Contact
Biography
I am currently a lecturer and programme lead for post-qualifying programmes across Nursing and Health subjects at the University of Dundee. In 2016, I became a full-time Child Health Lecturer at the University of Dundee after three years as a clinical academic fellow. In 2020 I moved to the University of the West of Scotland as lead for Neonatal Nursing in 2020, before returning to Dundee at the end of 2022. I have a sustained track record of delivering professional and accredited nursing, midwifery and advanced/specialist clinical programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including MSc supervision. I have had the opportunity to acquire experience in a variety of environments including education, research and publishing as well as clinically. I have collaborated on research projects with the Centre for Public Policy and Management (CPPM) at St Andrew’s University, Maternal and Child Health Sciences (MACHS) at NHS Tayside and the Scottish Improvement Sciences Collaborating Centre (SISCC) and the Maternal and Infant Research Unit (MIRU) at the University of Dundee. I have also served as a consultant on Scottish Government expert reference groups with a focus of perinatal and infant health. I qualified as a Midwife in 1995 and worked across the UK in a variety of posts, but most of my 20 plus years in clinical practice was spent in Neonatal Intensive Care Units as a clinical specialist Neonatal Midwife.
Areas of clinical and professional interest:
- Women and Child Health
- Neonatal Care (transitional, special and intensive)
- Infant Feeding and Nutrition
- Communication and Organisational Culture
- Continuing Professional Education & Development
Education / Professional Registration
- Senior Fellow of Advance HE since 2025 (Fellow from 2021-25)
- NMC Registered Midwife 1995 to date
- MSc in Advanced Practice (Practice Education) with Dean of School’s Award for Outstanding Dissertation
- Grad. Cert Higher Level Knowledge & Skills in Neonatal Care
- BSc (Hons) Psychology
- BSc (Hons) Midwifery with Neonatal Studies
- ENB 405 (Qualified in Speciality: Neonatal Intensive Care)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Midwifery
Wider Professional Activities
- Lead Midwife for Education for the School of Health Sciences 2023 to date
- Executive Member of ‘The Scottish Neonatal Nurses Guild’ 2020 to date
- Scottish Government: ‘Best Start’ Evaluation Advisory Group Member 2025 to date
- Health Care Improvement Scotland SPSP: Perinatal expert reference group member (2023)
- Chief External Examiner, University of Brighton (2018-2023)
- Programme Disability Coordinator University of the West of Scotland (2020-2022)
- Founder and coordinator of School based staff wellbeing groups ‘Pandemic Peers’ at the University of the West of Scotland (2020-2022) and ‘SWell’ (Social and Wellbeing) at the University of Dundee (2017-2020)
- Go Abroad Coordinator, University of Dundee (2018-2020)
- Member of ‘Team Resilience’ University partnership with a military medical regiment to provide major incident events for undergraduate students and the public at the University of Dundee (2016-2020)
Research
Research Projects
- Key team member of a feasibility study to develop an evidence-informed manualised intervention to compare Cue-Based versus Scheduled feeding for preterm infants transitioning from tube to oral feeding in neonatal units (CuBS), funded by NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
- Collaborated on a wide-ranging improvement project looking at breastfeeding and attachment in Scottish NICUs with the Maternal and Infant Research Unit in Dundee (under the umbrella of the Scottish Improvement Science Collaborating Centre (SISCC)
- Published Cochrane reviews with the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside Maternal & Child Health Services (see publications)
- Research assistant at the University of St Andrews on a number of research projects which involved:
- Project work examining organisational culture across several UK paediatric intensive care units.
- Conducting, transcribing and coding interviews and focus groups (various projects)
- Compiling a SPSS data-set for research into voluntary sector organisations
- Clinical research midwife supporting a study by the Tayside Institute for Child Health into the effects of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme activity in infancy
Invited Talks
Tosh, K. and McFadden, A. (2024) ‘Transitioning from tube to oral feeding in preterm infants: lessons from a cue-based feeding feasibility study (CuBS)’ Scottish Cue-Based Feeding Learning Event, The V&A Dundee, Scotland.
McFadden, A. and Tosh K (2023) ‘Transitioning from Tube to Oral Feeding in Preterm Infants: Lessons from a Cue-Based Feeding Feasibility Study (CuBS)’, Touching Lives, Impacting Lifetimes Online Conference, sponsored by The Scottish Government, Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity and UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative.
Tosh, K. (2019) ‘Formula versus donor breast milk for feeding preterm babies’, Podcast with BMJ: Evidence Based Nursing Formula versus donor breast milk for feeding preterm babies | EBN Podcast (podbean.com)
Conferences/Presentations
Tosh, K., Fitzpatrick, B., Shinwell, S., Donnan, P., Wallace, L.M., Johnson, E., Mactier, H., McFadden, A. (2021) ‘Feasibility of The Implementation of a Cue-Based Feeding Intervention: The Cubs Study’, Poster 59 REASON Conference June 2021.
McFadden, A., Tosh, K., Johnson, E., Fitzpatrick, B., Shinwell, S., Donnan, P., Wallace, L., Mactier, H. (2021) ‘Cue-Based Feeding for the Preterm Infant Transitioning from Tube to Oral Feeding: The CUBS Feasibility Study of Intervention Implementation’, Poster 472 ESPNIC June 2021.
Tosh K (2018) ‘Investing in Knowledge’ findings from a Masters Dissertation research project (oral presentation)’, Neonatal Evidence Into Practice: SISCC National Workshop; Edinburgh, Scotland Karen Tosh - Evidence into Practice National Neonatal Workshop.
Tosh K (2016) ‘Breastfeeding and Attachment in NICU Project (oral presentation)’, University of Dundee Research Symposium; Crieff, Scotland.
Tosh K (2016) ‘Breastfeeding and Attachment in NICU Project (poster presentation)’, Scottish Neonatal Nurses Group (SNNG) Conference; Glasgow, Scotland.
Tosh K (2004) ‘Organisational Culture in PICU’s (oral presentation)’, 4th International Conference on Organisational Behaviour in Health Care; Banff, Canada 2004.
Publications
McFadden, A. Fitzpatrick, B. Shinwell, S. Tosh, K. Donnan, P. Wallace, L.M., et al. (2021) Cue-based versus scheduled feeding for preterm infants transitioning from tube to oral feeding: the Cubs mixed-methods feasibility study. Health Technology Assessment 25(74). DOI: 10.3310/hta25740
Tosh, K. and Bailey, K. (2021) Chapter 22, Caring for Children with Genitourinary Problems IN Glasper, A. and Richardson, J., eds. A Textbook of Children’s and Young People’s Nursing. 3rd edn. London: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. (4th edition in development for 2026/7)
Bailey, K. and Tosh, K. (2021) Chapter 14, Renal Conditions in Childhood IN Glasper, A. and Richardson, J., eds. A Textbook of Children’s and Young People’s Nursing. 3rd edn. London: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. (4th edition in development for 2026/7)
Raftery, B., Tosh, K., Siebelt, L., Johnson, E., Wallace, L., MacGillivray, S., McGuire, B., Mactier, H., Donnan, P., Culshaw, L. and McFadden, A. (2020) ‘Developing a complex intervention to assess the feasibility of cue-based feeding for preterm infants in neonatal units.’ Proceedings of the Nutrition and Nurture in Infancy and Childhood Conference, 10th ‐ 14th June 2019, Grange Over Sands, Cumbria. Organised by the Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture Unit (MAINN), University of Central Lancashire. Maternal and Child Nutrition Volume 16, Issue S1 (Supplement). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12933
Tosh, K. (2019) Feeding preterm infants with formula rather than donor breast milk is associated with faster rates of short-term growth, but increased risk of developing necrotising enterocolitis. Evidence Based Nursing Jan 2019, 22 (1) 18. DOI: 10.1136/eb-2018-102988
Cormick, F.M., Tosh, K. and McGuire, W. (2010) ‘Ad libitum or demand/semi-demand feeding versus scheduled interval feeding for preterm infants’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 201. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd005255.pub3
Tosh, K. (2007) ‘19th Century Handmaids or 21st Century Partners’. The Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 21(1) pp.68-78. DOI: 10.1108/14777260710732286
McIntyre, P.G., Tosh, K., McGuire, W. (2007) ‘Caesarean section versus vaginal delivery for preventing mother to infant hepatitis C virus transmission’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 4(CD005546), DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005546.pub2
Tosh, K., McGuire, W. (2006) ‘Ad libitum or demand/semi-demand feeding versus scheduled interval feeding for preterm infants’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 3(CD005255), DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd005255.pub2
Tosh, K. (2001) ‘Parents in distress: when partnership turns to conflict’, The Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 7(3) pp.101-104.
Book Reviews
Price, J. and McAlinden, O., eds. (2018) Essentials of Nursing Children and Young People. London: Sage Publications Ltd.