Flinders Nursing Professor Brings Expertise in Fundamental Care to New Position at SA Health
Flinders University researcher Professor Tiffany Conroy has been appointed Professor of Nursing and Director of Nursing and Midwifery Research at the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network.
A joint appointment between SA Health and Flinders University, the position works with nurses and midwives across all SALHN sites to advance fundamental care, research capacity, and increase the profile of nursing and midwifery research.
As Deputy Dean for Nursing Leadership and Innovation in Flinders University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Professor Conroy is a registered nurse and an experienced educator in nursing, knowledge translation and evidence-based healthcare.
Her globally recognised research expertise is in the area of fundamentals of care, as well as knowledge translation, evidence-based practice, and the methodology and conduct of systematic and scoping reviews.
Speaking on her appointment, Professor Conroy said she was proud to take up the role and thanked her predecessor Professor Robyn Clark, who recently retired.
“I am delighted to be able to advance the work undertaken by Robyn. I aim to build research capacity and capability in nursing and midwifery, develop innovative teams, support workforce development, and maximise the benefits to SALHN that this partnership with Flinders University brings,” says Professor Conroy.
“SALHN have embedded fundamental care into their Nurses and Midwives Professional Practice Model and I am ideally situated to utilise this as a foundation for focussed research and practice improvement in this area.”
Commenting on the appointment, SALHN Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Associate Professor Justin Prendergast said he was excited about the next phase of developing nursing and midwifery research capability.
“Professor Conroy is already highly regarded by our staff through joint work around our practice model and we look forward to further strengthening improvements in care across the Network”.
Interim Director of Flinders’ Caring Futures Institute Professor Rebecca Golley congratulated Professor Conroy on the new appointment and says partnerships between Flinders and government healthcare services was a core element of the Institute’s work.
“At Flinders Caring Futures Institute our aim is deliver real world impact to advance health and care. We can only do this if we work directly within our communities,” says Professor Golley.
“Nurses are at the heart of our healthcare system and this role allows Flinders to continue to support them with evidence-based research that can lead to innovative change for the betterment of both staff and patients.
“Professor Conroy has extensive nursing experience and leadership, and will no doubt build upon the work that Professor Clark was able to achieve in her time and continue to bring innovative change to nursing and midwifery education and research.”