Jane Youell

Background

About Jane Youell

My caring experience, my varied career path and academic interests have left me with a particular set of skills and a unique insight into service provision. I felt I could utilise these skills by becoming a Social Worker and influencing provision and practice from within a service. I have a first-class honours degree in Psychology and was awarded my Doctorate in 2015. I specialised for some time in dementia care, but feel that at the heart of my work ethic is a person-centred, strengths-based approach which can be transferred to any sector in health and social care. I am passionate about patient care and experience. I pride myself on being innovative, proactive, organised and recovery-focused. Throughout my career, as varied as it has been, remains common themes. I have always included the service user voice and listened to the experiences of those who use and work in services. I believe this to be crucial in the development of care provision and quality improvement. I can empathise with the demands on the service and believe that my academic and project management skills mean that I am assertive in my ability to think through complex decisions and can draw on my research skills, legislative knowledge and ability to rationalise decisions confidently. My experience as a parent/carer led to empathic understanding which informs my research work and my professional practice. As a young adult, my son experienced poor mental health and we found ourselves in a mental health system which was difficult to navigate and not particularly Autism friendly. I have used this experience to enhance my practice and improve team performance. I have comprehensive knowledge of the Care Act, Equality Act, Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act which informs my practice. I have excellent oral, written and presentation skills as demonstrated by my publications featured in Aging and Society, Age and Ageing, British Journal of Community Nursing, Dementia, British Journal of General Practice and Nursing Standard as well as book chapters in three books including Key Concepts in Social Work Practice. I have an enthusiasm for all the work I have undertaken and feel this makes an effective leader, as well as being a lifelong learner. I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2017 which enabled me to travel to Australia and USA to better understand health and social care provision for older LGBTI+ communities. This enhanced my appreciation of the global context of health and social care as well as greater cultural competency.