Nursing & Allied Health

Deakin University

Deakin University’s School of Nursing & Midwifery and Alfred Health Nursing Services have a long established research and education partnership.

Under the leadership of Professor Tracey Bucknall, Foundation Chair in Nursing at Alfred Health, staff at the Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research / Alfred Health Partnership conduct high quality research that makes a substantive contribution to scientific knowledge, clinical nursing practice and the quality of patient care.

Strategic objectives include:

• Conducting high quality research that improves patient and organisational outcomes
• Strengthening research training and support for nursing staff within Alfred Health
• Facilitating the integration of research evidence into clinical practice
• Developing partnerships between consumers, staff and researchers to strengthen research, education and health service delivery.

Deakin University also has undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students completing clinical placements in their nursing, allied health and health science degrees across numerous departments at Alfred Health.

Research strengths include Patient Safety focusing on high-risk areas for the health service, and Knowledge Translation, which uses an integrated approach to ensure that clinicians use the best available evidence in their practice.

Research programs are linked closely with the national Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards. Centre staff include research fellows and assistants, research students and interdisciplinary research associate. Active international and national research collaborations are a strength of the program.

La Trobe University

The La Trobe University Nursing Clinical School integrates research, teaching and clinical practice in nursing.

The School of Nursing and Midwifery established its first clinical school at Alfred Health in 2000, where it continues to deliver a high-quality student experience.

Academics from the School collaborate with health service staff on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research projects. Education of Alfred Health / School of Nursing and Midwifery third-year students takes place on site where expert clinicians work together with our academic staff to deliver the most contemporary evidence-based teaching content and practice skills.

Clinical placements are conducted within the Alfred Health network to support the integration of students to their clinical practice setting. The Clinical School model is unique to other nursing schools around Australia and facilitates the smooth transition from student to new graduate and ongoing professional careers.