Dr Alan Platt

Associate Professor

School: Healthcare and Nursing Sciences

I am an Associate Professor of Simulation-Based Education (SBE) in the School of Healthcare and Nursing Science at Northumbria University. I qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1988 and specialised in Critical Care where I was appointed as a charge nurse in 1998. During this time, I developed a keen interest in healthcare education and, in 2001, I was appointed as a lecturer practitioner in critical care and it was in this role that I developed my passion for SBE.

In 2006, I joined Northumbria University as a senior lecturer, which incorporated module lead and programme lead for a number of undergraduate programmes. This role also included the development of SBE in the undergraduate healthcare programmes. This led to me being recognised nationally and internationally for the development of SBE and, its integration into nursing curricula. In 2014, I was awarded the title of Teaching Fellow by Northumbria University, for my innovative SBE work, which in June 2016 further led to my appointment as an Associate Professor of SBE.

I completed my Professional Doctorate (Education) on the use of SBE in healthcare education in 2019, and over my SBE career, I have published and presented extensively at a national and international levels.

I am passionate about SBE, and I have 24 years experience in this field that includes a wealth of leadership experience in SBE. During this time, I served on the executive committee of the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) from 2010 – 2014 and worked as a National Simulation Development Officer (SDO). In recognition of my contribution to the development of SBE, I was awarded an ASPiH Fellowship in November 2017, and consulted on a number of national SBE initiatives.

In addition, I was vice president (Ad-interim) of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning – Chapter Europe (INACSL – Chapter Europe) from 2015 - 2019, and Chair of the Socity for Simulation in Europe's (SESAM's) Nursing Community of Practice from 2023 - 2025. Currently, following successful elections, I am on the executive committee of ASPiH with a remit for Standards and Accreditation.

Campus Address

Room D108, Coach Lane Campus West
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7XA

Email Alan

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Simulation-based Education as a learning and teaching methodology.
Instructional design and educational psychology theories in healthcare education.
Inter-professional education
Critical Care practice

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Advancing healthcare practice and education via data sharing: demonstrating the utility of open data by training an artificial intelligence model to assess cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills, Constable, M., Zhang, F., Conner, A., Monk, D., Rajsic, J., Ford, C., Park, L., Platt, A., Porteous, D., Grierson, L., Shum, H. 1 Feb 2025, In: Advances in Health Sciences Education
Launching the Donation, Retrieval and Transplantation Academy, Simpson, D., McGowan, O., Miller, C., Hubner, L., Gardiner, D., Gill, P., Platt, A. 19 Jun 2025, In: British Journal of Nursing
Principles of deceased organ donor management and optimisation: an innovative approach to specialist education, Mason, S., Reid, M., Platt, A. 23 Oct 2025, In: British Journal of Nursing
Study protocol for designing advanced critical care practitioner training in deceased organ donor optimisation, Diamond-Fox, S., Mason, S., Conway, H., Platt, A. Oct 2025, In: International Journal for Advancing Practice
An Exploration of the Use of Deliberate Practice in Team-Centered Healthcare Simulation-Based Education: An Integrative Review, Platt, A., Allan, J., Leader, C. 1 Sep 2024, In: Clinical Simulation in Nursing
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Performance:: Video, Demographic and Evaluation Data, 2023, Constable, M., Zhang, F., Conner, A., Monk, D., Rajsic, J., Ford, C., Park, L., Barker, S., Platt, A., Porteous, D., Grierson, L., Shum, H. 30 Apr 2024
Editorial 6(SI1): Simulation in higher education, Murray, J., Platt, A., Allan, J. 4 Mar 2024, In: Journal Of Applied Learning and Teaching
Preparing for Practice, the Effects of Repeated Immersive Simulation on The Knowledge and Self-Efficacy of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Platt, A., Allan, J., Leader, C., Prescott-Clements, L., McMeekin, P. 1 Jan 2024, In: Nurse Education in Practice
116.1: The principles of donor management and optimisation: An online education package making a real difference, Reid, M., Mason, S., Platt, A. 16 Oct 2023, In: Transplantation
312.3: The use of evidence-based research and high-fidelity simulation to educate and empower the specialist nurse workforce within donor management and optimisation in the United Kingdom, Mason, S., Reid, M., Platt, A. 16 Oct 2023, In: Transplantation

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Membership of board: The Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (External organisation) 2024
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: ASPiH 2024 Annual Conference 2024
Invited talk: The impact of a blended education programme developed through collaborative partnership working across an NHS and Higher Education organisation to educate and empower a Specialist Nurse - Organ Donation workforce. 2024
Invited talk: The Road to Quality Simulation: A collaborative workshop with the SESAM’s Nursing Community of Practice and the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL). 2024
Invited talk: Case study - Northumbria University 2023
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: North East Simulation network Conference 2023
Membership of board: SESAM's (Society for Simulation in Europe) Nursing Community of Practice (External organisation) 2023
Invited talk: Simulated Practice Learning in a UK Nursing Curriculum: Integrating Research and Practice 2023
Invited talk: Sim-biosis - linking research and educational practice 2023
Hosting an academic visitor: Frances McGill 2023

Further Information

Professional Activity:

Executive committee member of Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) with a remit for Standards and Accreditation.
Chair of SESAM's (Society for Simulation in Europe) Nursing Community of Practice
Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare, Fellow
Health Education England North East (HENE) Regional Simulation Steering Group, Northumbria University representative
Society in Europe for Simulation Allied to Medicine (SESAM), member

Previous activity

The UK National Simulation Reference Group, Nursing and University representative
British Association of Critical Care Nurses, member
Vice president (Ad-interim) - the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning – Chapter Europe (INACSL – Chapter Europe), 2015 – 2019
International Facilitator - The International Nursing Association for Simulated Clinical Learning (INACSL) -CAE Healthcare Simulation Fellowship, 2015 -2017
Executive committee member - Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH), 2010 – 2014
National Simulation Development Officer (SDO) - Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) from 2014 – 2016