RGU academic recognised for outstanding contribution to Community Nursing

Professor Kennedy, a Queens Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) Professor of Community Nursing at RGU, was presented with the accolade at an awards ceremony held on Thursday evening (28 November) at the Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh.  

A District Nurse by background, Professor Kennedy has led a distinguished research career at Robert Gordon University, publishing extensive research with a particular focus on community nursing, long term conditions, cancer and end of life care.

The QNIS Fellowship is awarded in recognition of Professor Kennedy’s exceptional contribution to community nursing and the work of QNIS, which is a charitable organisation that supports community nurses and midwives. She will now sit as a nurse leader, offering expert advice on research, and advocating on behalf of the Institute as it seeks to build a healthier, fairer and more equitable Scotland. 

Professor Catriona Kennedy, Associate Dean for Research at RGU, said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be awarded a Queen’s Nursing Institute of Scotland Fellowship Award. I have a longstanding association with QNIS who have helped support my academic career. I look forward to continuing to work with the QNIS as it strives to influence policy makers to make research-informed responses to Scotland’s public health challenges. In my role as QNIS Fellow, I will endeavour to collaborate with others at the Institute and to support the vital role of community nurses and midwives across Scotland, as they tackle health and care inequity across the country.

“As the main provider of Nursing and Midwifery education in the North-East of Scotland, Robert Gordon University, offers a range of high quality undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to upskill the next generation of healthcare professionals. The University also leads several world-class research projects, that address a range of healthcare challenges, and I look forward to building on this research to support the Institute as they seek to deliver health improvement and catalysts for social change in Scotland.”

Dr Sarah Doyle, QNIS Chief Executive and Nurse Director, said: "We are delighted to award Professor Kennedy with a QNIS Fellowship in recognition of her significant contribution to community nursing throughout her distinguished research career. We are very grateful to Catriona for all of her generous support for QNIS.”

Community nurses and midwives provide a wide range of support to the people in their communities including complex care for older people, support for substance misuse and advocacy for people with learning disabilities. Those working in community mental health, district nursing, school nursing, care home nursing and health visiting are also part of this vital group of health professionals.

Professor Catriona Kennedy leads the research team in the School of Pharmacy, Applied Sciences and Public Health at RGU and her particular areas of responsibility and expertise are around building research capacity in support of RGU’s Research Strategy. She leads the research team in the school, and works with early career and established researchers, supervising post graduate students, to build a portfolio of funded projects and high impact journal publications.

At the awards ceremony, twenty-one community nurses were also selected to complete a nine-month Queen’s Nurse Development Programme (QNDP), funded by grant making trusts and donations.