Wilf was appointed Professor in Dignity of Care for Older People in August 2008. This post is a joint appointment between the Faculty of Health, Staffordshire University, and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Wilf graduated from the University of Hull as a Registered General Nurse in 1992 and he spent several years working in practice within a range of specialities including general medicine, gastroenterology and palliative care. His last post in practice before undertaking a career in Nurse Education was as a Senior Nurse in Care of the Older Person. Wilf has worked as a Nurse Lecturer at a number of Higher Education Institutions; Dumfries (Bell College of Technology), The University of York returning to The University of Hull as a Lecturer in Adult Nursing in 2001. Wilf has taught on the full range of academic programmes from pre-registration nursing through to the supervision of doctoral students. He continues to be involved in the teaching of spirituality to student nurses and other health care professionals. His innovative teaching methods have inspired and been adopted by colleagues and universities throughout the United Kingdom and abroad.

Wilf has an international reputation for his work in the area of spirituality and spiritual care. His interest in the spiritual dimension developed alongside a realisation that this aspect of care was neglected and forgotten by some health care professionals. This interest led him to register for a Master of Philosophy research degree titled – A descriptive survey of nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS); an attitudinal scale developed as part of this study has been used in over 11 countries and 45 research studies throughout the world.

Wilf has published books and articles addressing different aspects of the spiritual dimension. He is the author of 'Making Sense of Spirituality in Nursing and Health Care Practice' published by Jessica Kingsley. Wilf completed his doctoral studies at Leeds Metropolitan University in May 2005 researching ‘The Meaning of Spirituality and Spiritual Care: An investigation of health care professionals, patients and public’s perceptions. A paper published from this investigation was in the top 11 most cited articles in the Journal of Clinical Nursing between 2004 -2005, placed 4 out of 11.

Prior to being appointed to his current role, Wilf was a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Hull where he was also instrumental in creating with Colleagues the Centre for Spirituality Studies of which he was Director. Wilf believes that his work in the area of spirituality dovetails into the area of dignity in care. He is passionate about the reintegration of these dimensions within care and caring.