Policy Chapters - Australian College of Nursing

Policy Chapters

You are here:

Home
Policy
Policy Chapters

The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is excited to launch Policy Chapters in recognition of the constantly changing landscape of the provision of patient care and services within the Australian health and aged care systems. The aim is to provide opportunities for nursing leaders and experts to inform change and guide future directions through collaboration. Each Policy Chapter will then focus on a specific matter and draw on the specialised skills and expertise of members of the Australian College of Nursing and external stakeholders to work with and influence government and policy makers.

ACN is proud to announce our first four Policy Chapters:

Workforce sustainability
Healthy ageing
Chronic disease
End of life care

TERMS OF REFERENCE

FAQ

Policy Chapter Chairs

Professor Deborah Parker MACN

Healthy Ageing: Chair

» About me

Professor Deborah Parker is Professor of Nursing Aged Care (Dementia), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney. Prof Parker is a nursing academic who specialises in aged care, palliative care and dementia education and research. This work has been supported by over $35 million in competitive research funds, including NHMRC grants and fellowships; philanthropic grants and government and private tenders.

Prof Parker has extensive experience in national aged care knowledge translation research and has held conjoint clinical/academic appointments in aged care and health. She is President Elect NSW Palliative Care Council, Chair of the Palliative Care Nurses Association Aged Care Special Interest Group and Board Member of Leigh Place and Carrington Care.

» Collapse

Professor Lee Boyd MACN

Workforce Sustainability: Chair

» About me

Lee joined the Cabrini Executive as Executive Director of Nursing and Cabrini Institute in 2014. She has a clinical background in critical care and was appointed as Director of Education and Staff Development at Cabrini in 2012. She has over 20 years experience in health professional education and research. Previously, she worked at Monash University as Director of Academic Programs (Middle East) and Head of Department Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice.

Lee holds post graduate qualifications in Education and Critical Care from Monash University and a Masters in Tertiary Education Management from Melbourne University. Her PhD investigated health program evaluation models. She is currently studying a Masters in Business Administration and supervises six PhD students. Lee is keen to facilitate a learning and research culture within Cabrini with a focus on safety and high quality care.

» Collapse

Professor Patsy Yates FACN

End Of Life Care: Chair

» About me

Professor Patsy Yates, PhD, RN, FACN, FAAN is jointly appointed as Head, School of Nursing at Queensland University of Technology and Director for Queensland Health’s Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (CPCRE). Professor Yates leads a large competitively funded research program focused on developing workforce capacity in palliative care, and strengthening the nexus between research, policy and practice in palliative care.

Patsy is the immediate Past-President of Palliative Care Australia and is President-Elect of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. She is a Fellow of both the Australian College of Nursing and the American Academy of Nursing.

» Collapse

Professor Lisa Whitehead MACN

Chronic Disease: Chair

» About me

Lisa’s research experience over the past 23 years has centred on improving health outcomes for people living with chronic conditions, self-management interventions and working with families to support the management of chronic conditions. Engagement with clinicians and conducting research in real world settings underpin all of her research activities with the aim to implement enduring evidence based change in practice. The majority of Lisa’s research and clinical practice has been in the primary health care setting and collaborations are always multidisciplinary. In her role as Professor of Nursing Research, at Edith Cowan University (ECU), Western Australia, Lisa leads the research group “Improving health outcomes for people living with chronic conditions”. Lisa also holds the roles of Associate Dean Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Director of the Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Services Research, ECU and is an honorary professor of research at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Previous positions include the roles of Head of Department and Director of the Strategy to Advance Research (STAR) in nursing and allied health, a national initiative funded by the New Zealand government.

Lisa has been awarded over $5 million in research funding during her career and is currently an investigator on an $1.11 million grant to explore factors predicting regression from pre-diabetes to normal glucose regulation, funded by the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand.

» Collapse

Policy Chapter Deputy Chairs

Ms Nancy Arnold MACN

Healthy Ageing: Deputy Chair

» About me

Nancy Arnold is a registered nurse with more than 25 years in the Tasmanian healthcare system and an active member of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN). Nancy has been the key contact for Southern Tasmania region of ACN since 2013. Over her professional career, Nancy has worked in rural, regional and metropolitan facilities across Tasmania.

She has held a number of positions including Clinical Nurse Educator, Project Manager, Safety and Quality Manager and is currently the Director of Care of a community based organisation. Her current work requires an understanding of clinical governance including patient safety, professional regulation and accreditation, governmental policy, capabilities in management, finance, research and education.

Nancy has a passion for ensuring our next generation of nurses are well equipped to face the future. She believes that the profession of nursing offers diversity and opportunities to lead and make a difference to the national health landscape not only now, but also into the future.

» Collapse

Adjunct Associate Professor Alanna Geary MACN

Workforce Sustainability: Deputy Chair

» About me

Adjunct Associate Professor Alanna Geary is the Executive Director Nursing & Midwifery Services (EDNMS) Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital and Metro North Hospital & Health Service.

Alanna has been the EDNMS of Metro North Hospital and Health Services and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for the past three years but has worked in Queensland Health for 36 years. Alanna was a hospital trained nurse and midwife completing General Nursing Training 1984, Midwifery in 1988, Bachelor of Nursing in 1994 and a Masters of Health Science in 2001. Alanna is a member of the Australian College of Nursing, Australian Institute of Company Directors and Board member of the RBWH Foundation. She was recently elected to be the Deputy Chair of the Queensland Executive Directors of Nursing and Midwifery Forum.

» Collapse

Doctor Melissa Bloomer FACN

End Of Life Care: Deputy Chair

» About me

Dr Melissa Bloomer has been registered as a nurse for 23 years and a Fellow and Member of the Australian College of Nursing for the last nine years. Melissa holds an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University, Melbourne.

Melissa’s research focuses on end-of-life care across the lifespan from newborns to older people; and across multiple practice settings including acute care, adult and paediatric critical care, subacute care and rehabilitation. With expertise in qualitative and mixed method research, Melissa’s program of research aims to increase awareness of the challenges associated with the end-of-life care provision in Australia. Her work has explored recognition of dying, clinician preparedness, patterns of death in public and private hospital settings, end-of-life communication and decision-making.

» Collapse

Ms Robyn Quinn MACN

Chronic Disease: Deputy Chair

» About me

Robyn is the General Manager of Sydney Pain Management Centre at Parramatta and Sydney Adventist Hospital a position she has held for over 20 years. Robyn initially commence as the clinical co-ordinator for the patients but after completing an MBA advanced to General Manager of the Centres.

Over this time Robyn has been closely involved with the advancement of Pain Management. Robyn was the first nurse and female to be a council Member of the Australian Pain Society, a member of the International Association of Pain Taskforce for Guidelines for Nurse Pain Curriculum.

Robyn is also closely involved in the area of Quality Management in Health and has been President of the Australian Association of Quality Healthcare for the past two years.

» Collapse