Heather Drury-Smith MSc, BSc, PGCertLTHE, SFHEA
Senior Lecturer
Summary
I work as a senior lecturer in the Radiotherapy and Oncology team as part of the Allied Health Department in the College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences.
The majority of my work focuses on Post-Registration and Postgraduate provision in Radiotherapy, Oncology, Supportive and Palliative Care.
My specialist area is Breast Cancer and Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care. I have a keen interest in the delivery of education in this field, which supports the professional development of healthcare professionals working in the pallative care field and with those affected by breast cancer and enables them to make a positive impact on the care they receive.
About
I currently work as a senior lecturer in the Radiotherapy and Oncology team as part of the Allied Health Department in the College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences. I teach on both the pre-registration and post-registration and postgraduate courses offered within this team.
On the pre-registration Radiotherapy and Oncology courses, my specialist areas of teaching involve breast cancer, palliative, end of life and personalised care approaches, holistic care, psychology of cancer care and haematological and lymphatic cancers.
The PG Radiotherapy, Oncology and Supportive Care team offer five MSc awards in total, in which I have previously acted as course leader and taken the courses through revalidation on the MSc Enhanced Radiotherapy and Oncology and the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice in Radiotherapy and Oncology. All of these awards are fully online, distance learning courses, and as such I have acquired a great deal of experience in this type of delivery.
I am now the course lead for the MSc in Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care in which I have a wealth of experience in running, supervising and delivering modules on this course. These modules involve end of life decision making, personalised care approaches and understanding loss, grief and bereavement. I am also the lead on the breast cancer radiotherapy masters module.
Prior to working at Sheffield Hallam University I qualified as a Therapy Radiographer in 2004.
I started my career working at Nottingham City Hospital and became a Senior Radiographer. I completed my Masters at Nottingham City Hospital and then became a team lead at Northampton General Hospital.
I then took the role of Superintendent at the hospital and Practice Educator working for the University of Hertfordshire. An opportunity then arose at Southbank University in London as a Senior Lecturer in Therapy Radiography. This furthered my career in education and the experience was invaluable in securing a position as a Senior Lecturer with Sheffield Hallam University in August 2011.
Research Interests:
I have many interests in the Radiotherapy and Oncology profession; some of which include, breast cancer and the patient experience, personalised and supportive care for those living with long term and advanced illness, end of life decision making and long term side effects following cancer treatments.
Research Interests
I have many interests in the Radiotherapy, Oncology and Palliative care profession including improving end of life and palliative care, breast oncology, improving diagnosis and access to treatment for all cancer patients, improving services for those with dementia and role development in the health service.
Teaching
College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences
Radiotherapy and Oncology
- MSc Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care
- MSc Prostate Cancer Care
- MSc Enhanced Radiotherapy and Oncology Practice
- MSc Advanced Clinical Practice in Radiotherapy and Oncology
- BSc (Hons) Radiotherapy and Oncology
- Pre-reg MSc Radiotherapy and Oncology in Practice
Publications
Journal articles
Davies, L.S.C., & Drury-Smith, H. (2023). The psychosocial responses of patients in cancer clinical trials: are they a barrier to participation? Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 22. http://doi.org/10.1017/s1460396922000139
Binks, L., Drury-Smith, H., & Holborn, C. (2021). The psychological impact of prostate cancer after treatment: a critical review of the literature. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1460396921000455
Webster, R., & Drury-Smith, H. (2020). How can we meet the support needs of LGBT cancer patients in oncology? A systematic review. Radiography, 27 (2), 633-644. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2020.07.009
Drabble, J., & Drury-Smith, H. (2020). What is the quality of hydrogel spacer insertions and which patients will benefit A literature review. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 1-8. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1460396919000979
Thorpe, R., & Drury-Smith, H. (2019). A literature review of the role of brachytherapy in the management of early-stage breast cancer. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 1-10. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1460396919000700
Murphy, S.B.D., & Drury-Smith, H. (2017). Which simultaneous-integrated boost (SIB) intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) technique is dosimetrically superior in the treatment of breast cancer; volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) or fixed field (ff) IMRT? Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 16 (3), 272-279. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1460396917000164
Conference papers
Murphy, S., & Drury-Smith, H. (2016). Which technique is dosimetrically superior in thetreatment of breastcancer: VMAT or Fixed Field IMRT. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 119 (Supp 1), S788-S789. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8140(16)32940-1
Other activities
I am a reviewer for the Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice and I am currently completing a Professional Doctorate, titled; Barriers and facilitators to engaging with health services for patients with breast cancer symptoms or a breast cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also hold membership as a senior fellow with the Higher Education Academy.