Anita Combes
ºÚÁÏÉç
Biography
A former officer of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC), Anita brings leadership experience from acute and high‑risk settings, including intensive care, critical care outreach, neuro‑intensive care and operational deployments in Iraq, Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone.
Since moving into academia in 2019, she has led the embedding of the nationally recognised Acute Life‑Threatening Events: Recognition and Treatment (ALERT) course across all nursing programmes, strengthening graduates’ preparedness for contemporary acute care.
A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Advanced Life Support Instructor, Anita maintains close links with clinical practice and the military, and is committed to using innovative teaching to build student nurse confidence, decision‑making and quality of care.
Areas of specialism
University roles and responsibilities
- Lead for Acute Life Events Recognition and Treatment (ALERT) programme
- Lead for Nursing in Justice
- Year Two Lead
- Executive Coach Trainee
My qualifications
Publications
Newly qualified nurses must recognise and be able to manage deterioration to improve patient safety. To support this ºÚÁÏÉç introduced the Acute Life threatening Events, Recognition and Treatment course into the curriculum. A mixed method approach utilising questionnaires and a focus group was used to evaluate the impact of the course on student nurses. Results showed improved decision-making and communication skills, as well as increased confidence in assessing for, identifying, managing, escalating and treating patient deterioration. These skills may help to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.