Staff profile: Dr Alison Twycross
Position: Reader in Children’s Nursing
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8725 0379
Email: a.twycross@sgul.kingston.ac.uk
Biography
Alison is a children’s nurse. She has worked clinically in both district general hospitals and a children’s hospital. Alison was a ward manager for four and a half years before moving into nurse education. She completed her PhD in 2004, which focused on nurses' management of children’s post-operative pain. Alison is the Course Director for the MSc Maternal and Child Health: Socio-cultural Perspectives
Alison teaches in a variety of children’s nursing related areas across both pre- and post- registration courses. Alison has held several posts at the Royal College of Nursing(RCN). She was Chair of RCN’s children and young people’s field of practice advisory panel from 2005-2008 as well as chairing the General Children’s Nursing Forum from 2002-2008. Prior to this Alison was Chair of the Research in Child Health (RiCH) group (1999-2006) and currently facilitates RiCH’s London regional group. Alison is a also a member of the RCN’s Research Governance group.
Alison is editor of the RCN/BMJ journal Evidence Based Nursing; she is also on the editorial board of Nurse Researcher and regularly reviews paper for a range of academic and professional journals. She is committed to ensuring children and their families obtain the best possible care and much of her research has focused on identifying why current evidence is not used in practice.
Alison has recently led the development of an e-learning course Managing pain in children, which will be launched in January 2012 and is suitable for all nurses and healthcare professionals. The course draws on her book 'Managing pain in children: a clinical guide'.
Interests
- The management of post-operative pain in children
- Identifying strategies that promote the use of evidence in practice
- The ethics of undertaking research with children and young people.
Publications
Article
Twycross, Alison (2011) Let's talk about nursing. Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(4), pp. 95-6. ISSN (print) 1367-6539
Twycross, Alison (2011) New look Evidence-Based Nursing. Evidence-based nursing, 14(1), p. 1. ISSN (print) 1367-6539
Twycross, Alison and Roderique, Lynda (2011) Review of pain content in three-year preregistration pediatric nursing courses in the United Kingdom. Pain Management Nursing, ISSN (print) 1524-9042
Twycross, Alison and Dowden, Stephanie J. (2010) Commentary: Do organizational quality improvement strategies improve pain management? Pediatric Pain Letter, 12(1), pp. 7-10. ISSN (online) 1715-3956
Twycross, Alison (2010) Managing pain in children: where to from here? Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 19(15-16), pp. 2090-2099. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Twycross, Alison and Dowden, Stephanie J (2009) Status of pediatric nurses' knowledge about pain. Pediatric Pain Letter, 11(3), pp. 17-21. ISSN (online) 1715-3956
Twycross, Alison (2009) An interprofessional approach to the ethics of undertaking research with children. Nurse Researcher, 16(3), pp. 7-20. ISSN (print) 1351-5578
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2008) Content analysis. Paediatric Nursing, 20(6), p. 38. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2008) Does the perceived importance of a pain management task affect the quality of children's nurses' post-operative pain management practices? Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17(23), pp. 3205-3216. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Gibson, Faith and Twycross, Alison (2008) Editorial: Getting it right for children and young people's health care services. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 17(23), pp. 14-18. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Twycross, Alison, Gibson, Faith and Coad, Jane (2008) Guidance on seeking agreement to participate in research from young children. Paediatric Nursing, 20(6), pp. 14-18. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2008) Practice based research. Nurse Researcher, 15(2), pp. 4-6. ISSN (print) 1351-5578
Twycross, Alison and Corlett, Jo (2007) Challenges of setting up a multi-centred research study. Nursing Standard, 21(49), pp. 35-38. ISSN (print) 0029-6570
Twycross, Alison (2007) Children's nurses' post-operative pain management practices: an observational study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44(6), pp. 869-881. ISSN (print) 0020-7489
Gibson, Faith and Twycross, Alison (2007) Children's participation in research: a position statement on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing's Research in Child Health (RiCH) Group and Young People's Rights and Ethics Group. Paediatric Nursing, 19(4), pp. 14-17. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2007) Modernising nursing careers: implications for children's nurses. Paediatric Nursing, 19(9), pp. 39-40. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Shields, Linda and Twycross, Alison (2007) Probability. Paediatric Nursing, 19(10), p. 40. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2007) What is the impact of theoretical knowledge on children's nurses' post-operative pain management practices? An exploratory study. Nurse Education Today, 27(7), pp. 697-707. ISSN (print) 0260-6917
Twycross, Alison and Powls, Lucy (2006) How do children's nurses make clinical decisions? Two preliminary studies. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 15(10), pp. 1324-1335. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Twycross, Alison (2006) Managing pain during the first year of life. Infant, 2(1), pp. 10-14. ISSN (print) 1745-1205
Corlett, Jo and Twycross, Alison (2006) Negotiation of care by children's nurses: lessons from research. Paediatric Nursing, 18(8), pp. 34-37. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Corlett, Jo and Twycross, Alison (2006) Negotiation of parental roles within family-centred care: a review of the research. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15(10), pp. 1308-1316. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Coad, Jane and Twycross, Alison (2006) User involvement: not just a box to be ticked. Paediatric Nursing, 18(6), p. 3. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2005) Book Review of: Resources for nursing research: an annotated bibliography by Cynthia Clamp et al. Nurse Researcher, 13(2), pp. 87-88. ISSN (print) 1351-5578
Shields, Linda and Twycross, Alison (2005) How randomised controlled trials (RCTs) work. Paediatric Nursing, 17(7), p. 24. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2005) Reliability and validity in practice: assessment tools. Paediatric Nursing, 17(9), p. 43. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Statistics made simple: part 1 Mean, medians and modes. Paediatric Nursing, 16(4), p. 32. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Statistics made simple: part 2 Standard deviation, variance and range. Paediatric Nursing, 16(5), p. 24. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Statistics made simple: part 3 Statistical tests terminology. Paediatric Nursing, 16(6), p. 36. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Statistics made simple: part 4 Choosing the right statistical test. Paediatric Nursing, 16(8), p. 24. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Validity and reliability - what's it all about? Part 1, validity in quantitative studies. Paediatric Nursing, 16(9), p. 28. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison and Shields, Linda (2004) Validity and reliability - what's it all about? Part 2, reliability in quantitative studies. Paediatric Nursing, 16(10), p. 36. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2003) Book Review of: Managing and implementing decisions in health care, Young, A.P. & Cooke, M. (eds.). Nurse Education Today, 23(5), pp. 391-392. ISSN (print) 0260-6917
Twycross, Alison (2003) Book Review of: The evidence-based practice manual for nurses, by Jean Craig and Rosalind Smyth. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 12(3), p. 451. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Twycross, Alison (2003) Published research. Paediatric Nursing, 15(10), p. 10. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2003) Research & commentary: post-surgical pain relief. Paediatric Nursing, 15(7), p. 12. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Shields, Linda and Twycross, Alison (2003) Understanding research: the infant mortality rate. Paediatric Nursing, 15(3), p. 40. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Shields, Linda and Twycross, Alison (2003) The difference between incidence and prevalence. Paediatric Nursing, 15(7), p. 50. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Shields, Linda and Twycross, Alison (2003) The difference between quantitative and qualitative research. Paediatric Nursing, 15(9), p. 24. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2003) The web. Paediatric Nursing, 15(9), p. 10. ISSN (print) 0962-9513
Twycross, Alison (2002) Educating nurses about pain management: the way forward. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 11(6), pp. 705-714. ISSN (print) 0962-1067
Twycross, Alison (2002) Managing pain in children: an observational study. Journal of Research in Nursing, 7(3), pp. 164-178. ISSN (print) 1744-9871
Twycross, Alison (2001) Achieving consensus about pain content for child branch curricula. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34(1), pp. 51-60. ISSN (print) 0309-2402
Twycross, Alison (2001) Oral dosing of dexamethasone was as effective as intramuscular dosing for outpatient treatment of children with moderate croup. Evidence Based Nursing, 4(3), p. 79. ISSN (print) 1367-6539
Book
Twycross, Alison , Dowden, Stephanie and Bruce, Elizabeth, eds. (2009) Managing pain in children: a clinical guide. Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. 248p. ISBN 9781405168946
Book Section
Twycross, Alison (2011) Principles of pain management and entitlement to pain relief. In: Davies, Ruth and Davies, Alyson, (eds.) Children and young people's nursing practice and health. London, U.K. : Hodder Arnold. ISBN 9781444107845
Twycross, Alison (2009) Non-drug methods of pain relief. In: Twycross, Alison , Dowden, Stephanie and Bruce, Elizabeth, (eds.) Managing pain in children: a clinical guide. Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 67-84. ISBN 9781405168946
Twycross, Alison (2009) Pain: a bio-psycho-social phenomenon. In: Twycross, Alison , Dowden, Stephanie and Bruce, Elizabeth, (eds.) Managing pain in children: a clinical guide. Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 29-38. ISBN 9781405168946
Twycross, Alison and Dowden, Stephanie J. (2009) Where to from here? In: Twycross, Alison , Dowden, Stephanie and Bruce, Elizabeth, (eds.) Managing pain in children: a clinical guide. Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 219-234. ISBN 9781405168946
Twycross, Alison (2009) Why managing pain in children matters. In: Twycross, Alison , Dowden, Stephanie and Bruce, Elizabeth, (eds.) Managing pain in children: a clinical guide. Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 1-16. ISBN 9781405168946
Twycross, Alison (2008) Careers in research and education. In: Hughes, Jane and Lyte, Geraldine, (eds.) Developing nursing practice with children and young people. Chichester, U.K. : Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 213-224. ISBN 9781405156059
Twycross, A and Unsworth, V (2007) The assessment and management of postoperative pain. In: Chambers, Margaret A. and Jones, Sue, (eds.) Surgical nursing of children. Oxford, UK : Butterworth-Heineman. pp. 57-74. ISBN 9780750648073
Twycross, Alison and Smith, Joanna (2006) The management of acute pain in children. In: Glasper, E. Alan and Richardson, Jim, (eds.) A textbook of children's and young people's nursing. London, UK : Churchill Livingstone. pp. 256-277. ISBN 0443074011
Conference or Workshop Item
Twycross, Alison (2007) The ethics of undertaking research with children: is there a need for an interprofessional approach? In: Unhealthy professional boundaries? Working together in health and social care; 04 - 05 Dec 2007, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Grants
- Twycross A (2010). To develop a bespoke e-learning resource on managing acute and procedural pain in children. Kingston University Enterprise Development Fund. £10,000
- Twycross A (2007). To develop best practice guidelines for health professionals in relation to young people and electronic health care records. Young people’s views will be sought though focus groups and a web-based questionnaire. Royal College of Nursing. £4,705
- Twycross A (2006). Internal pump priming grant from the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences. Research Investment Opportunity. £5,000
- Twycross A (2003). To study nurses’ decision-making when caring for children with a medical condition. Yorkhill Children’s Foundation Research Grant. £9,996.86
- Twycross A (2000). To undertake an observational study about nurses’ management of paediatric pain. Smith and Nephew Nursing Research Fellowship. £30,000
- Twycross A (2000). To study pain management practices and research in Eastern Australia. Florence Nightingale Foundation Travel Scholarship. £3,000
- Twycross A (1996). To develop a clinical protocol for pain management within Birmingham Children’s Hospital (with a former colleague). Visited areas of clinical expertise in England and The Sick Children’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Innovation in Nursing Practice Award. West Midlands Regional Health Authority. £2,000
Students supervised