Louise Occomore-Kent

Overview

Louise Occomore-Kent is a Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) at City, University of London. She teaches pre- and post- registration SLT students on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the Division of Language and Communication Science, School of Health Sciences. She is Deputy Director for Professional Education and provides training for qualified SLTs to support students on clinical placements. Louise is Module Leader for SLM107 (Professional Studies) on the MSc Speech and Language Therapy programme. She lectures on the following modules:

- SLM105/SL2015- Dysphagia and voice disorders
- SL2012/SLM102- Biomedical Science (Head and Neck anatomy and physiology/ tracheostomy/ laryngectomy)
- SLM107/SLM205- Professional Studies

Louise is a HCPC and RCSLT registered Speech and Language Therapist. She has been working with adults with communication and swallowing impairments since 2006, most recently specialising in head and neck cancer, oncology and ENT/ voice disorders since 2008 as well as clinical leadership and service management in her previous role as Clinical Lead for Head and Neck/ENT SLT at Barts Health NHS Trust. She continues to hold an honorary contract there, supporting students on clinical placements and provide training for staff including nasendoscopy training, laryngectomy and voice prosthesis management training.

Louise has a research interest in novel models of SLT service delivery in head and neck cancer for which she was awarded an Innovation in Healthcare Award from Queen Mary, University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust. She is involved in a range of student research projects including cost effectiveness analysis of a novel SLT model of care, a web-based survey of independent dysphagia therapists and effectiveness of video resources for teaching voice techniques to students.

Louise is a member of the Voice and Head and Neck RCSLT Clinical Excellence Networks. She was previously committee secretary for the Adult Acquired Dysphagia Clinical Excellence Network (2010-2014). She is a member of the NIHR ENT SLT Subgroup.

Qualifications

• Associate Fellowship, Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom, Oct 2019
• MSc Speech and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom, Sep 2004 – Aug 2006
• BA Linguistics, University College London, United Kingdom, Sep 2000 – Jun 2003

Employment

• Lecturer, City, University of London, Jan 2017 – present

Awards

• School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City University of London (2022) Health's Got Talent Awards winner
  Presentation at awards ceremony forming part of a team entry by the Division of Language and Communication Science on the topic of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity.
• City, University of London's School of Health and Psychological Sciences Student Experience Committee (2022) Staff Enhancement of Student Experience Award
  Louise has been outstanding as a teacher this year. She has inspired me to go into an area of the profession that I never previously thought I would want to go into. Her classes are absolutely fantastic, and all of her students talk about how amazing she is. She has also been extremely supportive during a difficult time which I can’t thank her enough for.’
• City Students' Union (2022) Teaching Excellent Award
  Teaching Excellence Award, School of Health Sciences, Honorable Mention
• Queen Mary, University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust (2013) Innovation in Healthcare Award
  Awarded for successfully piloting and implementing a weekly SLT service in the radiotherapy clinic at St Bartholomew's Hospital for head and neck cancer patients leading to improved patient outcomes and cost effectiveness.

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