Written by Jane Arezina, former colleague at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust and the University of Leeds.
Sandra Morrissey, lecturer, sonographer and radiographer passed away at home on 28 May surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband Stephen and their two children.
Sandra trained as a radiographer at the Royal Free Hospital School of Radiography in London, qualifying in 1982 then worked as a radiographer in Balham until she commenced her sonography training at Middlesex and University College Hospitals School of Radiography in 1986.
Following qualification as a sonographer, Sandra worked at several hospitals including Leeds General Infirmary, where she established the Fetal Assessment and Early Pregnancy Unit in 1992 in collaboration with the consultant obstetrician, Professor Gerald Mason. Sandra’s most recent clinical post (from 1999 until 2022) was at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust (MY) as an advanced practitioner sonographer, where she also gained nine years of managerial experience.
During this time, she was involved in the training of a wide range of different healthcare professionals, and she was an active member of the Radiology Research Team at MY and completed a one-year secondment as a research sonographer with them.
Sandra was a member of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) and the Society and College of Radiographers for many years and participated in a wide range of professional activities.
She presented at the BMUS Scientific Meeting in 2014 and in 2016, when she was awarded the accolade of ‘Best Oral Presentation.’ She also published a number of articles (please see bibliography), was a member of the NICE Obstetric Clinical Guidelines Committee (in 2018) and was a peer reviewer for Ultrasound, the official journal of BMUS.
Sandra was enthusiastic about Continued Professional Development (CPD) and gained an MSc Managing in Health and Social Care at Bradford University in 2016. She then went on to complete a postgraduate Certificate (PGC) in Clinical Education at the University of Leeds, becoming a Fellow Higher Education Academy in July 2020.
In 2019, she was employed as a lecturer in medical ultrasound at the University of Leeds after a stint as an associate lecturer, clinical mentor and external examiner at Sheffield Hallam University. Sandra contributed to the revalidation of the suite of postgraduate DI programmes at Leeds in 2021 and the first undergraduate BSc (Hons) Medical Ultrasound (Sonography) programme to be validated by the Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) in 2022.
Sandra was a fashionista with a penchant for the quirky. Her collection of colourful DMs [Dr Martens boots] and matching tights were legendary at the university, as were her ultrasound-inspired earrings; the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries being her most memorable.
She was also a keen gardener with an allotment, which she loved; everyone eagerly awaited her IKEA bags full of home-grown rhubarb that she brought to the university each year. Her love of puffins was renowned too; I am not sure whether she ever felt like she had too many puffin-inspired products, but she always seemed delighted to receive them.
Having said all that, Sandra was first and foremost a sonographer. She dedicated her professional life to the sonography cause and her passion for ultrasound shone through.
But most of all, Sandra was a very dear colleague and friend who will be sorely missed.
Bibliography
- MacInnes E, Morrissey S, Harris MA. My Introduction to Radiography Research. Imaging Therapy & Practice. July 2018
- Milner R, Harris M, Snaith B, Field L, Morrissey S. Letter in response to: Advanced and extended scope practice of radiographers: The Scottish perspective. Radiography 2016; 22:263
- Pierson J, Osborne C, Kan A, Morrissey S, Harris MA, Snaith B, Winter G, Wolstenhulme S. Letter re: Improving continuing professional development opportunities for radiographers: a single centre evaluation. Radiography 2017; 23:268
- Field L, Holdsworth G, Lindley S, Morrissey S, Sanz-Pat E. Letter re: Sonographer workforce ‘decapitation’. Radiography 2019;186-188
(Image: Sandra Morrissey)