Honorary degree for distinguished nurse academic
At the Graduation Ceremony on 3 July, Professor Tonks Fawcett presented Professor Alison J Tierney CBE for the degree of Doctor honoris causa.
Alison was one of the UK’s early nurse graduates, completing the pioneering Integrated Degree/Nursing programme here at the University of Edinburgh, in 1971. At that time, Nursing was about to undergo a sea change in its philosophy and practice and Alison was a spearhead for this change.
Working initially as a staff nurse, Alison won a Scottish Home and Health Department research training fellowship and this led to her PhD in 1976. By then she had joined the staff of Nursing Studies and, in 1980, with Nancy Roper and Win Logan, published the classic text, The Elements of Nursing. This innovative, new framework for nursing prioritised personalised care, communication and patient choice – a radical departure from the prevailing ‘task centred’ approach to nursing – and this model of care still fundamentally underpins today’s nursing practice.
However, Alison’s main career focus was in research. At practice, programme and interdisciplinary levels, her contribution was profound, taking research into the very heart of nursing practice. In her 10-year period as Director of Scotland’s Nursing Research Unit, based at the University. Through research collaboration, mentorship and supervision, she inspired nurses and nursing students to embrace research and promote its impact. In 1995 this was recognised in her conferment as a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing. In 1997 she was promoted to a Personal Chair in Nursing Research at the University of Edinburgh. In 2002 she was awarded a CBE for services to nursing research and education.
Nationally and internationally, Alison has been a tireless advocate for nursing research through her work on many committees; as an Expert Advisor to the International Council of Nurses and, for nearly a decade, as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Advanced Nursing, raising the bar for standards of research publishing in nursing.
In 2002, when Alison had worked here in the University for over 30 years, including a 4-year term as Head of Nursing Studies she decided it was time for new challenges. She took up a 3-year appointment as Professor and Head of Clinical Nursing at the University of Adelaide in South Australia.
Since returning to Edinburgh, Alison has held various roles which include: five years as a Non-Executive Director of NHS Lothian; Visiting Professor in places as far apart as King’s College London and Fudan in China; and consultancies to support Nursing Schools’ preparations for the 2014 and now the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
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