Rate My Professor Susie Pearce

Susie Pearce is an Associate Professor (Research) in Nursing at the University of Plymouth's School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health. She serves as Co-Director of the South West Clinical School and Co-Director of the Torbay and South Devon Clinical School. As a qualitative researcher, Pearce focuses on innovative methods, patient and professional experiences, and the development of cultures of compassionate, effective, and safe care. She promotes nurse-led research linking education and practice, supervises doctoral students, and teaches qualitative methods as well as end-of-life and palliative care. Pearce directs a South West regional project to develop a skilled research workforce and supports the South West Clinical School, especially in Torbay and South Devon, with nursing strategy, workforce development, practice-based research, innovation, and practice advancement. She acts as Director of Studies for part-time PhD students in health and social care while working in practice.

Pearce's research addresses supporting the nursing and multi-disciplinary workforce, end-of-life care challenges and priorities for patients and staff, person-centred quality care in care homes, and models for safe ICU nursing care. She has supervised doctoral theses such as 'Compassion in health care practice: a concept analysis' by Sarah Tobin (completed 2019, co-supervisor), 'Experience and well being in health care professionals: an Experience based co-design' by Kathryn Bamforth (2019, Director of Studies, TMRF Fellowship £85,000), 'An Ethnography of nursing practice and nursing Identity in an Integrated Care Organisation' by Corinne Squire (2020, TMRF Fellowship £78,000), and others funded by TMRF Fellowships including Stephanie Janka Spurlock (2022, £83,000) and Abigail McWhinney (2023, £82,000). Key publications include 'A scoping review of personalised UK maternity care: where are we now?' (British Journal of Midwifery, 2025), 'Exploring perceived barriers to palliative and end of life care provision in South-West England: bringing together the perspectives of professionals, patients, and families' (Frontiers in Sociology, 2025), 'Exploring Research Culture in Care Homes to Identify the Barriers and Facilitators to Research: A Rapid Review' (Journal of Long-Term Care, 2025), and 'Exploring the challenges experienced by patients and families using palliative and end-of-life care services: A qualitative focus group study' (Palliative and Supportive Care, 2025). Pearce is an editorial board member of the European Journal of Cancer Care, reviews for Cancer Nursing, European Journal of Oncology Nursing, and International Journal of Nursing Studies, and serves on NIHR Research for Patient Benefit South West Committee (since 2018), NIHR RfPB Nursing and Midwifery specialist panel (2023), and other panels. She is a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Royal College of Nursing.