Clair Merriman

Head of Professional Practice Skills

Following qualification as an RGN at the Royal Berkshire School of Nursing and Midwifery in 1992 Clair moved to Oxford as a staff nurse to become part of its regional Neuroscience Unit at the Radcliffe Infirmary. During this time Clair worked as a Clinical Development Nurse and Ward Sister within the unit. Clair continues to practice within the unit on a regular basis to ensure academic delivery is current and relevant.

In February 2002 Clair made the move to full time education as a Lecturer in Clinical Skills at Oxford Brookes. Since joining the university, Clair has undertaken responsibility for professional practice skills development. This involves developing, implementing, and evaluating the Teaching, Learning and Assessment strategy for professional practice skills at the same time ensuring collaboration with students, service users and staff about teaching and learning these skills.

Clair manages 13 skills suites across both sites which supports professional practice skills development and low to medium fidelity simulation. Since being in full time education Clair has gained extensive curriculum development at both pre and post graduate level within all branches of nursing and midwifery by being an active member of course teams within the Pre-registration and Critical and Advanced Practice programmes. Teaching areas includes: Professional Practice skills for Health and social care students, Critical and Specialist Care, Management of the neuroscience patient, Anatomy and physiology of the nervous system, Advancing Health care Practise, Teaching, Learning and Assessing in the Simulated Environment

Membership of Professional Bodies

British Association of Critical Care Nursing
British Association of Neuroscience Nursing
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Royal Collage of Nursing
Clinical Skills Network

Execuative Board Member of Association of Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH)

Teaching

Teaching experiences across the curriculum are wide ranging, from pre-registration to post-graduate study,

• Responsible for the delivery of teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and/or postgraduate levels, including supervising students’ projects and dissertations, marking and assessing students’ work, using appropriate materials and methods.
• Examples of courses are Advanced Clinical Health Care Practice, Critical and Specialist Care, pre registration health care curriculum.
• Subject co-ordinator for MSc Advanced Practice (Clinical) and PG Cert Non Medical Prescribing

Teaching/Research interests

Clair’s interests include professional practice skills teaching and assessment in the simulated environment, how simulation can be used in both pre and post graduate education to support the curriculum and assessment of competence through OSCEs and practical Exams, interperprofessional learning, patient safety and human factors.

Selected Publications

Books

Merriman C (2011) Chapter 14-The Patient with Seizure Activity in Critical Care Nursing-Learning from Experience. Wiley-Blackwell- London.

Merriman C and Westcott E (2010) Succeed in OSCEs and Practical Exams: An Essential Guide for Nurses. Open University Press

Bradshaw A and Merriman C (2007) Caring for the Older Person-Practical care in Hospital, Care Home or at Home. Wiley and Sons Ltd:West Sussex.

Peer reviewed papers

Stayt L, Merriman C (2013)  A descriptive survey investigating pre-registration student nurses’ perceptions of clinical skill development in clinical placements. Nurse Education Today  vol. 33,  pp 425–430

Ricketts B, Merriman C, Stayt L (2012) Simulated practice learning in a preregistration programme.  British Journal of Nursing Vol. 21, No. 7, pp435-440

Greenway K, Merriman C, and Statham D (2006) Using the ventrogluteal Site for Intramuscular Injections. Learning Disability Practice, Vol. 9(8):34-37.

Bradshaw A and Merriman C (2008) Nursing Competence 10 years on: fit for practice Or purpose yet? Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 17 No. 10 pp. 1263-1269

Other papers

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Intramuscular Injections-Using the Deltoid Site. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Intramuscular Injections-Using the Dorsogluteal Site. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Intramuscular Injections-Using the Vastus Lateralis site. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Intramuscular Injections-Using the Ventrogluteal Site ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Intramuscular Injections-Using the Intradermal Site. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Greenway K (2012) Subcutaneous Injections. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Hunt J (2012) Care of the Individual with a Tracheostomy-Stoma Care and Cuff Management. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Hunt J (2012) Care of the Individual with a Tracheostomy-Suctioning. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Hunt J (2012) Care of the Individual with a Tracheostomy-Humidification and Oxygen Therapy. ClinicalSkills.Net:London

Merriman C and Hunt J (2012) Care of the Individual with a Tracheostomy-Inner Tube Management and Prevention of Emergencies due to Blocked Tubes. ClinicalSkills.Net:London