Ashley Scott

I bring a wealth of experience as both a practicing clinical nurse and a health-care leader to my role as Program Director of the Master of Health Leadership and Policy professional graduate degree. With over a decade of clinical practice as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner in the UK, Australia and Canada, I have experienced firsthand the complexities of delivering patient-centered care. During my time as a bedside clinician, alongside my leadership roles, I recognized that my impact could extend far beyond the boundaries of my clinical practice areas. I realized that by becoming an educational leader, I could shape the future of health care by equipping students and clinicians with the critical knowledge and skills they need to transform health systems.

Alongside my educational leadership and teaching responsibilities, my research is focused on the intersection of education and cutting-edge technology. At UBC, I have been working closely with the Emerging Media Lab to create an AI-driven virtual reality simulation that allows student nurse practitioners to refine and improve their consultation skills. This innovative tool will not only prepare student nurse practitioners for high-stakes assessments such as objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs), but can also give them the confidence and competence to excel in real-world clinical environments. What excites me most is the scalability of this technology. While my initial prototype has been designed for a specific use case, the tool has the potential to revolutionize other critical areas, such as mastering difficult conversations or handling challenging patient interactions. The possibilities are endless, and we are at another turning point in our understanding of the profound ways technology can elevate health-care education and practice.

Since joining UBC in December 2022, I have had the privilege of teaching several courses within the MHLP program, including Research and Evidence-Based Practice and Curriculum Development. The calibre of MHLP students is truly extraordinary. They come from diverse backgrounds, both personal and professional, from across Canada and the world, bringing their rich professional experiences into the classroom. For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of this program is watching how quickly students break down professional silos and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, enriching their learning and expanding their perspectives.

The MHLP program not only sharpens clinical education skills – critical for fostering the next generation of health-care professionals and lifting others up – but also hones the business acumen essential for senior leadership roles. Our students develop both expertise within their domain as well as the business knowledge, project management skills and understanding of policy that they will need to lead teams and projects, and drive innovation within the health-care sector. This interdisciplinary approach equips them to tackle complex health-care challenges, communicate effectively across diverse audiences and spearhead meaningful change.

Experience

Ashley Scott is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the School of Nursing. He has a BSc from Leeds Metropolitan University and an MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice from Liverpool John Moores University. He is currently completing a PhD at the University of Manchester, focusing on the development and evaluation of innovative AI-driven tools to enhance nursing education.