DrSinead McMahon

Dr Sinead McMahon is Director of Clinical Education in Physiotherapy in the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. She is a physiotherapist, educator and researcher with extensive experience in physiotherapy education, clinical and practice education, curriculum development and professional practice.

Sinead graduated in Physiotherapy from King’s College London and completed her PhD at University College Dublin, where her doctoral research examined the preparation of physiotherapy graduates for primary healthcare practice. Prior to her academic career, she gained broad clinical experience in university teaching hospitals and sports injury settings in the UK and Ireland, including King’s College Hospital, London, the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, where she subsequently worked as a UCD Practice Tutor.

As Director of Clinical Education, Sinéad provides strategic leadership for clinical and practice education across UCD’s physiotherapy programmes and works closely with clinical managers, practice tutors, clinical educators and healthcare organisations nationally and internationally. She has made a sustained contribution to the development of practice education in Ireland and has led initiatives aimed at strengthening the quality, sustainability and consistency of student learning in clinical environments.

At national level, Sinéad has led and contributed to the development of major practice education initiatives across the Health and Social Care Professions. She led the development of the National Health and Social Care Professions Quality Framework for Sustainable Practice Education and the National Interprofessional Practice Education Development (NIPPED) Tool, supporting the development and quality assurance of practice education across the professions.

She is a founding member and Chair of the Practice Education Coordinators Network (PECNET), which has developed into a national interprofessional network involving multiple Health and Social Care Professions and Higher Education Institutions. She also established the annual PECNET Practice Education Conference, creating a national forum for the sharing of research, innovation and good practice in practice education.

Sinead has made a substantial contribution to curriculum design and educational innovation within UCD. She was a core member of the team that developed Ireland’s first Masters-level entry-to-practice Physiotherapy programme and led the development of its clinical education component. She co-developed postgraduate education in Practice Education for clinical educators and developed the Clinical Reasoning Form, which has subsequently been adopted across physiotherapy programmes nationally.

Her educational innovations also include the development of the UCD Physiotherapy Hub at UCD Sport, early clinical learning opportunities for physiotherapy students, telehealth and virtual clinical education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the integration of virtual reality into pain science education.

Internationally, Sinead has developed and supported reciprocal clinical education partnerships through UCD Volunteers Overseas in Uganda, India and Tanzania. She is a Trustee of UCD Volunteers Overseas and was appointed Chair of its Board in 2026.

Sinéad’s contribution to education has been recognised through the UCD Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning Award and the UCD Exceptional Contribution to Learning Award. In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists in recognition of her sustained contribution to the physiotherapy profession.