Dr Gemma Wells

I have considerable experience in the context of Higher Education, having made the transition from Occupational Therapy practice in 2007. I started as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, progressing to Senior Lecturer in 2008. As well as having achieved competence in all aspects of my role as an educator on several Occupational Therapy pre-registration degree level programmes, I have also demonstrated my ability to fulfil leadership roles within the context of Higher Education.

I am currently employed as a Senior Lecturer and Professional Lead in Occupational Therapy. In my role as Professional Lead, I work collaboratively with a range of individuals and organisations. I am responsible for ensuring our graduates are eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on completion of the programme which permits them to practice using the protected title of Occupational Therapist. This involves ensuring our programmes remain fit for purpose and meet all requirements of the HCPC and Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), essential for the ongoing approval and accreditation of our provision.

I originally joined Canterbury Christ Church University in March 2007 as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, with promotion to Senior Lecturer after 12 months in post. During a total of 6 years in these roles, I gained experience teaching on the pre-registration BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy course, and as a Pathway Lead for the Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (Enabling Independence). I was a Personal Academic Tutor for 25 Occupational Therapy students, and supervised undergraduate dissertations. I was a Module Lead for several modules, a role that required team coordination, curriculum planning, moderation of marking and the completion of general administration tasks. The Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (Enabling Independence) was a work-based course for support workers. I took a lead role in all stages of course validation, curriculum development, creation of blended learning objects, general pathway administration, personal tutoring, teaching, and assessment for this pathway.

In 2013, following a competitive process, I was awarded a full-time scholarship to pursue my PhD at which point I left my permanent post at the University. Whilst undertaking my PhD, I maintained links with the School by completing sessional teaching, marking and research assistant work.

In 2017, I completed my PhD and applied for my current post as a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy. Since I returned to the University, I have developed my leadership role within the team and continued with all aspects of personal tutoring, teaching, assessment, as well as module leadership. In September 2018, I became the Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy at Canterbury Christ Church University.

In the first half of 2019, I led on the preparation and presentation of documents for the validation of a new Occupational Therapy degree level apprenticeship at Canterbury Christ Church University. Following a successful validation event, this new course has been running successfully since January 2020. The documents submitted for the validation process received commendation for their quality.

I have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My current research interests include women as occupational beings, the use of participatory research methods to capture the lived experience of people as occupational beings, feminism, older people, and Occupational Therapy within community development.

My PhD explored the experience of living alone for eleven women aged 70 – 80 years, focusing on the activities that the women engaged in when they were at home alone, how the meaning the women attributed to their home influenced these activities, and how Occupational Therapists could capture the complex relationship that exists between a person, their home and what they do. My PhD enabled me to explore and develop my knowledge of Occupational Therapy and the Social Sciences, and to be creative in the approach that I took to address the aims of my study. I used the research methods of photo-elicitation and unstructured interviews so that I could capture the experiences of the women in their own images and voices, fuelling an ongoing interest in the use of participatory research methods.

Professional Panel Membership

• Royal College of Occupational Therapy Learning and Development Board (2018 – 2021)
• Member of the Council of Occupational Therapy Education Directors (COTED) (2018 – ongoing)

Professional Membership

• Health and Social Care Professions Council
• British Association of Occupational Therapists
• British Society of Gerontology (including early career researchers’ group)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• World Federation of Occupational Therapy (I am also a reviewer for the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin)