Professor Gemma Stacey's Inaugural Lecture

In this lecture Professor Gemma Stacey explores how her commitment to challenging narratives about healthcare workforce capabilities led her to question fundamental assumptions about student and early career nurses' capacity to cope with modern healthcare demands. Through a series of thought-provoking "what if" questions, Gemma demonstrates how her research programme systematically challenged deficit narratives, exploring instead the sophisticated identity work that early career professionals navigate within complex organisational settings.

Drawing on her development of Resilience Based Clinical Supervision and its international application, the lecture aims to explore how co-production principles can transform individual interventions into system-wide solutions. Her presentation traces a clear progression: from supporting individual resilience, through creating resilient communities, to her current focus on enabling resilient systems through leadership and practice in environments under heightened regulatory and public scrutiny. Central to this evolution is her commitment to authentic leadership, person-centred practice, and the rigorous application of realist evaluation methods that reveal not just whether interventions work, but how, why, and for whom.

Running throughout this work is Gemma's dedication to amplifying previously marginalised professional voices and her belief that lasting change requires addressing structural barriers rather than individual deficits. Through a series of case examples, she explores the relationship between grounded, co-produced research and practice transformation, demonstrating why meaningful approaches to workforce development are essential for creating sustainable healthcare systems.

Biography

A Mental Health Nurse by background, Professor Gemma Stacey is an academic, and former Charity Executive currently working as Associate Dean for Practice at Nottingham Trent University, where she leads the strategy to enable knowledge exchange initiatives that translate research, education and practice into real-world impact. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Nurse Education Today and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, having recently completed her Executive MBA from Cranfield University.

Her career trajectory began as a Community Mental Health Nurse at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where she worked for sixteen years alongside academic roles. This dual practice-academia pathway shaped her commitment to bridging research and practice. At the University of Nottingham, she progressed from Research Associate to Associate Professor, serving as Director of Graduate Entry Nursing and Director of Public Engagement. From 2020 to 2024 Gemma worked at the Florence Nightingale Foundation as Director of Academy, and later Deputy Chief Executive, taking on an executive leadership role within the charitable sector. During her tenure, the FNF transformed from a small organisation into a membership body serving 250,000 nurses and midwives worldwide and establishing the influential Policy & Influence Think Tank.

Academically, Gemma has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and 7 books, with particular expertise in realist evaluation methodology and workforce development. Her research explores nurses’ professional capabilities exploring how complex identity formation processes require organisational support systems and cultures underpinned by compassionate, authentic leadership. She holds visiting Chair positions at the University of Melbourne and University of Maribor.

Currently, her work focuses on addressing structural challenges in healthcare environments under regulatory scrutiny. She maintains active engagement with policy development serving on multiple national advisory committees across NHS England, NIHR and Royal Collage of Nursing Foundation.