MEET MENTAL HEALTH NURSING EXPERT WITNESS, SUSAN BOERGER
Please meet Susan Boerger, the latest member to join our team of care experts. Susan has over 30 years of experience in both general and mental health nursing. Her specialities are brain injury rehabilitation, acute psychiatry, and learning disability services. She is a nurse prescriber with a special interest in chronic pain management post-trauma. Susan has worked in both the UK and the USA throughout her career. Susan works for Jane James & Associates as an independent Expert Witness taking instructions from both Claimants and Defendants for full care reports and aids and equipment reports.
EARLY LIFE
Susan was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, but as her father worked as an aero engineer for Rolls-Royce, the family left Glasgow to travel the world when she was six months old. Susan spent her childhood in India, Norway, and Japan, where she completed her high school education. She later returned to the UK to attend university and earned a BA in Japanese Language and Translation.
A CAREER IN NURSING
Susan's path to nursing began when she cared for her parents, which sparked her passion for the profession. After completing her nurse training and qualifying, she started her career in general nursing with the NHS at Northern General and Hallamshire Hospitals in Sheffield. Later, she transitioned to mental health nursing at Middlewood in Sheffield, which was formerly a Victorian asylum. Susan enjoyed living in Sheffield and loved the Dales, so her next move was to Rotherham, where she worked in a new hospital with patients struggling with a variety of addictions.
Susan moved to the Isle of Wight in 1995, primarily for scuba diving and sailing. She worked at St. Mary's Hospital, where she opened a new addictions service and managed the child and adolescent mental health services. While there, she completed her Master's degree in dual diagnosis. A new opportunity arose in London, prompting Susan to leave the Isle of Wight for a position at the Healthcare Commission as a healthcare inspector of psychiatric and addictions units. She was tasked with designing the inspection process for these units and found the role both interesting and frustrating. The requirement to conduct inspections electronically highlighted the challenges of mental health assessment, as it is not a simple tick-box exercise, revealing that priorities in the field were often misplaced.
Susan decided it was time to move on, so she accepted a position as a nurse consultant at Brighton General Hospital. This was a remarkable role, as she was one of only a few nurse consultants in the UK at that time.
A REKINDLED RELATIONSHIP AND A MOVE TO THE USA
While in Brighton, Susan reconnected with her childhood sweetheart after receiving an email from him 33 years after they first met in high school in Japan. They quickly revived their relationship and began a long-distance romance, as he lived in the USA. Susan decided to leave the UK for a new life in the USA, where her skills were highly transferable and in demand. From 2007 to 2018, Susan worked in psychiatric hospitals, ultimately becoming the clinical director at one of the largest psychiatric facilities in Seattle.
RETURNING TO THE UK
In 2018, Susan and her husband returned to the UK for family reasons and purchased a couple of acres of land near Skegness and Mablethorpe. During this time, Susan took on a contract with Navigo NHS, where she was tasked with opening an acquired brain injury unit in Grimsby. While working on this project, she also studied and worked part-time with the crisis intervention team for the Lincolnshire Partners NHS Trust, maintaining her clinical skills and keeping up to date with new interventions. Susan worked at home completing PIP assessments on behalf of the DWP and was introduced to case management by a colleague. As a case manager, she supports adults within litigation who have suffered life-changing injuries.
THE BRIDGE TO EXPERT WITNESS WORK
Susan saw JJ&A’s advertisement on LinkedIn and felt quantum reporting would be a good fit for her skills. She was successful at her interview and joined JJ&A’s quantum team of experts late last year. From the start, Susan’s interactions with the JJ&A team have been welcoming and efficient. Given the warm welcome received, she feels confident that the team will support her in producing high-quality reports and believes working with JJ&A will be an empowering experience.
IN HER SPARE TIME
Susan loves the flexibility her work gives her. In her spare time, she loves to travel and play golf and especially loves anything to do with water including open-water swimming and scuba diving. She also loves watching old Japanese movies. Susan has two dogs, two cats, and one rescued feral kitten named Sid Vicious!
Susan has over 30 years of experience in both general and mental health nursing. Her specialities are head and brain injury rehabilitation, acute psychiatry, and learning disability services. She is a nurse prescriber with a special interest in chronic pain management, post-trauma. Susan has worked in both the UK and the USA throughout her career.
Susan works for Jane James & Associates as an independent Expert Witness taking instructions from both Claimants and Defendants for full care reports and aids and equipment reports. You can find Susan’s full profile on our website.
