Leading professor in Armed Forces healthcare inducted into the international nurse researcher hall of fame

A Professor at the University of Chester will be inducted into the prestigious International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

Col (Rtd) Alan Finnegan, Professor of Nursing and Military Health is one of 32 world-renowned nurse researchers who will enter the Hall of Fame, organised by global nursing excellence organisation, Sigma.

The event will take place during the organisation’s 33rd International Nursing Research Congress in Edinburgh in July. The 32 people will represent Australia, Canada, Italy, Nigeria, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States and will be presented with the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame award and participate in a conversation with Sigma’s President.

Alan is the Co-Director of the Westminster Centre for Research in Ageing, Mental Health and Veterans at the University which aims to support the military community through innovative and high-quality research, educational provision and community engagement.

The University is a member of the Cheshire Armed Forces Covenant Partnership, which is chaired by Alan. This is a commitment by civilian organisations in collaboration with the MoD to support the Armed Forces community. He also played a major role, along with the team in the Veteran’s Centre, in enabling the University to receive the MoD’s Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award for its outstanding support towards the Armed Forces community.

Alan established the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Defence Nursing Forum, is the RCN link member for military veterans, and a member of the RCN North West Regional Board. He is a Courtesy Professor at the University of South Florida, the Assistant Editor of Nurse Education Today and an international editorial board member of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.  Alan is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, a Fellow of the RCN and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, where is a member of the expert panel for Military and Veterans Health. Alan is a committee member of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (North West (NW;) the Armed Forces Network (NW;) the ACFT Ethics Advisory Panel; and the independent Chair of the Cheshire Armed Forces Community Covenant Partnership.

Alan joined the NHS as a porter in 1978, and then completed Registered Nurse Adult and Registered Nurse Mental Health training before joining the British Army as a Nursing Officer in 1987. During his military career he reached the rank of Colonel and his appointments included: Manager of Military Departments of Community Mental Health; the MoD Nurse Consultant in Military Mental Health; and the MoD Nursing Advisor in MMH. Alan was Senior Military Nurse and Commanding Officer at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine during the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. His final appointment was as the first MoD Professor of Nursing. He completed operational tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Balkans, Northern Ireland and South Africa. Alan has experience leading military and veterans specific research. His results are disseminated through multiple peer review publications.

Alan will join previously inducted nurse researchers who have achieved significant and sustained national or international recognition and whose research has improved the profession of nursing and the people it serves.

Alan said: “I am extremely proud to be recognised in this way. I would like to thank Sigma for the honour and the team in the University’s Veteran’s Centre for its dedication and commitment to improving the lives of veterans and their families in Cheshire and beyond.”