Nikolaos Efstathiou qualified with a degree in Nursing from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens in 1992. After completing 18 months of compulsory military service in a nursing capacity, he was awarded a grant from the Institution of Greek State Scholarships (I.K.Y) to study for an MSc in UK. In 1996, he started working as a critical care nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit in Athens. While working he continued studying part time for a PhD, which was completed in 2004.
The last 15 years, he is working as a nursing lecturer in Higher Educational Institutions in UK. Main areas of teaching include critical care nursing, anatomy and physiology, palliative and end of life care and research methods. Being interested in improving the student’s experience in the classroom, he has developed skills in simulated inter-professional teaching and the use of Audience Response System.
End-of-Life care is his research interest since he completed his PhD and has explored healthcare providers and users’ perceptions. He is also collaborating with clinicians from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust to improve end of life care through service evaluations and research initiatives.