Ms Theresa Harvey

Biography

Theresa’s nursing background has spanned many speciality areas which has assisted her to work and study throughout Australia and overseas. She has worked in a diversity of clinical areas including: Medical / surgical / community / adult intensive care / coronary care. As well as many years of experience as a practicing Midwife and Clinical Midwifery Facilitator/Educator. The variety of clinical experience she has provides her with a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw on as a nursing educator through academic leadership and lecturing. Theresa’s education and research focus is in undergraduate programs, specifically in relation to clinical experience and bridging the gap between theory and practice. She has a strong interest in creating a learning environment that facilitates the linkage between education and industry. Theresa also has an interest in developing and teaching transition into health care setting programs for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CaLD). In recent times her clinical education expertise has assisted her in developing and implementing Clinical Facilitator Workshops, not only for nursing supervisors but for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals in metropolitan and rural sites. Participants in these sessions work in fields such as: occupational therapy; dentistry; dietetics; physiotherapy; psychiatry; nursing; and speech therapy. The focus of the workshops is to assist participants to develop ‘general’ as well as CaLD student clinical supervision skills, and to then stimulate strategies that can be developed to overcome possible barriers and challenges. Her success in these endeavours is attributed to her strong leadership and mentoring abilities.

Project highlights

• 2011: Exploring the effect of a strategy that directs thinking for facilitating the development of advanced clinical reasoning and problem solving skills in third year nursing students engaged in high fidelity case-based simulation. Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Health internal research grant.
• 2009-2010: What real nurses do: Undergraduate students’ perceptions of clinical nursing education, Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Health internal research grant.
• 2009 -2010: Effective Transition for International Students Undertakingthe One Year Program Leading to Registration in Australia, Queensland University of Health internal research grant.
• 2008 – 2010: Strengthening nurse-led institutional capacity for in-service education and clinical teaching in Hanoi, Viet Nam, AUSAid Public Sector Linkages Program.