Ministerial Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce

Leadership Spotlight: Susan Dawes, Dean of the School of Health and Social Care / Professor of Nursing and Cardiovascular Health, Convenor of the Council of Deans of Health, Scotland.

Susan's Leadership

Susan leads the School which is the only provider of all four fields of nursing (adult, children and young people, mental health and learning disabilities), midwifery and allied health (physiotherapy and occupational therapy) education in Scotland. The School is also renowned for its interdisciplinary research which makes a difference to people’s lives.

Council of Deans of Health Role

Currently, Susan is the Convenor of the Council of Deans of Health in Scotland. She co-led the Education and Development Group of the Scottish Government Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce to help develop recommended actions to promote and enhance the value and contribution of the nursing and midwifery professions in Scotland. Her work continues with this Taskforce, now serving as a member on the Ministerial-led Oversight Group and leading the implementation of the recommended actions by once again co-leading the Education and Development implementation group. Susan is also a member of the Next Gen HNC Steering Group to oversee and guide the development of relevant and contemporary programmes of education for those who chose to start their healthcare educational journey at college. She also is a member of the Transforming Roles Steering Group considering education for advanced and specialist practice for healthcare professionals in Scotland.

Career History

Susan is a registered nurse who has worked with cardiology patients in Scotland and Canada. Her clinical roles included nursing in intensive care and acute cardiology units and latterly working as a specialist nurse in cardiac rehabilitation. Susan began her career in higher education at the University of Edinburgh teaching clinical skills and simulation to medical students and worked in the School of Health & Social Care (formerly School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Care) at Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) from 2004 to 2020 where she held various roles, latterly Professor of Nursing and Cardiovascular Health / Head of Learning and Teaching. In 2020 she became the Dean of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice at Robert Gordon University and led the school there until September 2024 when she returned to Edinburgh Napier to take up her current position.

In 2015 Susan graduated with a PhD from ENU having completed a study exploring self-management of coronary heart disease in patients after elective percutaneous coronary intervention for stable angina. Her research since then has focused on supporting people with secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, including exploring digital solutions for this as well as support and management of people with a cardiac condition termed INOCA (ischaemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries).

Cardiovascular Rehabilitation

Susan has held various national and international positions. These have included being the President of the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) where she led the development of the 2023 BACPR Standards and Core Components of rehabilitation. Susan was also the UK lead on the International Council for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. In these roles she supported healthcare professionals to deliver the best cardiovascular rehabilitation and to use strategies to promote primary and secondary prevention of the disease. Currently, Susan is also a member of the UK-wide clinical guideline development group for prevention of cardiovascular disease, funded by the BHF.

Leadership Spotlight: Jaki Lambert, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Scotland Director.

Jaki's Role in RCM

Jaki joined the Royal College of Midwives as Country Director in February 2022. This role really enables her to work with her team to advocate for midwives and maternity support workers & the profession with Scottish Government, Health Boards and in the workplace.

Jaki's Experience

Jaki has nearly 30 years of experience across clinical practice, education, research, and leadership. Jaki came to the post of Director of the RCM in Scotland from the role of Professional Midwifery advisor to the Scottish Government, where she was seconded from her role as Head of Midwifery in Argyll and Bute, an area with 5 stand-alone Midwifery units, 23 inhabited islands and no obstetric unit, and when she left, no vacancies. Jaki still works there clinically on the bank.

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

She has served two terms as a fitness to practice panel member for the NMC as it is important that there are midwives on the panels. Prior to that, she was a Consultant Midwife after returning from working in the Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine as a senior research associate and lecturer in the Department of International Public Health. She worked with teams in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa on capacity-building implementation research programs. She was awarded a Wellbeing of Women grant to undertake research in South Africa on quality of care from the perspective of women and care providers.' Previous roles have been in practice development and as a midwife in a midwifery-led unit.