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Emma McAllister-Keir and Susan Duncan – MSc Advanced Practice

Emma McAllister-Keir and Susan Duncan at P&J Live
For Emma McAllister-Keir and Susan Duncan, graduating with their MSc in Advanced Practice from ÍøºìǰÈα¬ÁÏ is more than just a personal milestone it is a celebration of their lifelong journey together.

The siblings from Arbroath in Angus work together in the same school nursing team and will walk over the stage at P&J Live as they continue a history of shared milestones.

Emma and Susan graduated together, albeit from different courses, at undergraduate level around 20 years ago as they completed their undergraduate studies.

Emma has managed to successfully balance her own work commitments with caring commitments for her children and parents, and she credits her husband as being a vital source of support. Her own health issues as well as those of family members meant Emma had to temporarily suspend her studies, but she returned to complete the MSc Advanced Practice.

She said: “The course was a requirement of my job as a School Nurse to obtain a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse qualification, although it is something that I have been interested in doing for a number of years.

“I have much more knowledge and feel more confident about child development and the impact of trauma on children and young people as well as their families. I also found modules such as leadership more interesting than I expected as I never saw myself in a leadership role however regardless of the role you hold everyone can be a leader.â€

Emma said that her and Susan must be quite unique as there are not many sisters who have graduated from the same course and work together.

She added: “My sister Susan Duncan, who is also a School Nurse, will be graduating with me with her MSc in Advanced Practice. We actually previously graduated from the University of Dundee at the same time although we started at different times and Susan is a Paediatric Nurse. I’m not sure there are many sisters who completed their MSc in Advanced Practice, who work together and have graduated together for a second time.â€

Susan opted to complete the dissertation as she enjoyed the course so much, and she believes her nursing practice has already benefitted from her postgraduate studies at ÍøºìǰÈα¬ÁÏ.

She said: “The course has given me the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver a higher standard of care while understanding the rationale and evidence for the care school nurses deliver. It has empowered me to be mindful, reflective and knowledgeable of the four pillars of advanced practice which I implement into my daily practice confidently and strive to be an innovative practitioner to improve school nursing services continuously.â€

Susan said that studying alongside her sister was a positive experience as they were able to depend on each for support during challenging periods

She added: “I enjoyed studying with my sister and we supported each other throughout, offering encouragement to each other when we felt it was tough. Luckily, we seemed to feel the stress of the course at different times and could always rely on each other when required.â€

Emma and Susan are both part of the NHS Tayside School Nursing Service which won the

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