Biography
Dr Dickinson is Head of the Department of Mental Health Nursing. He graduated from Bournemouth University as a Registered Nurse in 2001, and initially worked in clinical practice across the UK and Australia, in a range of settings, specialising in forensic mental health. He moved into academia in 2006 and held lectureships at several universities before commencing at King’s College London in 2016.
In 2019, Dr Dickinson was selected for Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) in recognition of his outstanding contribution and achievements in nursing and their impact on health. AAN Fellows are nursing leaders in education, management, practice and research. He is one of only 12 UK-based nurses to receive this accolade.
In 2017, he was awarded the prestigious endowed Talbott Visiting Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia (UVA) in the USA, where he taught and conducted research in 2018. During his time in the USA he also gained clinical experience at the Ryan White HIV Clinic and the inpatient ward within the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, which are both part of UVA’s Health System.
Research interests
Dr Dickinson’s research is primarily concerned with diversity and inclusion in health care taking a contemporary and historical perspective with the aim of improving the delivery of health care and the patient experience.
Dr Dickinson is a founding member of the Older People’s Understandings of Sexuality (OPUS) interdisciplinary research group, which was established in 2013 to investigate issues related to sexuality and intimacy in later life. The group’s work aims to challenge perceptions of older people as necessarily “asexual,” and to better support them as potentially sexual and intimate citizens. Dr Dickinson’s particular focus is on older LGBTQ people in nursing homes, whose sexuality/intimacy needs are often not recognised or met.
In 2013, he established a theatre company called Mad 'Ed Theatre of which he is the Chief Executive. Mad ‘Ed Theatre aims to educate the public and challenge perceptions regarding mental health. The company writes, directs and produces its own original works and has secured external funding for four of its most recent critically recognised plays.
Research profile