Professor Jacqueline McCallum – Head of Department

Professor Jacqueline McCallum EdD, MN, PgCert, SFHEA, BA, RGN is Head of Department, Department of Nursing and Community Health (DNCH), School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS), Glasgow Caledonian University

I have been an adult nurse for 36 years and in education for 18 of those years. I started my career here at GCU when it was Glasgow College of Technology back in 1983 when degree nursing was in its infancy. Back then it took over 4 years to do a degree in nursing. Once qualified I started my first staff nurse post in respiratory medicine at Heathfield Hospital in Ayr, which is no longer there. After two years I was looking for more experience and moved to coronary care (CCU) at Crosshouse hospital in Kilmarnock. During this time, I did further CPD such as mentorship and advanced life support courses. I then took up a post as a cardiac research nurse in 1996 and started my Master of Nursing in 1997, completing it in 1999. I had realised that I wanted to be a clinical teacher, but this post no longer existed, and so it was either stay in practice, or move into education.

In 2000 I got a lecturer in adult nursing post at Bell College in Hamilton and completed my Post Graduate Certificate in teaching and learning in higher education which is recordable with the NMC, and then commenced the Doctorate of Education programme at Strathclyde university in 2003 completing it in 2006. Having been a GCU alumni, I wanted to teach here, and so I moved back to GCU in 2005 as a lecturer and in 2008 became a senior lecturer for simulation education as this had been the focus of my doctorate thesis. From this point, I started to look at other roles that would expand my knowledge such as the lead for practice learning, then the lead for learning teaching and quality, and then an assistant head of department. All these roles and experience led me to have the experience and knowledge to be successful to gain the post as the head of department. This was a role that Professor Winifred Logan had when I was a student and so to now be in the role she had is a great privilege.

I am part of a large department of 80 staff who are here to support over 2500 students through their education experience to have the best experience possible and to go out and start their career or continue it as a registered nurse. No two nurses have the same jobs through their career. My experience is to look at the post you want and to work out how to get there. For me, this was through education and experience.