Currently I hold the position of Professor of Nursing at James Cook University (JCU), Cairns and Director of Research and Research Training for the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition, as well as Associate Dean of Research Training for the University. My research and interests in the Pacific and tropical areas have led to my invited membership of the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance (QTHA) and Fellowship of the Cairns Institute – a Centre set up to support research on underserved populations.

I originally trained as a mental health nurse in the Hunter Region at Morisset Hospital during the 70s and worked in both public and private mental health settings before I took a Tutor position at Newcastle University (then the CAE). In 1993 I moved to Townsville, where I took on the position of lecturer at JCU. Since joining the academy, my research interests have included psychotropic medications, reflective practice, Indigenous health and mental health, and nursing workforce issues. I have also developed expertise in a variety of qualitative methodologies and am now working with students using Indigenous approaches to research. During my time in academia I have supervised 11 students to PhD completion and currently have 15 students enrolled under my guidance. I have published widely in mental health and other areas and released a text on psychotropic medications in 2009 with co-authors Associate Professors Kim Foster and Shane Bullock. I am currently an editor for the Collegian Journal and review for many journals across a variety of areas.

During the past 10 years, I have been closely involved with nursing at an international level and have worked with groups such as the World Health Organization, AusAID, the Global Alliance for Nursing Education, and the Asia Pacific Emergency Disaster Nursing Network. This work has taken me to many tropical locations across the Pacific, where I have had the opportunity of leading changes in nursing education and helped to establish mental health nursing courses. I have been involved with the College since the very early days, attending the second conference, and taking a leading role in the establishment of the now very successful North Queensland Sub-Branch. I have served a previous term as Board member and am strongly committed to the College, and the interests of mental health nurses and consumers.