BMA Medical Book Award for Lancaster University PhD student

A Lancaster postgraduate student has co-authored a book on palliative care and Covid-19 which has won a prize from the British Medical Association.
Lancaster postgraduate student Tania Blackmore has co-authored a book on palliative care and Covid19 which has won a prize from the British Medical Association.Lancaster postgraduate student Tania Blackmore has co-authored a book on palliative care and Covid19 which has won a prize from the British Medical Association.
Lancaster postgraduate student Tania Blackmore has co-authored a book on palliative care and Covid19 which has won a prize from the British Medical Association.

Tania Blackmore has worked in palliative care for over 30 years. She is a senior clinical nurse specialist at the Heart of Kent hospice and also a PhD research student at the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University.

With Georgina Parker, Tania has co-authored a book entitled “Community Palliative Care and Covid19” which has won a BMA Book Award in the Covid19 category.

Tania said she was thrilled to have won.

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She said: “We hope by winning this award that we raise the profile of palliative care in the community by providing a useful resource for frontline healthcare professionals. We also hope that by winning the award that it really highlights the importance of the work that hospices do.”

She decided to write the book while volunteering at the hospice during the early days of the pandemic.

“Healthcare professionals that work in the community were calling in and asking for advice on Covid symptom control in our palliative patients and so I realised there was a need to have all the concise information in one place so that’s how the project came into fruition.”

Professor Nancy Preston Co-Director of the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University and Tania’s supervisor said: “Tania is exceptional in that she seamlessly combines clinical work, studying and writing. The books she produces have real world impact which has never been more important than now as we consider palliative care during the pandemic. We are incredibly proud of her and the well-deserved recognition this award gives her.”

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Since studying at the Observatory, Tania has co-authored and edited two books and this is her third.

She said: “It is important to me to make a difference in end of life care and my PhD studies have made me recognise that through clinical practice but also through rigorous, theory based research. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm and expertise of my supervisors and I feel privileged to be able to practise as a senior clinical nurse specialist and also be a PhD student at Lancaster University.”

Her co-author Georgina Parker who is lead palliative medicine consultant at Heart of Kent hospice said: “We believe accurate evidence based easily accessible medical literature is vital to improve patient outcomes. This is an essential guide for looking after palliative care patients outside of the hospital setting in the context of Covid-19. ”