Dr. Peter Kelly

Biography

Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing Peter Kelly obtained his PhD from University College Cork. Prior to this, he completed his MSc in Clinical and Public Health Aspects of Addiction at Kings College London. His undergraduate nursing qualifications were obtained at the University of West London and Waterford Institute of Technology. In addition to this, he holds a Diploma in Drug Counselling Theory and Intervention Skills from University College Dublin. His research interests include substance misuse, workforce development, implementation science and mental health. His PhD study explored the relationship between organisational readiness to change and; (i) innovation adoption (ii) service user engagement, in community opiate substitute prescribing services in Ireland. Principal teaching scholarship interests include curriculum development for professional practice and inter-professional teaching and learning. He has led the re-design and accreditation of post graduate nursing programmes and is currently the course coordinator for the mental health nursing post graduate programme at the school. He has successfully supervised and examined a number of MSc students. He has held an external examiner role in the UK and currently holds one in Ireland. Since qualifying as a mental health nurse in 2001, Peter has spent the majority of his clinical career working in substance misuse treatment services where he has held posts in both Ireland and the UK as a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner and senior manager. In 2009, as a Royal College of Nursing Steward in the UK, Peter established a national network for addiction nurses and he chaired quarterly meetings between this group and the Department of Health professional Leadership Team (UK) for two years. Peter was a founding member and the first president of The Ireland Chapter of The International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) which was founded in 2016 as the first chapter outside of the US. In his role as chapter president he contributed to the Irish National Drugs Strategy (2017) as a member of the continuum of care focus group. He continues to contribute to national drug policy as a member of a working group at the Department of Health aimed at expanding the role of nurses in substance misuse services. Peter currently sits as a ministerial invite to The National Oversight Committee for The National Drugs Strategy at The Department of Health as a clinical expert in nursing and substance misuse. In 2023, Peter was invited to present to the Citizens Assembly on Drugs and recommendations related to his presentation were subsequently voted in to the final report.