DrSinead McMahon

Sinead’s principal research interests lie in physiotherapy and Health and Social Care Professions practice education, with a particular focus on the interface between university-based learning and learning in professional practice environments.

Her research examines how healthcare students can be effectively prepared for clinical practice and how high-quality, sustainable practice education can be developed, supported and evaluated. Key areas of interest include clinical reasoning, workplace-based learning, assessment and feedback, curriculum design, clinical educator development, graduate preparedness and the transition from student to healthcare professional.

A major strand of her research focuses on the development and evaluation of practice education systems. This has included work examining barriers and facilitators to providing student placements, approaches to supporting and recognising clinical educators, interprofessional practice education, and the development of quality frameworks for practice education across the Health and Social Care Professions.

Sinead also has a strong interest in technology-enhanced education. She is Co-Principal Investigator on the Erasmus+ funded VR-PAIN project, which explores the use of virtual reality to support pain science education and clinical reasoning in physiotherapy students. Her wider research includes rehabilitation innovation and technology-enhanced pain management through the Interreg North-West Europe SCALEUP4REHAB programme.

Her research has also addressed primary and community healthcare, chronic pain, patient and service-user experience, interprofessional learning and global health education.

Sinead uses quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methodologies and supervises doctoral, Masters and undergraduate research. A defining feature of her work is its emphasis on translating educational research into practice, curriculum development and national policy.