Barbara Beard

Barbara Beard is a Senior Lecturer in End of Life Care at Sheffield Hallam University since 2008, with prior clinical experience in the UK, Canada, and Switzerland. She leads MSc modules on Loss, Grief and Bereavement, End of Life Decision Making, and Informed Consent in Health Care Practice. As a registered nurse and volunteer at St Luke's Hospice, she supports bereaved individuals and enhances palliative care standards. She received the 2012 International Journal of Palliative Nursing Educator of the Year award.

Her teaching includes the Sheffield Hallam Open Online Course: Conversations About End of Life Care, accessed by 1,000+ participants globally. She supervises MSc students in Dissertation, Work-Based Learning, and Personalised Study modules. Professional roles include external examiner at Liverpool John Moores University and member of academic misconduct panels.

Key research interests focus on ethical decision-making, bereavement support, communication skill development, and improving palliative care quality. She has contributed to course validation processes for undergraduate and postgraduate programs.