Heather Rugg

Career Overview

Heather began her career in nursing on a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit where she worked for over 5 years and gained experience of working with people who were acutely unwell, and during this period Heather also completed her BSc (Hons) in Nursing.

From there Heather went to work as a Case Manager in an Assertive Outreach Team working with people who were experiencing severe and enduring mental health problems, and whilst there she completed a Specialist Practitioner programme and a Post Graduate Diploma in Acute Inpatient Care. Heather began working part-time as a Lecturer in Mental Health at Suffolk in January 2008 and remained in practice until she took up a full-time position in the summer of 2009.

Teaching and Other Responsibilities

Heather is a Lecturer in Mental Health within the School of Health and Sports Sciences and leads and teaches on a number of different modules within the pre-registration and post-registration degrees, as well as being the mental health pathway leader for the Foundation Degree.  Heather is a Specialist Practitioner and enjoys working with clients with enduring and complex mental health problems and this has been the focus of her career so far in nursing.

Heather is the founding chairperson for the East of England Mental Health Education Forum, and the External Examiner for the Mental Health Nursing Programme at Lincoln University.

Research Interests and Publications

Heather completed previous research into the attitudes of nursing staff towards eating disorders on a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit for her Honours Degree. Heather has since gained an MA in Education for Health and Social Care Professionals, and the NMC recordable teaching qualification.

Rugg, H. (2012) Schizophrenia 2 in Wrycraft N. (ed.) Mental Health Nursing case book. Berkshire: Open University Press, pp. 169-174

If it's not in the powerpoint it probably isn t important : Presented at NET2012 International Networking for Healthcare Education Conference

Introduction of a peer mentoring scheme for first year pre-registration student nurses at University Campus Suffolk , presented at NET 2013 International Networking for Healthcare Education Conference.