Sarah Ramsey, PhD RN MNCPS is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Frailty at Trafford Hospital, MFT, a psychotherapeutic counsellor and an honorary lecturer in the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester.  She qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2009 and has worked clinically in acute medicine, gastroenterology, SDEC and Care of the Elderly.  Sarah was awarded her PhD in 2019; her PhD project used existential phenomenology to capture the meaning of the patient experience on NHS inpatient wards, addressing the disconnect between information gathered through experience surveys and the aspects of the inpatient experience which are most meaningful to patients.  Whilst working on a COVID ward, Sarah co-led a phenomenological research project of triangulated inpatient, staff and carer experiences of COVID-19.  She is currently working on a secondary analysis of the staff experience through a psychoanalytic lens.

Sarah has experience of discourse analysis, exploring concepts such as compassion and professionalism in nursing.  She is interested in psychoanalytic theory and how this can provide a lens of analysis to illuminate deeper dynamics of healthcare; she has published an exploration of the links between psychoanalysis and nursing, and recently completed a psychoanalytic study of doctors’ strikes in the UK.  She has undertaken counselling training and an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where she collaborated with Dr Derek Hook on a Lacanian analysis of cyberflashing.  Sarah is interested in clinical applications of psychosocial theory, such as psychosocial assessment and interventions for frail older people.  

Research interests

• Care of the elderly, Frailty
• Advanced nursing practice
• Healthcare staff experience
• Patient experience
• Healthcare systems and processes
• Psychoanalytic theory and psychodynamics
• The unconscious at work

Methodological knowledge

• Qualitative research, particularly phenomenology
• Discourse analysis
• Psychosocial and psychoanalytic research
• Lived experience research

Qualifications

• PhD (Nursing)
• MA Psychoanalytic Studies
• MSc Advanced Practice in Health and Social Care
• MRes Health and Social Care
• PGDip Healthcare Ethics
• BSc (Hons) Nursing Practice
• BA (Hons) Theology
• Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling Practice MNCPS

Research Activity and Funding

• Houghton Dunn Research and Innovation Award 2023
• MFT Complex Health Research Grant 2021-2022
• MFT Post-doc Clinical Academic Fellowship 2020-2021
• Economic and Social Research Council MRes / PhD Fellowship 2014-2018

Supervision

• MLCO: Pre-doctoral fellowship, MFT / ARC-GM 2022-2024, Co-Supervisor
• MFT: Pre-doctoral fellowship, MFT / ARC-GM 2023-2025, Co-Supervisor

Awards

• Bolton University ACP Faculty Award for Best Poster 2020
• MFT Excellence Awards Rising Star Finalist 2020
• MFT Transform Together Event Winner 2019
• NHS Elect Patient Experience and Quality Improvement: Excellent Teamwork Award 2019