Vicky Mitchell

Vicky is a registered nurse and full-time doctoral researcher within the Mother and Infant Research Unit at the School of Health Sciences. Her primary research interests include learning disabilities, maternal vulnerability during pregnancy, looked-after and accommodated children, and addressing inequalities in access to healthcare and midwifery services.

She graduated with distinction in 2019 with a BSc in Nursing and Health Sciences, subsequently gaining clinical experience across a range of secondary care settings. During this time, she also completed an MSc in Nursing and Health Sciences with merit in 2020. Her MSc dissertation examined whether nursing care in acute settings adequately meets the needs of adults with learning disabilities.

In 2021, Vicky was awarded a competitive 3+1 PhD Studentship by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences. This included funding for an MSc in Social Research, which she completed with distinction in August 2022. Her MSc research focused on the experiences of mothers of infants with Down syndrome in accessing infant feeding support. Her current doctoral research explores the infant feeding experiences of mothers with learning disabilities. Using a retrospective, narrative inquiry approach, her study incorporates storytelling through participatory workshops. She is an active member of the SGSSS thematic hub on health, families, relationships, and demographic change.

In addition to her academic work, Vicky serves as a peer reviewer for the Royal College of Nursing journals Nursing Children and Young People and Learning Disability Practice. Her areas of interest include enteral feeding, management of diabetes and epilepsy in children with complex disabilities, child protection, and advanced communication techniques in learning disability care.

Clinically, Vicky has worked in general medicine, neurorehabilitation for patients under 60, community rehabilitation, and in settings supporting children with complex physical and learning needs, including respite and specialist support schools.