Joe Edmonds is a registered nurse and has been since 2010. Joe has an extensive background within Intensive Care. He has been running simulation courses for 6 years and he has a particular interest in insitu simulation.

Gem Blaza:Gem has been a qualified Operating Department Practitioner for over 10 years, training with Bucks Healthcare and Southbank University. She worked in Wycombe theatres with experience across all 3 perioperative disciplines and as part of the resuscitation service, she specialised predominantly in Anaesthetics with a special interest in ENT surgery and Paediatrics. In the beginning of 2020 she joined education as a Clinical Practice Educator for Clinical Skills and has progressed on to Simulation Educator since May 2021. Gem is passionate about promoting the opportunities and skillsets of Allied Healthcare Professions and providing multi - professional simulation opportunities for everyone working in Health Care with the aim of improving patient safety outcomes and helping to create effective and engaged teams that find the trust a great place to work.

Kate Olson: Kate is one of the simulation and skills’ educators who joined the team in October 2021. Kate has a background in cardiac nursing and worked for many years as a senior lecturer in cardiac nursing at a university in London. During that time she also regularly ran and developed simulation and clinical skills sessions for pre-registration student nurses. Kate has a long history of teaching resuscitation in a variety of settings. She enjoys working with colleagues to develop simulation scenarios and is particularly keen to introduce and demystify simulation to those who don’t currently participate in it.

David Holland: Dave has been a registered nurse for over 10 years, his nursing career includes working within a busy acute medical unit. He has worked within education for the NHS for 6 years, including Resuscitation training, Preceptorship, Clinicals Skills lead and International Nurse Practice Education. His work interests are in-situ Simulation as it bridges the gap between learning and practice. He is also passionate about Undergraduate training programmes provided by BHT. Outside of work his hobbies include record collecting and gaming.

Ben Repton: Ben has worked as a nurse for 14 years with 10 of them in intensive care across various NHS Trusts, for the previous five years before joing the simulation team he worked as a ITU Clinical Educator/Practice Development Nurse. He is a complete geek and enjoys the technical side of simulation immensely, but really loves how sim allows him to combine his geeky side with improving patient's safety and experience.

Hattie Lewis: I studied nursing at the University of West London and started my career in February 2015 on the Orthopaedic ward in Wycombe Hospital. After nearly 7 years there I wanted to explore new avenues and areas of nursing, so I joined the Simulation and Skills team in October 2021. I really enjoy teaching Health Care Professionals and, no matter what their standing, seeing them improve and watching their confidence grow is extremely rewarding.

Heather Davis: After qualifying I began my nursing journey on a hyper-acute stroke ward and adjoining stroke rehabilitation ward. What a fantastic place to be as I got to witness patients regain their independence. After 6 months I joined the respiratory team in what I will happily say was my home. I remained in respiratory nursing for 7 years including becoming the COVID ward in 2020, which as you can imagine, came with its difficulties. During this time I became confident in the various machines, devices and respiratory specific interventions. I joined the Simulation and Clinical Skills team in September 2021. Throughout this time I have thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the facilitating the learning of various members of healthcare. My favourite part about being in the team is watching delegates develop and grow in confidence and knowledge.

Lucie Merrick: Having trained at Barts Hospital in London she now works mainly at Stoke Mandeville. Lucie worked in ITU, the OPAT team and in January 2022 she joined the Sim + Skills team. I enjoy helping people learn and improve their skills; especially when they get that aha moment as they finally crack something challenging. Away from work I love spending time with family, friends and our small menagerie even if one of my dogs keeps eating my daughter’s socks!

Joe Williams: He is the Senior Simulation Technician, and has been involved with Simulation and Clinical Skills since October 2016. Prior to this, he worked in the trust as a Therapy Assistant for OT and Physio, primarily in stroke admissions, and also as a support worker for inpatient mental health. Alongside his professional experience, he has worked freelance in live entertainment and performance.

The Team