School of Nursing

• Welcome
• Areas of Expertise
• Research ... Making a difference
• Locations
• History

Welcome

Message from the Head of School

Professor Rhonda Griffiths AM

RN CM BEd(Nurs) MSc(Hons) Dr.PH
Head, School of Nursing and Midwifery

Welcome to the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney. I hope that you take the time to investigate our web site and make contact with us if you would like further information about the School or our courses.

Nursing and midwifery are rewarding professions that provide career opportunities in clinical, academic and business environments and challenge graduates to define and identify their own boundaries and horizons. The School of Nursing and Midwifery is a national leader in nursing education, research and scholarship. The School has the largest undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree course in Australia with over 2,000 students, nevertheless we provide individual attention to students on the campuses where nursing is offered.

The School strives to provide a contemporary and high quality approach to education to prepare graduates to practise and offers a range of undergraduate and post graduate courses, including some that are unique. The Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced)  degree course provides high achieving undergraduate students the opportunity to extend themselves intellectually and clinically. Some of the subjects in this course are undertaken with students from the Medical School and provide opportunities for future doctors and nurses to study and complete clinical placements together. Our Graduate Diploma in Midwifery program has been preparing midwives for over a decade and is complemented by the Master of Nursing (Child and Family Health - Karitane). The Master of Nursing (Mental Health Nurse Practitioner) is also a unique course that prepares mental heath nurses for nurse practitioner roles. I invite you to take time to investigate the courses listed on this site.

The School offers post graduate courses offshore in Hong Kong, and has over 200 international students studying on its Sydney campuses.

The School is a leader in nursing research with a number of academics awarded competitive grants from the National Health and Medical Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC). The School is committed to supporting nurse researchers and provides opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students to work with accomplished nurse researchers to develop research skills during their degree studies. I encourage you to follow the link on this page to Family and Community Health (FaCH) to obtain further information of the research activities of academics in the School. Information about the School supported research nodes (NIPPER, EXPO and Aged Care) is also included in the FaCH website where you will also find research profiles of some of the academics who will be guiding your studies.

The School has strong associations with Area Health Services in Western Sydney and has established collaborative research centres and projects. The School also has links with universities in USA, New Zealand, Thailand, China and the United Kingdom and a program of Visiting Professorships exposes students to distinguished nurses from around the globe. The New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Health Care  and the New South Wales Collaborating Centre for the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) is located in the School. The Joanna Briggs is a collaboration of international research centres, currently based in 26 countries, that was established in Adelaide, South Australia, for the purpose of developing evidence to inform nursing practice and disseminating findings to clinicians to enable them to base their practice on contemporary research. The involvement of the School with the JBI demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our students are aware of the most recent nursing research and have opportunities to develop skills in evidence based practice during their studies.

If you are interested in studying a challenging course in one of Australia’s leading schools of nursing and midwifery, I invite you to take time to look at this website, and if you would like further information, contact us  and we will be pleased to provide you with information about our courses.

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Areas of Expertise

The School of Nursing and Midwifery has a strong reputation for quality, relevant and contemporary professional education, and is supported in clinical education and research activities by strong links with the health service sector, particularly in Greater Western Sydney.

These national and regional ties are complemented by collaborative partnerships and active international links - we work with a range of partners to advance nursing education and research.

The school hosts FaCH, a research group which brings a multidisciplinary perspective to its work on two distinct yet complementary research streams: support for vulnerable families; and chronic and complex care.

The school also hosts Xi Omicron Chapter (349). Members of Xi Omicron Chapters are members of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI). The Xi Omicron Chapter is the only Chapter of STTI in Australia and is active under the leadership of Professor Esther Chang (President) and Sharon Bourgeois (Vice-President). Other Chapters are located in over 90 countries and territories worldwide.

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Related Documents

• Xi Omicron Student Endorsement Form [Acrobat Document: 23Kb]
• Xi Omicron Nurse Leader Endorsement Form [Acrobat Document: 22Kb]
• Xi Omicron Student Application Form [Acrobat Document: 22Kb]
• Xi Omicron Nurse Leader Application Form [Acrobat Document: 23Kb]
• Xi Omicron Board Members 2005-7 [Acrobat Document: 36Kb]
• Xi Omicron Brochure [Acrobat Document: 74Kb]
• Xi Omicron Information [MS Word Document: 32Kb]

Research ... Making a difference

Message from our School Research Director

Professor Esther Chang

The University of Western Sydney continues to have a strong record of achievement in publications, research grants and scholarly activities. Many of these are attracting local, national and international interest and facilitating new developments that are making a difference in modern life. The School of Nursing and Midwifery is making a major contribution to the growing field of nursing knowledge and health care research - boosting standards, and extending our understanding of phenomena of concern in this challenging and complex area health care.

Professor Esther Chang is leading a team of researchers to improve the care of patients with dementia. This project will develop, implement, evaluate and promote sustainability of a decision-making framework for advanced dementia care. Clinical Nurse Consultants from the Sydney West Area Health Service is working collaboratively with specialist aged/dementia nurses to develop the framework. Professor Chang has also led a research team to evaluate a family information booklet for family carers of people with dementia. To address this need for information, a booklet has been developed by the three partner organisations in consultation with dementia and aged care experts, providing information on what to expect as the dementia progresses. The link to the website is http://www.uws.edu.au/research/nforce/projects/2006

Dr Jane Cioffi

Dr Jane Cioffi is currently working with UWS and the Nursing Research Unit at Cumberland Hospital in Sydney West Area Health Service. Her research includes issues that are articulated around the following key themes: the culturally diverse in acute care, clinical decision-making in emergency situations, clients with chronic and complex conditions, models of care and health protection including occupational and male health, weight management and physical activity.

Professor Rhonda Griffiths AM

Professor Rhonda Griffiths’ research interest is the management of people with diabetes, and she has been extensively involved with the development of diabetes education in Australia. Her research includes professional development for diabetes educators, epidemiological studies, outcome studies, models of service provision, funding models and systematic reviews. At South West Sydney Area Health Service, her research has focused on community nursing and primary health. CANR is home to the New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Health Care which is the NSW Collaborating Centre of the Joanna Briggs Institute and works closely with the clinical facilities and clinicians across SSWAHS. The CANR team is headed up by Professor Rhonda Griffith and is active in the development and evaluation of evidence based guidelines as well as the publication of Systematic Reviews. CANR was established by the School of Nursing University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the Sydney South West Sydney Area Health Service (SSWAHS) and is based at the Liverpool Hospital which is a tertiary referral and teaching hospital affiliated with UWS and UNSW. For more information, please contact Professor Rhonda Griffiths or go to the CANR website at http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/SSWAHS/CANR

Professor Debra Jackson

Professor Debra Jackson is the leader of the FaCH University Research Group. She has a strong clinical and research background in children, adolescent and women’s health. Her doctoral research on women’s health was completed in 2000, and her major research efforts since then have been directed towards improving the health capacity of families and leadership/workforce issues in nursing. She is an experienced researcher who also has completed research and published work in a range of relevant areas including childhood obesity, adolescent drug use, family violence, parenting, particularly mothering and family support.

Professor Maree Johnson

Professor Maree Johnson has two key streams of research that include Parenting: Understanding the meanings, experiences and outcomes of transition to parenthood and the early childhood years and Developing practice: Improving care provided by nurses and midwives. This research is aimed at improving the health and well being of children and families in Greater Western Sydney, particularly vulnerable children and families during pregnancy and the early childhood years and to develop and test innovative models of integrated services.

Associate Professor Louise O’Brien

The Mental Health Research Unit is a joint initiative between the School of Nursing and Midwifery, UWS and the Sydney West Area Health Service and the unit is headed by Associate Professor Louise O’Brien. Research in the MHNRU is currently based around themes of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Early Psychosis with a focus on Clinical Decision Making Process and Early Intervention.

Associate Professor Virginia Schmied

Associate Professor Virginia Schmied has built a program of nursing and midwifery research using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to study the transition to parenthood, childbirth and parenting programs, breastfeeding, supporting parents with infants in neonatal nurseries, models of midwifery care and postnatal care and the role of child and family health nurse. More recently, she has undertaken or overseen work on child abuse and neglect, early intervention and models of service delivery for children and young people with behavioural and emotional problems in out-of-home care.

Professor Lesley Wilkes

The Clinical Nursing Research Unit Nepean Hospital is headed up by Professor Lesley Wilkes who has a well-established research program led by Professor Lesley Wilkes. The research team comprises of highly experienced researchers from UWS and Collaborators from Sydney West Area Health Service, Our Lady of Consolation Aged Care Society, Southern Cross Homes, Children’s Hospital Education Research Institute, Westmead and The Benevolent Society. Professor Lesley Wilkes’ research into ‘Cancer and Palliative Care’, ‘Chronic and Complex Care’ ‘Pastoral Care’, ‘Spiritual Needs of Families’, ‘Family Support in Health and Illness’, Dementia Care, and ‘Adolescent Health’.

Associate Professor Hannah Dahlen

Hannah Dahlen joined the School of Nursing in August 2008. Prior to this appointment she was employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick and the University of Technology (UTS), Sydney. She has also worked as a researcher with the Centre for Midwifery, Child and Family and Family Health, UTS. She has taught Midwifery at various universities in the past 10 years at Bachelor, Graduate Diploma and Masters levels.

Hannah has had a 20-year clinical career in midwifery. She has worked as a Clinical Midwifery Consultant and prior to this a clinical midwifery educator for the Sydney South Western Area Health Service.

Hannah has a strong profile in the profession of midwifery through her work as the Secretary of the NSW Midwives Association, a position she has held for over ten years. She is also a Fellow of the Australian College of Midwives. Hannah sits on several peak NSW State committees, such as the NSW Maternal and Perinatal Committee, the NSW Maternal and Perinatal Health Priority Taskforce and the Midwife Practice Committee (NSW Nurses and Midwives Board).

Hannah’s expertise in Midwifery is recognised through requests by secular parenting magazines and websites for comment on matters related to childbirth and also writes on various topics. Hannah is also the National Media Spokesperson for the Australian College of Midwives and comments regularly in the media on issues affecting the midwifery profession.

Hannah’s research is centred on the childbearing experience, in particular, ensuring that women can start motherhood in the healthiest state. Hannah has several research portfolios (see below). Hannah has published extensively, with 14 peer reviewed publications in the last two years. She has received grants and been involved in several large collaborative research projects.

 

Locations

The School of Nursing and Midwifery offers programs on Bankstown, Campbelltown, Hawkesbury and Parramatta campuses. For information about the programs we offer and their availability, please see the College of Health and Science course directory.

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History

The School of Nursing was established in January 2006 and will be known as the School of Nursing and Midwifery from January 2009. It was formerly known as the School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, which was created in 2001 following the merging of the Faculty of Health at UWS Hawkesbury, the Division of Nursing at UWS Macarthur, and the School of Nursing and Health at UWS Nepean.

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