Overview

Rachel joined Exeter University as a full time Lecturer and No Health without Mental Health pillar lead in November 2020. As a Registered Mental Health Nurse, Rachel has worked in a number of interesting and varied roles, including working with veterans, military personnel as well as with public health bodies and voluntary organisations both in the UK and overseas. With a specific interest in the mental health and psychosocial implications of warfare, disasters and political repression, Rachel has gone on to obtain an MSc in War and Psychiatry as well as specialist qualifications in post-trauma, such as: critical incident stress management, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, as well as mental health and psychosocial support in  humanitarian settings.

Prior to joining Exeter Rachel spent two years working with the British Red Cross on their Resilient Responder Programme, providing support to the workforce through clinical supervision, reflective practice and critical incident debriefings. She also delivered themed workshops on peer support, promoting wellbeing, ambiguous loss and mental health awareness; as well as developed guidance and teaching materials on topics such as resilience and wellbeing whilst on a deployment, common responses to trauma and mental health considerations for frontline staff in the context of COVID-19.

Rachel’s experiences have highlighted the importance of trauma-informed, person-centred and integrated healthcare, and evoked an interest in the biopsychopharmacosocial (BPPS) framework in day-to-day nursing practice. She is delighted to join the University of Exeter as part of their pioneering MSci Nursing Programme, and being part of a fantastic team dedicated to developing the nurses of the future. 

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (Exeter) (2022)
• MSc War and Psychiatry (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London) (2014)
• BSc Hons Nursing Studies with Registration to Practice (Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London) (2013)
• Nursing and Midwifery Council Registration Mental Health Nursing (2013)
• Fellow Higher Education Academy (FHEA) 

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Research

Research interests

Rachel has on-going research interests in the field of psychosocial factors that influence individual and collective wellbeing; realisation of rights for people with mental illness and psychosocial disabilities; human rights; global mental health and exploring how individuals and communities cope with and are affected by challenging life events from illness to war, natural disasters, and political repression.

Publications

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4766-9898

Journal articles

Miller R, Deering K (2023) Integrating a trauma-informed approach into preregistration nurse education. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2023.e1668

Editorial

Thomas D, Miller R & Nolan F (2023) Ethical Aspects of Professional Migration. Journal of Nursing Ethics.​

Reports

Docherty D, Patel N & Miller R (2018) The Human Factor: Driving Digital Solutions for 21st Century Health and Care. National Centre for Universities and Business.

Chapters

Miller R, Kempton J, Rich H, Onifade O, Privett S, Deering K, Mancini M (2023) No Health without Mental Health. Ch 5

Research projects

Rachel currently works as a Research Fellow with the School of Public Health Research where she works as part of the Health Inequalities Programme (HIP), which aims to produce and mobilise high quality evidence to support action on the structural determinants of health inequalities.

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External Engagement and Impact

Other Consultancy (i.e. income generating work that is not research)

​Acting consultant on an assurance piece of work relating to the transition programme for international recruits in Adult and Mental Health Nursing branches with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust April 2022 – September 2022. This included an assurance visit to Nagpur, India in July 2022.

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Teaching

Rachel teaches across all stages of the nursing curriculum on wellbeing and mental health. Special interests include cultural humility and responsiveness, trauma informed approaches to health care, global health, working with underserved communities and psychosocial perspectives on health care.

Rachel is also the module lead for a 30 credit module on Introducing Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century.

Modules

2023/24

• NUR3200 - Introducing Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century

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Office Hours:

Rachel works full time hours Monday-Friday

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