Dr Christensen has been a nurse academic and clinician for over 30 years. His area of clinical and research experience is in intensive care nursing practice and education. He is an accomplished qualitative researcher with expertise in descriptive phenomenology.

Dr Christensen is currently the Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Qualitative Research within the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. His programme of research centers on qualitative methodologies and applying these into a clinical and social context. He also has extensive in critical care nursing practice, research and education as well as actively researching teaching and learning and evaluating innovative practices that enhance student understanding, application and intergration.  

Dr Christensen's experience and expertise in teaching the following subjects:

• Critical Care Nursing
• Advanced Nursing Research (Qualitative)
• Practice Development

Dr Christensen's teaching philosophy is focused on enabling and empowering both under-graduate and post-graduate students to become effective caring empathic clinicians and researchers. His skill as a teacher and educator is enabling students to realise their potential and construct new experiences that have meaning for them in a wider context. This is especially true in nursing where some students are unable to integrate what they know with what they see. By making them responsible and take ownership for their learning allows them to grow professionally and personally. Moreover, he believes empowering learning allows students to challenge and be creative critical thinkers. Dr Christensen is opposed to the idea that knowledge wields power. He firmly believes that knowledge especially in nursing should be used to proactively promote patient well-being and person-centred care first and foremost and the ongoing professional development of nursing; in this regard he is particularly attracted to and consciously practices the pneumonic TEAM – ‘together everyone achieves more’ in the way he teaches, undertakes research and supports colleagues.