Andrew Sturrock qualified as a pharmacist in 2008 and is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Sunderland. He is the Master of Pharmacy Programme Leader and is responsible for a cohort of approximately 750 students. Andrew teaches clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice across all four stages of the MPharm, with a particular focus on preparing students to enter clinical practice.
Andrew began his academic career as a teacher practitioner, before taking up a permanent role as a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Therapeutics. He was quickly promoted to his current role as Principal Lecturer and was awarded Senior Fellowship in 2019. He is currently working towards the submission of his PhD by Publication in 2020, exploring the pharmacists’ role in the management of oral health, a subject closely aligned to the teaching and learning developments that he leads.
Andrew has introduced novel interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives with a focus on oral health and mental ill health. These initiatives have involved working closely with academics from other professional groups and introducing IPE into the curricula of programmes internally at the University of Sunderland and with external partners. He has worked with the University of Sunderland Patient Carer and Public Involvement group to co-construct and deliver teaching and learning activities with patients that have mental health problems, providing an eye opening and inspirational opportunity for students.
Andrew has worked to transform the student experience on the MPharm Programme, introducing simulation-based learning to enhance the authenticity of the clinical content of the programme and preparing students to enter clinical practice. He also mentors new academic staff, this includes preregistration pharmacists undertaking a novel academic/community pharmacy training programme. On completion of this training, many of these pharmacists have progressed to formal teacher practitioner roles at the University.