Contact
PhD Candidate - Centre for Rural Health
Email:walkerle@postoffice.utas.edu.au
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Nursing
- Graduate Diploma Nursing Education
- Master of Nursing (Research)
Research Interests
- Clinical placement opportunities
- Interprofessional education
- Clinical supervision
Background
Lorraine grew up in a tiny hamlet in Gippsland, Victoria and although she has lived and worked in a variety of places in Victoria and overseas maintains a passion for the rural setting. She has a background in a broad context of nursing including: critical care, emergency, and management in Australia and the United Kingdom. Lorraine also worked as an academic in Nursing for many years and has wide-ranging experience in the development and delivery of educational programs. For the last three years Lorraine has been leading activities and related projects to facilitate capacity and quality for professional entry clinical placements in Gippsland.
Current Research
Title: Exploring education and interprofessional learning in rural clinical learning environments
As a health clinician, opportunities for interprofessional learning and practice have always been of interest. Facilitating clinical placements as part of her current and previous academic role and undertaking related projects has engendered an interest in the clinical learning environment, so it seemed like a natural fit to explore these two areas. This study will explore how interprofessional learning opportunities could be formalised, optimised, and supported within the rural clinical learning environment to promote students’ preparedness for interprofessional practice.
Supervisors
- Dr Merylin Cross
- Associate Professor Tony Barnett
Articles
- Barnett, T., Walker, L., Jacob, E., Missen, K. Cross., M., Shahwan-Akl, L. (2012) Expanding the clinical placement capacity of rural hospitals in Australia: Displacing Peta to place Paul? Nurse Education Today, 32(2012); 485-489.
- Missen, K., Jacob, E., Barnett, T., Walker, L., Cross, M., (2012) Interprofessional clinical education: Clinicians’ views on the importance of leadership. Collegian. 19(2012); 189 -195.
- Barnett, T., Sellick, K., Cross, M., Walker, L., James, A., and Henderson, S. (2012) Preparing student nurses for healthcare reform. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-disciplinary Journal, 14(1); 23-34.
- Jacob, E., Barnett, T., Missen, K., Cross, M., Walker, L. (2012) Australian clinician’s views on interprofessional education for students in the rural clinical setting. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education [JRIPE]. 2(2); 219- 229.
- Walker, L. (2009) Managing the void: strategies to enhance communication, pp. 48-56 in: B. Edmondson, P. Dearman, A. Whitley and A. Carr (eds.), Collected Wisdom: Off Campus Learning and Teaching Symposium. Churchill: Monash University OCLC.
- Walker, L. (2007) Exploring Nursing Education through a Grounded Theory Lens. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management; 6(8); 135-144.
Reports
- Cross, M., Walker, L. (2013). Implementing pertinent and sustainable clinical placement models. Final report. Melbourne: Department of Health Victoria
- Cross, M., Walker, L. (2012). Innovative Supports for Clinical Placements in Gippsland: Final report. Melbourne: Department of Health Victoria
- Cross, M., Walker, L., Thompson, A. (2012). Promoting education as core business in the Gippsland Clinical Placement Network. Final report. Melbourne: Department of Health Victoria
- Barnett, T., Cross, M., Jacob, E., Walker, L., Missen, K., Shahwan-Akl, L. (2010) Building Capacity for Clinical Placements and Interprofessional Learning (IPL): Final Report. Monash University OCLC: Churchill.
- Francis K, Chapman Y, Sellick K. Barnett T, Henderson S, Walker L, James A, Faulks L, Burns V, Rickard A. (2007). What active or potential strategies facilitate work readiness for nurses in Victoria? Final Report. Melbourne: Department of Human Services Victoria
- Barnett T, Campbell M, Sellick K, Francis K, James A. Chapman Y, Henderson S, Walker L, James, A, Faulks L, Burns V, Rickard A. (2007). An analysis of current curricula to determine to what extent reform capabilities are integrated into undergraduate preparation – identify themes and inconsistencies. Collation and comparative analysis of data to explore the capacity for curricula review. Final Report. Melbourne: Department of Human Services Victoria
