Dr Ricky Hellyar

Senior Lecturer in Healthcare · Co-founder, ReflectionGuide
Professional Doctorate · MSc Critical Care · PGCHEd · RCN Wales Digital & Innovation Award Winner

Ricky Hellyar is a nurse academic with over two decades in clinical practice and higher education. He is a Senior Lecturer at Birmingham Newman University and spent thirteen years at Cardiff University's School of Healthcare Sciences, teaching reflective practice and professional development from undergraduate to doctoral level.

Before moving into education, Ricky spent nine years as a Staff Nurse in Critical Care and managed clinical research teams focused on Haematology and Haemophilia. He holds a Professional Doctorate in Advanced Healthcare Practice from Cardiff University, an MSc in Critical Care Medicine, and a PGCHEd.

His teaching has taken him to the Middle East, the Caribbean, and across Europe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was part of the Cardiff University team that delivered critical care training to over 200 NHS staff, and helped develop a COVID-19 education programme for healthcare professionals across Namibia.

Ricky created the Behind the Healthcare Statistic Podcast Project — a multi-disciplinary series that reached listeners in over 50 countries and earned the Royal College of Nursing Wales Digital & Innovation Award.

He co-founded ReflectionGuide to give nurses, midwives, and healthcare students a structured, private, and genuinely useful tool for reflective writing — built on the same frameworks he has taught throughout his career.

Articles by Ricky draw on direct clinical experience, thirteen years in nurse education, and a career spent helping healthcare professionals reflect, develop, and revalidate with confidence.