I am an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences. I have a long history in academia. My teaching has largely revolved around mental health, my expertise, and I have taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level. I have also been involved in governance, being an undergraduate and postgraduate Unit Coordinator and a Deputy Dean (learning and teaching). I now supervise a number of Research Higher Degree students. Their topic areas range from illness experiences to education.
I am a mental health nurse and have been since the 1980s. I am also a general nurse. These together have informed where I am today. My mental health nursing engendered a strong sense of equity and human rights and my general nursing inspired a curiosity about health generally and within higher education about how students learn.
Most of my higher education has been undertaken at CQU. While I undertook a Master's degree from UNE, I moved back to CQU to complete my PhD.
I have only (proudly) worked at CQU. I have never felt the need to move on as it is a wonderful university and espouses positive student values and promotes great learning experiences.
I am a member of the following professional organisations:
Australian College of Mental Health Nursing
Australian College of Nursing
HERDSA
Gaining my PhD. My PhD studied the beginning years of the inaugural lunatic asylum in Queensland. It was a social/cultural/political history based around four public inquiries. More recently, it has been seeing my RHD students being successful.
I am currently accredited for supervision in the following:
Other health sciences - Other health sciences not elsewhere classified