Karen Sirdefield

I am an enthusiastic and driven registered nurse with extensive post registration experience. Having qualified in 1998 I have gained experience in acute medicine and renal nursing progressing to being a ward sister of a busy Nephrology ward. I have experience of managing staff and spent 3 months in an acting ward manager role where I took on all management duties including clinical incident investigations and dealing with complaints. 

In 2013 I moved into the role of clinical and technical skills specialist at Staffordshire University. Whilst in this role I have developed my teaching and assessing skills and developed an understanding of the nursing curriculum and essential skills and standards that need to be met.  I have completed my Post Graduate Certificate of Higher and Professional Education; also gaining Higher education fellowship as well as completing my NMC teachers award.

I moved into medicolegal work in 2018. Working as a senior pagination nurse and then becoming Head of Nursing pagination for a medicolegal firm. This role involved managing a team of nurses and midwives ensuring that all work was checked to meet the highest standard; this includes pagination, chronology, and memorandum writing. 

I was able to utilise my previous management skills to monitor staff performance and ensure we had the appropriate skill mix for present and future business needs.

During my time in that post, I was also able to use my previous teaching experience to devise some training in pagination and chronology writing that I gained CPD accreditation for; all our staff undertake this training prior to starting work with us so we can maintain quality and consistency.

My present role of Chief nurse although still sees me overseeing the nursing team, also provides me with an external aspect to my work with being a point of contact for solicitors to assist with queries and complaints. I have also devised some teaching sessions for solicitors with regards to medical records and running clinical negligence and personal injury cases; this has been very positively reviewed.

over 15 years acute clinical care,  covering, general surgery, orthopaedics, cardiology, general medicine specialising in nephrology acute care, CAPD, chronic kidney injury management. 

RN (adult)Dip HE 

ILS trainer.

moving and Handling trainer.

PgCHPE (distinction) completed in Nursing.

NMC teacher status

fellowship of Higher Education