Liz Berragan is an Associate Professor at the University of Gloucestershire where she leads postgraduate healthcare programmes and research degrees. She is a registered nurse whose career experience includes critical care nursing, military nursing and healthcare education spanning the NHS, MoD, independent and voluntary healthcare sectors and higher education in UK and overseas.
Throughout her career, Liz has challenged and questioned tradition, working with students and colleagues to transform passive teaching approaches into authentic work-integrated learning. Liz’s passions and key areas of activity focus on simulation-based education (SBE) and the development of sustainable relationships between academia and healthcare practice. Liz was awarded Senior Fellowship for her SBE developments in healthcare education and practice.
A UK Churchill Fellowship enabled Liz to research patient safety, interprofessional education in healthcare curricula and the impact on care delivery. Since then she has developed novel frameworks to support the pedagogy of simulation which are cited and adopted nationally and internationally to support SBE development and student learning. In 2022 Liz was awarded the esteemed Sigma European Recognition of Nursing Excellence in Education.
As sole recipient of this award, it celebrated her outstanding ongoing work and expertise focusing on simulation-based education and her sustained positive influence and impact on international nursing and healthcare education. Liz is an active mentor of both students and staff. She works with colleagues to nurture and support their careers through a practice-focused and research-informed approach. Research is central to her role and she is an author, reviewer and editor for peer-reviewed published work within her discipline, the field of SBE and more widely across higher education.
Liz shares her work influencing change in approaches to teaching and learning. She champions the transformational impact of SBE for student learning, empowering students to be outstanding and autonomous practitioners. Liz’s work extends beyond higher education. She is an NHS Trust Governor, member of the Health Foundation Q Community and executive member of the Health Education England Simulation Network. These roles help shape healthcare learning and practice, stimulating a focus on quality assurance, continuous improvement and patient safety.