Julia McAdam has worked as a Macmillan Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist in Shropshire for 16 years. Prior to that, she worked in haematology and oncology departments, and as a ward sister at her local hospice. In 2014, she was given the opportunity to cover the role of Lead Cancer Nurse for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. This led to numerous leadership opportunities within the trust, and in particular the relationship that was established during 2015 with St George’s Hospital in London, as part of the NHS IQ Buddy programme.

She is an active member of the West Midlands Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses, stepping down as Chair in June 2018. The West Midlands forum promotes research and innovation, and encourages peer support for approximately 40 Clinical Nurse Specialists across the region. More recently, the group has extended the membership to a Lung Cancer Specialist Radiographer and a Lung Cancer Research Nurse Specialist, which has allowed it to look at different roles and work more collaboratively with our tertiary centres.

In 2016, she and her colleagues launched the Lung Support Programme at their hospital. The aim of the programme is to support lung cancer patients with the holistic elements of their care needs, as well as introducing a physical activity facilitator to help promote their treatment recovery. This innovation came after colleagues had learned of a similar project at the National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) conference in Windsor.

She earned an MA in Medical Ethics and Law from Keele University in 2007 and has just completed a Non-Medical Prescribing module (at Wolverhampton University) in order to improve the current nurse-led services offered to patients.