most regularly at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital within Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. This is how I have been spending my King’s Service Time.
When I moved from clinical practice into academia and Kolby came into my life, I realised I could still make a direct difference to patients, staff and families. It just took a new form, this time by sharing the joy, comfort, and connection Kolby brings so naturally and so contagiously. In many ways, it’s still care, just delivered with paws and puppy eyes instead of scrubs.
Some of the most meaningful moments are the small ones: bringing calm to a stressful day, seeing a smile appear in a waiting room, or watching a child who was once afraid of dogs proudly call Kolby their best friend (and so many are his friends now!). He has even alerted staff ahead of seizure episodes a few times, which continues to amaze me. Maybe he also wants to become a nurse and I didn’t know!
What is your favourite thing about working at King’s?
It’s the people (from staff and students to the public in general) and the purpose. There’s a shared drive to do meaningful work that has real impact, but also room to grow, innovate and collaborate. I value that ideas are welcomed, partnerships are encouraged and personal and professional development is genuinely supported. Its motto of making the world a better place says everything to me.
What do you do with your time outside of work?
Mostly anything that involves fresh air, community and personal growth: long walks with Kolby, travelling, volunteering, catching up with friends, gym, theatre, or just taking time to recharge either outdoors or in my “nest” that is a small 1-bedroom flat. But it’s really the simple things that reset me and bring balance to the week and life in general.
Quick fire:
Favourite holiday destination?
The world!
Favourite musical artist?
The Gift.