Michèle Hughes qualified as a Registered General Nurse (RGN) in the Mater Infirmorum Hospital (MIH), Belfast.  She was the first staff nurse (S/N) to register and successfully complete Queens University Belfast (QUB), first ever academic Nursing programme (three year Diploma in Nursing). During this period Michèle nursed in the area of Cardiac Medicine, progressing to Senior S/N  ('E' Grade) working in the Cardiac Monitoring Unit (CMU).                                                         

Michèle progressed to a Acting Senior Sister ('G' grade) in a cardiac medical ward. In order to take up full-time studies at the University of Ulster (UU-C).  Michèle had to leave her Senior Management post.
Over the next two years, while successfully completing an Honours Degree in Professional Development in Nursing, Michèle worked part-time in an acute mental health unit which provided invaluable insights, when teaching UCC UG Mental Health nursing students (decades later) about the close association of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in severe mental illness (SMI).                Immediately after completing her UG studies, Michèle was successful in an interview for the Year 1 of a Masters in Education (University of Ulster Jordanstown - UUJ). 

After successfully completing year 1 (PG Diploma in Education Studies for Nursing) Michèle accepted a College Lecturer post (at formerly Buckinghamshire & Chiltern University College - College of Brunel University) at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU). 
During this period Michèle successfully completed a two-year multi-disciplinary Masters in Health Sciences and progressed to Senior Lecturer.
                                                                               
Michèle was first in an interview panel, in 1997, to facilitate the introduction of UCC’s first ever UG Diploma in Nursing programme (based in Cork hospitals) due to her personal and academic experience of five UK Universities, with established UG / PG nursing programmes. She resigned her College Senior Lectureship post in order to take up the post based in the School of Nursing in Cork University Hospital (CUH). 

By 1998, along with a lecturing colleague from BNU, Michèle was one of just five academics in UCC’s first ever Department (School) building for Nursing and Midwifery, helping to develop /establish UCC’s first ever UG BSc (Hons) programme in Midwifery and BSc programmes in every possible UG nursing discipline that today still have some of the highest LC points of entry for nursing and midwifery.      

My research interests largely focus on the educational needs of cardiovascular patients. I have also been involved in exploring the recruitment of students into Nursing and Midwifery and I remain interested in this area. However during my current research project, my interests have expanded to include the exploration of health literacy and its impact on the education of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). I am therefore also interested in exploring the role of the health professional when dealing with health literacy in clinical practice. This will involve interdisciplinary research and the collaboration of both academic and clinical practitioners involved in direct care of patients with CVD.



As part of my MSc Health Sciences and my undergraduate Hons Degree I engaged in research exploring the educational needs of patients following their first Myocardial Infarction. Both studies identified topics that were important to patients, and that at times nurses were not aware of, and this concurred with other study findings. These findings were presented at a World Congress and published in a peer reviewed journal. They have since been presented at conferences nationally. Since this period, mortality and morbidity figures for myocardial infarction have improved. The same can not be said of Heart Failure which is currently the only CVD where the incidence and morbidity figures continue to worsen.

My current study explores the level of knowledge that patients, with Heart failure, have of their condition and its self-management. I am Chief Investigator and am exploring the effect of education and counselling on these patients¿ knowledge. Data collection has been completed and preliminary findings have been very positive towards the effectiveness of the clinical staff in improving patients¿ knowledge of both their condition and self-management. The psychological and emotional benefits reported by patients attending the service also appear very positive. Once the current study is completed I hoped to both publish and present the findings in collaboration with my clinical colleagues who also became involved in this project.

Following both the collaboration of academic colleagues to explore the issue of poor health literacy and my study¿s preliminary findings, my research interests have changed slightly. I am currently interested in exploring the impact of poor health literacy on patients¿ self-management and the effectiveness of current literature used to educate patients regarding their condition and its self-management.  

I have studied Health Promotion to Master¿s Level due to my interest in the subject. Consequently I have been module leader for several health promotion modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. It is a subject I very much enjoy.

I am a registered Basic Life Support (BLS) instructor so am involved in providing BLS programmes within the College and in the community. Due to my clinical background and research I have a keen interest in teaching cardiovascular nursing at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I also enjoy supervising undergraduate students¿ research proposals.