Key details
Sonya Stocker
Lecturer in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing
Sonya Stocker joined the School of Health Sciences at the University of Greenwich as a lecturer on the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) program in April 2024. With over 25 years in nursing her clinical experience spans children’s nursing in both acute and community settings, including roles in paediatric emergency departments, community nursing and intensive care. Transitioning into public health, Sonya worked as a health visitor for several years, establishing a successful breastfeeding café in 2010. Returning to the acute sector, Sonya spent the last 13 years of her clinical career as Senior Sister in the Safeguarding Children’s Team, pioneering the integration of virtual reality simulations in safeguardingtraining. Her innovative work earned national recognition, winning the Best Use of Workplace Technology at the Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards in 2022.
Building on her extensive clinical background and achievements in integrating technology with healthcare training, Sonya completed a Master’s degree in Advanced Child Protection with distinction. Her dissertation focused on the potential of immersive simulations to enhance safeguarding training, underscoring her ongoing commitment to using innovative solutions for educational excellence. Now at the University of Greenwich, Sonya aims to merge her rich clinical insights and ground-breaking approaches to inspire and prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Posts Previously Held
- 2010 - 2024 Senior Sister, Safeguarding Children, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
- 2007 - 2010 Health Visitor, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- 2006 - 2007 Student Health Visitor, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- 2006 - Community Children’s Nurse, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- 2002- 2006 – Children’s Nurse, Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust
Awards
Sonya was chosen to judge and present the category ‘Best Use of Workplace Technology’ at the 2023 Nursing Times Workforce Awards after winning the award with her team in 2022, for pioneering the use of virtual reality in safeguarding training.
Research / Scholarly interests
Having completed her master's dissertation on the potential of virtual simulations to enhance safeguarding training for healthcare professionals from a systems psychodynamic perspective, Sonya is interested in further developing sophisticated simulation scenarios. Her goal is to improve healthcare professionals' emotional intelligence in safeguarding by creating immersive and effective learning environments that improve their ability to identify and respond to safeguarding issues.