Meet the Team

Jennifer Charlewood

Forum Chair

Jen Charlewood is a registered adult trained nurse who has spent most of her nursing career in general practice. She first worked as a treatment room nurse, then a practice nurse. After undertaking further training she qualified as a nurse practitioner and a non-medical prescriber. She spent some time working in Out of Hours work alongside her general practice job. In 2017 she gained her MSc in Clinical Nursing. In 2018 she successfully credentialed as an Advanced Level Nurse Practitioner with the RCN, and was also made a Queen's Nurse for her work in primary care.

Jen has been passionate about working in primary care and advanced practice for many years. She currently chairs the RCN Advanced Nurse Practitioner Forum Steering Committee. She spent three years representing practice nurses in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group. Currently she works for NHS England South West, representing nurses working in general practice for the region. She still does locum work as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

Sharlene Hogan

MSc Cardiology, RGN
Lead Advance Nurse Practitioner for Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery

Sharlene graduated from Brighton and Sussex University in 2011 with a masters in cardiology. In 2017 she successfully completed a module at master’s level in “Innovation and Leadership” at South Bank University. In 2011 Sharlene qualified as a Non-Medical Prescriber. She is currently an Advance Life Support Provider. Her nursing career started in 1991 when she trained to become a registered general nurse at London South Bank University and qualified in 1994. 

Within the last two years, Sharlene has changed directorates within Guy’s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, to develop a new service as the Lead Advance Nurse Practitioner in Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery. It is a challenging and great opportunity that allows her to utilize her cardiac expertise while gaining new skills and knowledge in management, leadership and staff development. In this directorate the nurse practitioners as well as Sharlene have replaced the FY1 doctors and now manage the ward patients’ clinical needs. 

Prior to working in Gastrointestinal Surgery, she has been practicing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in cardiology for the last 12 years and had a specific interest in interventional cardiology, arrhythmia patient care, electrophysiological intervention and pacing. While in cardiology she developed the Nurse-Led cardioversion service which involved the management of her own caseload of patients’ pre, peri and post cardioversion. Utilising skills such as consenting, non- medical prescribing, performing the external cardioversion and ensure safe discharge and follow up of patients. She also organised and chaired the Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) patient support groups. In December 2017 she was interviewed by the BBC to help promote the importance of these groups and demonstrate how they benefit patients. 

Teaching and mentoring is integral to her role as a nurse. Sharlene for many years has presented at the HC-UK Conferences with a focus on cardiology and non-medical prescribing sharing her experience and knowledge. In the gastrointestinal service she has provided in-house training for practitioners who require training in abdominal examination. Sharlene is affiliated with the Arrhythmia Alliance and often does patient information workshops to educate the general public about atrial fibrillation, pulse checking, AED defibrillator use and basic life support teaching. She has participated in developing a patient information video, on the use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants, in patients with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation which received an award of excellence. She remains passionate about patient care and advancing nursing as a profession and career.

Neal Aplin

MSc, BSc, Dip(HE)
Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Neal is a dedicated, enthusiastic healthcare professional and experienced autonomous clinical practitioner, uniquely experienced with primary care, secondary care and pre-hospital care experience. He has contributed to research both nationally and internationally and expertise and specialist interests have included implementing point of care testing, developing ACP led services including ANP led abdominal paracentesis and a very enthusiastic clinical simulation trainer!

Neal currently works as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Older Persons Care at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon and he lives nearby in Royal Wootton Bassett with his wife and three daughters. 

He qualified as a nurse in 2002 after studying at the University of the West of England, Bristol. He has worked in a variety of clinical areas including CCU, ED, ICU, acute medicine, NHS Walk in Centre, GP surgeries, Out of Hours and Emergency Ambulatory Care. 

Neal continues to study in Bristol, obtaining a BSc Critical Care in 2007, becoming a non-medical prescriber in 2008, and completing an MSc in 2018. Other experience has included serving with the Royal Air Force Reserves and he is a volunteer with St John Ambulance, where he is mainly involved with teaching St John Cadets first aid skills. 

Coral Rees

Senior nurse manager and advanced paediatric nurse practitioner in primary care

Coral has been a qualified children’s nurse for over twenty-one years and within this time has worked for a variety of different NHS trusts both in England and Wales. She has a wide range of experience that has encompassed nursing children and young people with an array of medical and surgical conditions in several acute care settings and has recently been appointed into a senior nurse manager post in primary care, to develop ACP roles, but also continues to have a clinical role as an Advanced Paediatric Nurse Practitioner.

During the first few years of being qualified, Coral developed a keen interest in the extended roles and skills that nurses were starting to perform. An aspiration to be an advanced nurse practitioner was beginning to develop. A change in her personal circumstances led her to move to Wales and within the first year of living here, she was successful appointed into a trainee APNP role within the Children’s Hospital for Wales. During this time, she has completed a BSc in Clinical Practice and MSc in Advanced Practice whilst pushing the boundaries of advanced clinical practice and developing the role further than ever originally anticipated within General Paediatrics. Before moving into primary care, Coral was the lead APNP within the Children’s Hospital for Wales and had developed a framework for advanced practice for Child Health within Cardiff and Vale UHB.

Coral also completed a two-year part-time secondment as an Associate Lecturer at Cardiff University from 2014-2016 and achieved her PGCE in healthcare and has been registered as a nurse teacher with the NMC since 2017.

Coral is passionate about advanced practice and is looking forward to working with the ANP forum steering group.

Josie Tuck

Project Lead for Advanced Practice, Dorset Health Care NHS Trust

Josie is a registered mental health nurse who has worked across acute, inpatient and community mental health settings since completing her initial registration in 2006. She provides high quality care for people in distress who access mental health services and incorporates psychological and recovery approaches into her daily practice. She trained as a Dialectical Behaviour Therapist in 2009 and is a member of the Society for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy UK. Josie since completed her MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice and spent time working in a general practice before returning to mental health services where she continues to work clinically as an advanced clinical practitioner.

Alongside her clinical work, Josie is Project Lead for advanced practice in Dorset Health Care NHS Trust, and also holds a lecturer position at Bournemouth University where she teaches a variety of health professionals on pre and post registration courses across academic levels. She recently commenced her doctoral studies and hopes to contribute to the growing body of research around advanced practice.