A YORK nurse has been chosen to advise health professionals throughout the country on how to make the right decisions about patient care.

Karen Cowley, 30, of Woodthorpe, York, has been a practice development nurse at York Hospital for two years.

Now she has been appointed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to the independent advisory board, which will allow her to use her expert knowledge to develop clinical guidelines.

The guidelines produced by NICE assist organisations throughout the NHS on the delivery of best care for patients.

Karen said: "I am very excited about being appointed to the post.

"I have always been passionate about best practice for our patients. This will give me the opportunity to take the next step; from influencing patient care at a local level to taking up a nation-wide role. It will complement my current job enormously."

Recently, NICE created a number of independent guideline review panels. These report back to NICE's Guidelines Advisory Committee Board.

Karen will be on the review panel for the National Collaborating Centre for Nursing.

Mike Proctor, director of nursing with York Health Services NHS Trust, said: "I am delighted for Karen, the trust and NICE.

"Karen is a key member of the practice development team and has been instrumental in developing nursing at the trust."

Updated: 08:56 Tuesday, March 25, 2003