Biography
Victoria is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing and Allied Health and Programme Lead for the MSc Nursing. Victoria read Divinity at the University of St Andrews, before moving to the University of Birmingham where she took an MA in Religion and Culture. It was at this time that she began working in mental health, qualifying as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in 2003. During her nurse training, she took a further MA at the University of Warwick in the Philosophy and Ethics of Mental Health. Her work focussed on using the work of Paul Ricoeur to understand the delusions associated with psychosis as narratives, which attempt to make sense of experience. Her dissertation centred on religious experience and psychosis.
Victoria’s time in clinical practice was spent as a staff nurse at Reaside Clinic, a regional secure unit for men, and as a community mental health nurse. She moved into Nurse Education in 2008. Before moving to Birmingham Newman University, she was Senior Tutor and Service User Engagement Lead in the University of Birmingham School of Nursing, and Course Lead for the BSc Mental Health Nursing at Birmingham City University. She was a consultant for the Oxford University HealthTalk Psychosis project and is a board member for the Hearth Centre, which examines issues relating to mental health, identity and belonging through theatre and literature.
Profile
Research Interests
Victoria worked with Dr Alan Jones (University of Birmingham, School of Pharmacy) on several projects investigating Adverse Drug Reactions at MPharm and doctoral level. She has co-supervised four PhDs projects with colleagues; one focusing on adverse drug reactions associated with antidepressants, and another on the adverse drug reaction profile of analgesics, one on metabolic and endocrine changes in children prescribed antipsychotics to manage autistic spectrum disorders, and one on the side effects of antiretroviral medication.
Victoria has an interest in the use of the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act, in risk assessment and restrictive practices in mental health settings and continues to have an interest in Theology and Philosophy.
Membership of Professional Organisations
Victoria maintains her registration as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Victoria is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Graduate Entry Nursing International Network.
Victoria is a reviewer for the Nursing Times and has held external examiner positions at UWL, SHU, BPP, NTU, and UON.
Recent Publications:
Phillips, B., Evans, I., Skerrett, V., & Jones, A. M. (2024). United Kingdom National Register Study of Anti-Epileptic Medications: Suspected Foetal Congenital and Pregnancy-Associated Side Effects. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.26.24304895
Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Shirinabadi Farahani, A., Pishgooie, A. H., Babaie, M., Hadi, N., Beheshti, M., Zadeh, E. F., & Skerrett, V. (2022). A comparative study of patient safety in the intensive care units. Nursing Open, 9(5), 2381-2389. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1252
Kousha, S., Shahrami, A., Forouzanfar, M. M., Sanaie, N., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., & Skerrett, V. (2022). Effectiveness of educational intervention and cognitive rehearsal on perceived incivility among emergency nurses: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Nursing, 21(1), Article 153. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00930-1
Brooke, J. M., Biernat, K., Shamaris, N., & Skerrett, V. (2022). The experience of transgender women prisoners serving a sentence in a male prison: a systematic review and meta-synthesis. Prison Journal, 102(5), 542-564. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00328855221121097
Zeydani, A., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Abdi, F., Hosseini, M., Zohari-Anboohi, S., & Skerrett, V. (2021). Effect of community-based education on undergraduate nursing students’ skills: a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20(1), Article 233. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00755-4
Pishgooie, A. H., Mohtashami, J., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Sanaie, N., Fathollahzadeh, E., & Skerrett, V. (2021). Unwanted isolation: an obstacle to constructive interaction between oncology nurses and their patients. Nursing Open, 8(6), 3366-3372. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.882
Aloustani, S., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Zagheri-Tafreshi, M., Nasiri, M., Barkhordari-Sharifabad, M., & Skerrett, V. (2020). Association between ethical leadership, ethical climate and organizational citizenship behavior from nurses’ perspective: A descriptive correlational study. BMC Nursing, 19(1), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-0408-1