Dr Melrose Stewart PhD, MEd, FHEA, MCSP, HCPC (reg), Cert Ed.

• PhD in Cultural Competence 2012
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 2007
• Masters in Education 1991
• Certificate in Education 1980
• Diploma in Education 1980
• Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy 1976
• Health and Care Professions Council (reg)

Melrose Stewart qualified as a Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) in Bristol in 1976. She studied for a Certificate in Education and Diploma in Teaching Physiotherapy in 1980 at the University of Wolverhampton and successfully completed a Masters in Education at the University of Birmingham in 1991 and a PhD in 2012.

Following achievement of Membership of the CSP, she began her clinical career at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and eighteen months later achieved a senior position at Heartlands Hospital. Less than a year later she was invited to apply for a teaching position and was successful in achieving a position at the Queen Elizabeth School of Physiotherapy as student teacher. This position marked the start of a lifelong contribution to physiotherapy education and she achieved senior teacher status in 1995.

Melrose was programme director for the BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy at the University of Birmingham in 2004-8 and has taught widely across curricula.  The focus of her PhD thesis on cultural competence has been a major feature of her teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and she has received a number of invitations to speak nationally on the topic.

Melrose is a Health and Care Professionals Council registered practitioner and a previous Council Member of the CSP. She is a regular contributor to a variety of activities within the Society including diversity/inclusion and public health. She actively blends these developments with the undergraduate physiotherapy curriculum to assist students to achieve the uniqueness and distinctiveness of studying physiotherapy at the University of Birmingham. She is an academic on the international panel of experts with the Electrophysical Forum http://www.electrophysicalforum.org/academics and continues to assist students to develop critical analysis of physiotherapy practice within this and other fields.

In 2013, Melrose was elected as a Vice President of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and was re-elected in 2015.

Melrose was invited to be one of three experts on the phenomenally successful Channel 4 TV programme 'Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds' in 2017. She plans to continue to build on her work in health promotion to ensure that communities and individuals do not become isolated and to further inclusion as a goal.

Other recent activities include a TEDx talk entitled ‘Connecting Generations for Healthy Ageing’ and talks at the Thrive 2020 conference in Guernsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xePqSAo-Zhg and Exercise is Medicine Symposia, Wales 2018.

Melrose received a Distinguished Service Award from the CSP in 2017 in recognition for her services, in particular in the areas of equality and diversity

Melrose’s interests in research are closely linked to health promotion, equity and inclusion.

Her most recent contribution was the co-authored paper  ‘What happened when we introduced four-year olds to an old people’s home’ - Stewart, M., Johnson, M (2017) Old People’s Home for 4 year Olds. The Conversation (online) https://theconversation.com/what-happened-when-we-introduced-four-year-olds-to-an-old-peoples-home-82164  

Poster Presentation

2015 Evans, S. and Stewart M. (2015) Healthy lifestyles and behaviour change in nursing and physiotherapy students. Poster presentation World Confederation for Physical Therapy. Singapore 

• Ministry of Justice Tribunals Judiciary – Panel Member for Disability Appeals and Employment Tribunals
• Public Engagement