FEATURE AWARDS
In 2012 , Duncan was awarded his Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Science having undertaken a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project with NHS Lothian , QMU and Stirling University , examining knowledge processes that contribute to evidencebased practice from a systems perspective .
Since becoming a full-time member of QMU ’ s occupational therapy team , he has continued to support therapists to develop their practice , by finding , applying , and creating knowledge . He regularly works alongside therapists in a range of professional areas including neurorehabilitation , prisons and criminal justice , practice education , and vocational rehabilitation .
In his capacity as an educator , he works with undergraduate , post-graduate and doctoral students , teaching knowledge literacy , assessment and intervention skills , and research skills .
During this period , Duncan has been involved in leading the work to develop RCOT ’ s publication Occupational therapy and complexity : defining and describing practice , has reviewed RCOT ’ s role supporting practice education in the UK , has co-authored work about person-centered communication and is involved in the P4Play European Joint Doctoral Programme .
The latter is an EU-funded project that has established the first joint Doctoral Programme in Occupational Science , involving a range of international partners .
Duncan has been an active member of RCOT , sitting first as a member and vice chair of the Research and Development Board from 2015 , before becoming a council member in 2019 as chair of the Research and Development Board .
On hearing of his Merit Award , Duncan told OTnews : ‘ I was delighted to be nominated for a merit award and absolutely over the moon when it was confirmed . I ’ m very lucky to be able to work with some amazing therapists and students doing great work and it ’ s wonderful to be able to support what they do . I ’ m extremely grateful that my peers in the profession think that my contributions deserve recognition like this .’
Jeni Woods Graduating from the University of Southampton in 2010 , Jeni moved to Manchester , where she undertook a rotational post at Pennine Acute NHS Foundation Trust . During her rotational post , Jeni was quick to realise that her area of specialist interest and where she wanted to develop her career was within oncology and palliative care .
In 2013 , Jeni commenced work at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust , which is a leading cancer treatment centre , where she has developed her expertise within oncology . She has been involved in delivering inpatient rehabilitation and more recently has established a prehabilitation pathway for patients undergoing CAR-T treatment . Jeni is currently working at the Christie as a Macmillan dementia and frailty specialist . Jeni is passionate about improving health outcomes and patient pathways for older adults undergoing cancer treatment and it is for her work relating to this area that she was nominated for a Merit Award . Jeni has been a strong advocate for the need of frailty pathways in cancer care through engaging with a range of external and internal stakeholders , developing a trust vision and has been the AHP lead for two national frailty quality improvement projects for the trust .
Jeni has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and the ability to work on a strategic level . She has been championing the role of occupational therapy in frailty pathways and the importance of patients being able to have early access to occupational therapists within their cancer care pathway to contribute to improving patient outcomes and quality of life .
As chair of the RCOT Specialist Section for Major Health Conditions , Jeni has been committed to bringing together its members to form a collective and powerful voice to raise the occupational therapy profile . She has acknowledged the importance of supporting the occupational therapy workforce both through CPD and encouraging members to be brave and to shout about what they do . In 2019 , Jeni successfully navigated the specialist section to change its name , so that its name would be inclusive of all the clinical fora that it represents .
During her time as chair , Jeni has shown determination to bring palliative care and palliative rehabilitation to the forefront of occupational therapy which has been demonstrated through the work completed on a national level . This has included presenting at national conferences , external stakeholder meetings and engaging occupational therapists from generalist and specialist settings to discuss this area of practice .
In 2020 , Jeni completed an MSc in Advance Occupational Therapy at the University of Salford . She believes that having the opportunity to undertake post-graduate study , not only enhanced her leadership skills , but also contributed to her developing a stronger professional identity .
Keen to pursue a clinical academic career she will soon commence a professional doctorate at the University of Salford , where she will explore the concept of social frailty in older adults with cancer and co-morbid dementia undergoing radiotherapy .
She said : ‘ I love being an occupational therapist and it is extremely rewarding . So to have your work being recognised and honoured by your peers and by the Royal College feels like an incredible moment in my career .’
54 OTnews October 2021