Dr Sarah Annesley

Assistant Professor

School: Healthcare and Nursing Sciences

Dr Sarah Annesley is Assistant Professor in Nursing in the School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences at Northumbria University, which she joined in 2013, serving as Head of Subject – Nursing and Interim Deputy Head of Department from 2020 to 2022. She qualified as a registered nurse in 1988 and spent twelve years in staff nurse and charge nurse posts in the NHS and overseas, specialising in cardiology nursing alongside research roles with the Scottish Executive Health Department and as a Clinical Research Nurse at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. She was Associate Director of Nursing at NHS Forth Valley (2000-2004) before moving into higher education as a Teaching Fellow in Adult Nursing at the University of Stirling (2004-2013).

She holds a PhD in Health Policy Implementation from the University of Stirling, a PGCert in Practice Education from the University of Dundee, and an MSc in Nursing and Health Studies and BSc (Soc/Sci) in Nursing Studies from the University of Edinburgh. She is an NMC Registered Nurse Teacher, was awarded Senior Fellowship of Advance HE in 2025, and was a finalist for University Educator of the Year in the Student Nursing Times Awards 2024.

Campus Address

Coach Lane Campus (East)
Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE7 7XA

Email Sarah

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Sarah's research sits at the intersection of nurse education, professional practice and health policy, focusing on how educational and organisational systems shape the capability of the nursing workforce. Across three themes.

Assessment and grading of practice learning. Since 2020 she has led work on the grading of practice in pre-registration nurse education, developing and evaluating a grading practice tool that strengthens the authenticity of practice assessment and its link to clinical care (Nurse Education Today, 2023).

Leadership development in nursing students. Since 2024 she has worked on leadership competences in undergraduate nurse education, including scale development and model testing.

Practice learning environments. She co-supervises and publishes on care homes as practice learning environments for pre-registration nursing students.

Her PhD in health policy implementation informs a continuing interest in how policy translates into nursing practice.

She welcomes postgraduate research enquiries in nurse education, practice assessment, nursing leadership and workforce development.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Leadership competences in undergraduate nurse education: Scale development and model testing, Conner, T., Allan, J., Annesley, S., Leader, C., Unsworth, J., Tomietto, M. 1 Aug 2025, In: Nurse Education in Practice
Perceptions of care homes as practice learning environments for pre-registration nursing students: A systematic-narrative hybrid literature review, Adeboye, O., Annesley, S., Young-Murphy, L., Greaves, P., Steven, A. 1 Feb 2025, In: Nurse Education Today
Grading practice as a strategy to improve proficiencies in undergraduate nurse education: Modelling key areas of competence, Annesley, S., Platt, A., Wade, J., Tomietto, M. 1 Sep 2023, In: Nurse Education Today
Monitoring respiratory rate in adults, Hill, B., Annesley, S. 9 Jan 2020, In: British Journal of Nursing
Current thinking on caring for patients with a wound: a practical approach, Annesley, S. 14 Mar 2019, In: British Journal of Nursing
The implications of health policy for nursing: at a glance, Annesley, S. 25 Apr 2019, In: British Journal of Nursing
Exploration of the effects of peer teaching of research on students in an undergraduate nursing programme, Thomson, P., Smith, A., Annesley, S. 8 Aug 2014, In: Journal of Research in Nursing

PGR Supervision

Jonathan Vella Educating Together: Exploring the Professional Relationship between Nursing Academics and Clinical Mentors in Malta Start Date: 30/07/2024 End Date: 21/02/2026
Katie Davies Exploring how Trans and Non-binary people experience healthcare in UK using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. An Emancipatory Action Research Study Start Date: 03/03/2026

Further Information

Editorial and peer review Associate Editor, NSC Nursing Journal (2024-present). Peer reviewer for Nurse Education Today (2023-present), and the Journal of Wound Care (2019-present).

External examining: External Examiner in Pre-registration Nursing at London Metropolitan University (2025-present), Leeds Beckett University (2021-2025) and London South Bank University (2016-2021); external subject specialist for the NMC on a new BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult) programme (2023), London Metropolitan University.

Regulatory and national contributions: NMC/Mott MacDonald Quality Assurance Registrant Visitor (2018-2024). Contributing member of the national working group that produced the NHS England research portfolio (2018-2019) and of the group implementing Scotland's research and development strategy for nursing (2002-2004); contributed a case study to the Council of Deans for Health report on innovative pandemic placements (2022).

Conference and professional service: Organising committee member and session chair, RCN International Nursing Research Conference (2024), with recent presentations at the RCN Education Conference (2024), the SIGMA European Region Conference (2024) and the Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference (2023).

Recognition, registration and membership: Senior Fellow of Advance HE (2025). Finalist, University Educator of the Year, Student Nursing Times Awards (2024). NMC registered nurse and nurse teacher; member of the Royal College of Nursing.

Qualifications

Nursing PhD November 13 2015
Nursing PGCert June 01 2005
Nursing MSc September 01 1994
Nursing Studies BSc September 01 1988
Registered Nurse (RN) & Registered Practice Educator Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) - NMC PIN - 84J0193S 1988
Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy SFHAE 2025
Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2017