Rebecca Kearney
On Thursday 21 January we were joined by Professor Kearney who shared her perspectives on being a full-time working mum of three children (7, 5 and 3yrs) and reflected on the common question ‘Can women have it all?’.
In her seminar entitled 'Can women have it all? Experience and perspective from a Professor with three children', Professor Kearney gave a personal reflection of learning to bring her ‘whole self’ to work. She discussed her initial feelings of needing to fit into a male dominated environment. She looked at how the problem with fitting in, is that you are not yourself, you are not authentic, you are not being honest to those around you. Professor Kearney believes that these are all traits required for excellent leadership, and therefore how can others believe in your vision when you don’t believe in yourself and who you are?
Professor Kearney shared how she developed and evolved to combine her personal and professional sides. She explained how she was challenged most over the last eight years, during which she had a miscarriage and three full term pregnancies.
Biography
Rebecca is a Professor of trauma and orthopaedic rehabilitation and Associate Director of Warwick Clinical Trials Unit. She holds a joint appointment between University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and The University of Warwick as a clinical academic physiotherapist.
Professor Kearney leads the design and delivery of clinical trials that evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions in the area of trauma and orthopaedic rehabilitation. She holds grants as Chief Investigator and co-applicant with a range of NIHR funding streams, including HTA, RfPB, EME and has held three Fellowships. Her research portfolio is predominantly pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trials that lead directly to patient benefit.
Supporting aspiring non-medical clinical academics is also a key role for Professor Kearney. She has supported successful NIHR ICA Fellowship applicants through the national NIHR ICA mentorship scheme. She has also successfully supported non-medical academics with completion of NIHR funded pre-doctoral and doctoral training awards.
