CENA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- TNP Consultant
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Co - Convenor )
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director
- Member of the CENA Board
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Vice President
- Co - Convenor )
- Member of Committee
Chantel ventured into Emergency nursing via General Medical, Major Trauma and Burns units in WA tertiary hospitals over 10 years ago. She is currently Nurse Manager for the South Metropolitan Health Service and WA Country Health Service Partnership Program, while also providing leadership as a senior Nurse in the Virtual Emergency Medicine (VEM) team, and the Paediatric and Adult ED at Fiona Stanley Hospital. She also has experience as a Clinical Nurse in ED Addiction, Prevention and Treatment, and Emergency Research focusing on falls prevention, dementia, and palliative care. Chantel has completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing and has an interest in disaster and tropical health.
Chantel became a member of CENA in 2015, is currently the WA Vice President, and became a National Board Director in 2019. Her CENA roles have included Co-Chair of the MRC and National ICEN Committee, member of the ICEN 2021 Online Committee, and was Co-Convenor for the successful ICEN 2023 in Perth. Chantel commenced the role of Administrative Director in 2021.
Chris Clarke graduated from the University of South Australia in 1994 and since that time he has worked in the emergency area in various roles. Chris spent 12 months in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2001 where he worked in the largest Emergency Department in the Middle East. In 2003, he commenced in his current position as Trauma Program Manager at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia. His main interests include: clinical management of major trauma; trauma quality improvement; clinical education; and research.
Chris' qualifications are as follows:
Bachelor of Nursing (University of South Australia)
Graduate Diploma in Emergency Nursing (University of Adelaide)
Masters of Nursing Science (University of Adelaide)
Graduate Certificate in Clinical Teaching (James Cook University)
Graduate Certificate in Aeromedical Retrievals (James Cook University)
Graduate Certificate in Research Methodologies (University of South Australia)
PhD Candidate (University of South Australia)
Chris has spoken at several national and international conferences as well as co-authored several trauma related journal articles and reviewed book chapters and journal manuscripts.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Member of Committee
- Professional Standards Committee
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- Senior Research Fellow at University of Queensland
Amy is a conjoint senior lecturer/senior research fellow at University of Queensland and Metro South Emergency, based at Princess Alexandra Hospital, after completing a 3 year position as conjoint senior research fellow between Gold Coast Health and Menzies Health Institute Queensland/School of Nursing and Midwifery Griffith University.
She is deeply committed to bringing research skills, confidence and capacity to emergency staff, focusing primarily on ED nurses. She is committed to exploring, developing and implementing evidence-based ED care strategies that enhance staff capacity, and enhance care delivery in local EDs. She is a widely published and cited academic and registered nurse with experience in a range of research techniques. Her love of clinical research is heartfelt and (hopefully) infectious. She is involved in HDR student supervision, onsite development of ED staff research skills and education for clinical staff and tertiary programs leading to registration.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of the Research Committee
- President
- Co - Convenor )
- Member of Committee
Dr Mills undertakes research and development of innovative technologies and high-fidelity simulations for education and training in pressurised environments. This includes development and evaluation of novel pathways for digital, augmented and virtual reality technology across health, defence, education and elite sport. Dr Mills also serves as the Edith Cowan University (ECU) School of Medical & Health Sciences (SMHS) Ethics Subcommittee Chair, the ECU Early-Mid Career Research Network Committee Co-Chair, is a committee member of the WA Country Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee, and sits on the executive committee of the WA Simulation in Healthcare Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Research Committee
- Senior Clinical Research Fellow
Bronwyn is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow, managing the Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research - QUT, based at the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane. Bronwyn worked as an emergency nurse, predominantly in paediatrics, for over 10 years before embarking on her PhD in 2009.
Her PhD identified the incidence and characteristics of low speed vehicle run overs in Queensland children, her findings influencing a statewide prevention campaign.After completing her PhD in 2014, Dr Griffin worked with the Collaborative Emergency Access Research (CLEAR) Group at the Princess Alexandra Hospital Brisbane, addressing the challenges of emergency patient flow using a combination of digital and clinical innovative solutions.
Eventually her path led back to children, commencing as the Clinical Research Manager for the Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research in 2015. Her program of work now integrates the spectrum of paediatric burn and trauma care from injury prevention/public health, first aid, acute care, scar management and psychosocial and cultural influences. Bronwyn's research has attracted over $600,000 and resulted in over 20 research publications.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Research Committee
- Member of Committee
With more than 30 years nursing experience, Cliff has spent the last 24 years as an emergency nurse, ED clinical nurse educator, university lecturer and researcher. Currently a Monash Nursing and Midwifery postdoctoral research fellow, Cliff's research interests focus on patient safety, deteriorating patient outcomes, emergency care, teamwork and evidence-based education.
Cliff's postdoctoral work is translational research aimed at improving outcomes for deteriorating ED patients and patients admitted to the ward via ED. In particular, he is exploring ED patient safety culture, ED specific rapid response systems and team roles. Cliff is also a core project team member of the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM), a valid, reliable and feasible measure of teamwork during resuscitation.
He has a very keen interest in collaborative interprofessional research and supporting graduate nurse researchers to reach their full potential. He is the course convener for the Monash Nursing and Midwifery Bachelor of Nursing (honours) course (a pathway to PhD candidacy) and has supervised/co-supervised several Master's and Honours students' research projects. Cliff is currently accepting supervision of new Honours, Master's and PhD students. Importantly, he is also very passionate about creating opportunities for clinicians with no research experience to investigate practical patient quality and safety issues.
Cliff is an active and engaged member of several national and international nursing associations, as well as a College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA) (VIC branch) committee member representing CENA (VIC branch) on the Australian Resuscitation Council (VIC branch) committee. He is also an international advisory board member of a highly ranked emergency nursing journal and a regular reviewer for several prominent nursing and emergency care journals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Research Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Research Committee
Jessamine Soderstrom is an Emergency Physician, Clinical Toxicologist at Royal Perth Hospital. A self-professed nerd with a desire for a sedate life in an adrenaline fuelled environment of an Emergency Department. As part of her ED portfolio, she is an advocate for the improvement of care for the mental health patients, working closely with the ED Mental Health team.Her area of research is in the area of recreational drug abuse.She has been involved in the development of EDNA (Emerging Drugs Network of Australia) which is a national registry for what recreational drugs are causing presentations to an Emergency Departments Australia.It is a lovely demonstration of how research complements clinical practice and informs it..
Marc Broadbent commenced working as an academic in 2005 following a career in critical care and emergency nursing. He has worked as a clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator and nurse manager in emergency departments (ED) within Australia and overseas.
Marc has published and presented both nationally and internationally in the area of emergency mental health triage and has completed his PhD that examined the factors that affect the relationship between emergency department and mental health triage nurses. The management of vulnerable populations in the ED, particularly those with a mental illness, is his research focus. Marc's work has been cited as the best available evidence for the triage of clients with mental illness in the Australian National Emergency Triage Training Kit. Marc is a member of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing and Associate Editor - Mental Health for the Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. Marc is currently an expert member of the Mental Health Advisory Group of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in HealthCare and is contributing to the development of national standards of care for mental health services.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Research Committee
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
- Research Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the CENA Board
- Co - Chair )
- Member of Committee
- National President
- National President NSW Branch Committee Member
Wayne Varndell is the Clinical Nurse Consultant at Prince of Wales Hospital Emergency Department, National President and NSW Branch Director for the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. He has held various educational and advanced practice roles in emergency nursing in Australia and the UK, and is an active academic within the field of emergency care and nursing.
His research interests include quality of care and illness experiences of individuals presenting to ED, the role of extended and advanced nursing practice models of care, and pain and sedation management of critically ill intubated patients in ED. He is an author of several academic texts. He has received over $1.1M in competitive research and project funding. In 2014, he was awarded Australasian Emergency Nurse of the Year.
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
- National Education Committee
Fiona Wood has been a burns surgeon and researcher for over 30 years and is Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA). She is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital; co-founder of the first skin cell laboratory in WA; Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at The University of Western Australia; and co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation (formerly The McComb Foundation).Professor Wood's greatest contribution and enduring legacy is her work with co-inventor Marie Stoner, pioneering the innovative ‘spray-on skin' technique (Recell), where today the technique is used worldwide. In October 2002, Fiona was propelled into the media spotlight when the largest proportion of survivors from the 2002 Bali bombings arrived in Perth where Fiona led the medical team at Royal Perth Hospital to save many lives. Fiona was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003. In 2004 she was awarded the Western Australia Citizen of the Year award for her contribution to Medicine in the field of burns research. Fiona was then named Australian of the Year for 2005. She is an Australian Living Treasure. Fiona is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. Fiona is married to fellow surgeon Tony Kierath and is mother to four boys and two girls.
Job Titles:
- Member of the CENA Board
- National Board Director
- National Board Director ( External )
Irene joined the CENA board as a Non-Executive Director in 2024.
Irene is an accomplished strategic business, marketing, and digital transformation executive with a proven track record of delivering impactful results. With over two decades of experience, Irene has held senior leadership roles in commercial sales and marketing across diverse industries in both Australia and the UK.
Irene brings a wealth of expertise in driving transformation, instigating change, and fostering business growth. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a solid track record of leveraging her commercial acumen, executive experience, and growth mindset to identify and capitalise on available business opportunities. Irene's ability to navigate complex business landscapes is exemplified by the successful launch and rapid growth of TaxTank, Australia's first tax and personal finance software, currently making waves in the FinTech sector. This hands-on experience in the dynamic tech industry further enhances her strategic perspective and adaptability.
Irene is enthusiastic about contributing her international insights, marketing expertise, and strategic acumen, and looks forward to fostering growth and transformation at CENA.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of Committee
- National Board Director SA Branch Committee Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the CENA Board
- National Board Director SA Branch Vice President
Jasmine works as an Associate Nurse Unit Manager in the Emergency Department at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide. After working in an emergency department for 12 years, she understands the challenges nurses face when working in these dynamic environments, as well as the numerous opportunities and fulfilment that it can provide.
Jasmine has a strong interest in continuing education and updating clinical practice that reflects new research and recommendations. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Emergency Nursing and her most recent achievement was completing her Masters of Emergency Nursing in 2019.
Jasmine has been an active SA branch committee member since 2018 and she also helped co-ordinate the successful 17th ICEN in Adelaide in 2019.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Finance Director
- Member of the CENA Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
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- Member of the Research Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman in Nursing at Eastern Heath
- Professor
Professor Julie Considine is Deakin University's Chair in Nursing at Eastern Heath, one of Victoria's largest health care services with 5000 nurses and midwives. Julie has held clinical, education and research roles in emergency nursing over the last two decades and internationally recognised as a leader in research and education in emergency care.
Her program of patient safety aims at improving nurses' decisions, recognising and responding to deteriorating patients, increasing use of research evidence in practice, and ensuring effective models of nursing care delivery. Julie is a founding member of Deakin University's Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, has over 150 publications and has attracted over $5M in research and project funding. She has also supervised numerous PhD, Masters' and Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) students to completion. Julie is an expert educator and is an expert in the development, implementation and evaluation of education programs aimed at increasing workforce capability and safety and quality of care. Julie has led initiatives such as transition to speciality practice programs in Australian emergency nursing and in more recent years Australia's only interprofessional graduate program for nursing-paramedicine double degree graduates.
Currently Julie teaches in the Master of Nursing Practice Emergency Care and Nurse Practitioner degrees at Deakin University. She holds a number of teaching awards including university award for teaching excellence, a vice-chancellors award for distinguished teaching, and an Australian Government Learning and Teaching Council citation for outstanding contribution to student learning. Julie is a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, is a Founding Fellow of the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA), and in 2013 was awarded the Julie Finucane OAM Medal for leadership in emergency nursing and commitment to CENA. She is a Senior Editor of the Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal, represents the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia on the Australian Resuscitation Council, and is a member of the International Liaison Committee of Resuscitation Basic Life Support TaskForce.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Vice President
- Co - Convenor )
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Committee
- Member of Committee
Professor Kate Curtis is an internationally renowned trauma nurse and researcher with a special interest in trauma models of care, emergency and trauma nursing and the financial aspects of trauma systems. She is a practicing emergency and trauma nurse, Profesorial fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, NHMRC Translation of Research into Practice Fellow and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Southampton, UK..
"I am interested in conducting research that is meaningful and will make a difference to emergency/trauma patients and to those caring for them, in Australia and around the world" says Professor Curtis. "I also am passionate about mentoring clinicians to conduct research and translate their research into practice. Being at the coalface is crucial. It facilitates the generation of ideas, fosters good research conduct and enables speedy translation of research evidence into clinical practice. It also helps me to remain accessible to clinicians who are interested in research." Her PhD study on the impact and relationship of trauma nursing care management intervention on patient outcomes was the first of its kind, with the resultant trauma case management model of care implemented in trauma centres in Australia and worldwide. She is lead investigator of a 6-year (>AUD 840K) research grant from the Day of Difference Foundation for the Paediatric Critical Injury Research Program and a NHMRC Partnership Grant (AUD 501K) awarded for one of the program's projects. Professor Curtis is the founder of the Australian Trauma Nurse List and Board Member of the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. She has received numerous awards recognising her research, innovation and clinical work with the critically injured. In 2010, Sydney Magazine voted her one of Sydney's Top 100 most influential people.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Emergency Nurse
- Member of Committee
Kate Ruperto has been an Emergency Nurse on the stunning south coast of NSW for over 20 years. With a Masters in Critical Care Nursing (Emergency) and a Graduate Diploma in Adult Education, Kate has worked in both Emergency and ICU as a Clinical Nurse Educator, Emergency Clinical Nurse Consultant and Nurse Educator. Kate has a keen interest in developing education to support emergency nurses to be knowledgeable and proactive clinicians who have patients at the centre of all that they do. It is this passion and her extensive experience that sees Kate currently leading the work on revising the Emergency Triage Education Kit (ETEK).
Job Titles:
- Member of the CENA Board
- President
- President Elect
- Member of Committee
Kelli is also an experienced academic, with greater than 12 years' experience. She is currently an Associate Professor, holding the roles of Director of Education (DoE) and lead of the emergency nursing stream in the Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing at Monash University Nursing and Midwifery. As part of the DoE role Kelli has worked closely with ANMAC to develop and implement contemporary curriculums in undergraduate nursing programs. In the PG emergency nursing space, she has collaborated with industry partners to ensure the curriculum meets their needs and is preparing emergency nursing leaders for the future. Kelli currently represents CENA Vic on the Safer Care Victoria Acute Learning Health Network Advisory Group advocating for emergency nurses and quality emergency care delivery. The aim of the Acute Care LHN is to drive improvement and safety across acute care hospital setting in Victoria.
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- TNP Consultant
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
My name is Megan Basioli and 20 years ago when I was 14 years of age I was injured as a result of a terrorist attack that took place in Kuta Bali, Indonesia. My injuries included full thickness burns to 36% of my body and would require me to spend a period of time in hospital, have multiple surgeries & intensive rehabilitation. It is here I would cross paths with Dr Fiona Wood. My traumatic experience led me to the decision to become a nurse, and I have spent the last 10 years working as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department. The very same Emergency Department I was treated in those 20 years ago. My nursing career helped me to overcome my trauma & I am able to bring empathy & understanding to my care, while also lending insight to my colleagues of a patient's perspective.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Secretary
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the CENA Board
- Member of Committee
- National Board Director VIC Branch Committee Member
- Vic Branch Committee Member
Nicole is currently the Associate Nurse Manager-Clinical Lead at Monash Health. Her journey in Emergency Nursing started in 2014 when she commenced her second rotation as a Graduate nurse. Nicole further developed her emergency nursing knowledge by undertaking a Transition to Specialty Practice program in 2015. In 2016 she successfully completed a Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing and went on to complete a Master of Advanced Nursing at Monash University by mid 2018.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
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- Secretary
- Member of Committee
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- Vice President
- Member of Committee
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- Editor - in - Chief of the Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal
- Professor
Professor Ramon Shaban is Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. As an emergency nurse and credentialled expert infection control practitioner with an extensive background in clinical sciences and practice, his inter-professional expertise in infectious diseases, infection control and emergency care are the basis of a highly successful and integrated program of teaching, practice, and research.
Professor Shaban is the Inaugural Clinical Chair and Professor of Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Sydney and Western Sydney Local Health District, within the Sydney Nursing School and Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity. He is a statutory member of the Australian Government Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, a member of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare Healthcare-associated Infection Advisory Committee, and 2016-2017 President of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention. He is a member of the World Health Organization Global Outbreak and Response Network, and in 2016 Ramon served as Technical Advisor (Antimicrobial Resistance) to the World Health Organization. Ramon is particularly interested in the role emergency nurses play in the management, prevention and control of infectious diseases and healthcare-associated infection.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- President
- Co - Convenor )
- Marketing and Communications Committee
- Member of Committee
- Professional Practice Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
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- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Conference Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member of Committee