Army nurse first to gain university PhD

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Date: 22 May 2012

Time: 16:49

Army nurse first to gain university PhD

Story posted/last updated: 23 February 2011

A man who began his career as a porter at Selly Oak Hospital and went on to become the Senior Military Nurse at the same hospital, treating British casualties evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan, has become the first serving army nurse to gain a PhD from Birmingham City University.

Lieutenant Colonel Alan Finnegan received his doctorate on Monday at one of the university’s graduation ceremonies at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, honouring his research into factors leading to depression within the British Army.

Lt Col Finnegan qualified as a registered general nurse and registered mental health nurse, working in Birmingham at the Accident, Dudley Road, Highcroft and Sandwell Hospitals, before joining the army in 1987.

He then took a number of nursing-related posts within the army, including deployments in Iraq, Northern Ireland, Kosovo and South Africa and working on policy matters for the Ministry of Defence.

In 2004 he was promoted to Lt Col and employed as the Defence Specialist Nursing Advisor (Mental Health) before moving to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham, where he served as the Commanding Officer and as the unit’s Senior Military Nurse.

He has been a reviewer for the Healthcare Commission, is chairman of the Royal College of Nursing's Defence Forum, is an Honorary Lecturer at Birmingham City University and is well published in the area of military mental health.

Brought up in the Alum Rock area of Birmingham, Alan now lives in Chester. He is married to Sara and has two daughters, Kate and Beth. His main hobby is supporting Aston Villa Football Club, where he is a Holte End season ticket holder.