Esin Turkaslan PFHEA is an Associate Professor and Cluster Lead for Physiotherapy and Physician Associate Studies at Buckinghamshire New University, providing strategic leadership across healthcare education, workforce development, placement expansion, interdisciplinary learning, and clinical innovation.

A Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), Consultant Physiotherapist, Independent Prescriber, CSP Education Consultant, and NIHR Predoctoral Award Committee Member (Primary Care), Esin contributes nationally to healthcare education, workforce-readiness, placement development, and quality assurance initiatives. She also serves as Editor for Transplant and Transfusion and is affiliated with the HCPC, CSP, AACP, RCP, and IBMS.

Her leadership has driven major programme transformation, including securing General Medical Council (GMC) approval for the Physician Associate programme, expanding regional placement partnerships across primary and secondary care, and leading significant improvements in student attainment, employability, and workforce-readiness outcomes across healthcare disciplines. Her strategic leadership and educational innovation have been recognised through the BNU Civic Award (2024, 2025), Leadership in Learning and Teaching Award, Innovation Fund Award, and externally funded collaborative workforce-readiness projects across London healthcare education providers.

Her research and scholarly activity focus on workforce readiness, placement sustainability, assessment standardisation, preparedness for practice, professional identity formation, and interdisciplinary healthcare education. Her doctoral research examines Physician Associate students’ preparedness for primary care practice within evolving healthcare systems and workforce transformation agendas.

Esin contributes nationally to workforce and healthcare education policy through strategic roles including NIHR peer reviewer, external examiner, QAA reference group member, CSP Education Consultant, and member of the UK Physician Associate Council Education and Research Groups.

With over 22 years of NHS, clinical, and higher education leadership experience, Esin has held senior roles across musculoskeletal services, trauma and orthopaedics, oncology, palliative care, primary care, and advanced clinical practice. She is particularly passionate about sustainable workforce development, placement infrastructure, and community-integrated education models that strengthen practice-ready graduate development and regional healthcare capacity. She is currently leading development of the Primary Care Education Centre initiative — a multidisciplinary model integrating education, workforce development, clinical service innovation, and regional healthcare partnerships.