The Professional Education Research and Engagement Theme has representation across all disciplines within the School and includes teaching-focused, teaching and research-focused, clinical education staff, and research higher degree students.

The theme maintains close communication with the SHRS Teaching and Learning Committee and SHRS Clinical Education Clinical Education Sub-Committee. Current research initiatives involve active collaboration with the Schools of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, and Medicine across HaBS and Medicine Faculties.

Aims

The aims of the Professional Education Research and Engagement Theme within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences include:

  • Fostering research strengths through mentoring and support in relevant research clusters, to design and implement innovative teaching and learning (T&L) research projects.
  • Supporting and promoting strategic initiatives in T&L through translation of T&L research into classroom teaching and practice education.
  • Providing practical support for T&L grant submissions (including collaboration, pitching, readership, and access to successful grants).
  • Enhancing the public profile of SHRS T&L research through showcasing and disseminating research findings.

Impact

The research undertaken within the Professional Education Research and Engagement Theme has a focus on directly impacting and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, and therefore the SHRS student experience and outcomes, at The University of Queensland. Research initiatives are closely aligned with the UQ Student Strategy.

Work in this theme acknowledges that ‘education’ is broader than campus-based learning and includes work-integrated learning experiences in various settings such as clinics and schools, locally and abroad. Research focuses on the preparation for, and transitions to, these settings and experiences. Furthermore, this research theme has a strategic focus on providing practical support for staff in their development, implementation, and translation of such initiatives.

The research theme actively encourages collaboration in teaching and learning research to maximise impact and provides support for local, national, and international research dissemination.
 

Recent publications

  • Copley, J., Martin, R., Dix, C., Forbes, R., Hill, A., Mandrusiak, A., ... & Collins, C. (2024). Fostering collaborative practice through interprofessional simulation for occupational therapy, physiotherapy, dietetics, and nursing students. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 1-10. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/13561820.2024.2303499?needAccess=true
  • Milgate, W., Copley, J., & Hill, J. (2023). Failing professional practice placements in allied health: What do we understand about the student experience? A scoping review. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 1-27.
  • Hill, A. E., Bartle, E., Copley, J. A., Olson, R., Dunwoodie, R., Barnett, T., & Zuber, A. (2023). The VOTIS, part 1: development and pilot trial of a tool to assess students’ interprofessional skill development using video-reflexive ethnography. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 37(2), 223-231.
  • Olson, R. E., Copley, J. A., Bartle, E., Hill, A. E., Barnett, T., Dunwoodie, R., & Zuber, A. (2023). The VOTIS, part 2: Using a video-reflexive assessment activity to foster dispositional learning in interprofessional education. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 37(2), 232-239.
  • Tan, A., Copley, J., & Fleming, J. (2023). Clinical utility of a decision-making aid for upper limb neurorehabilitation: applying the Hypertonicity Intervention Planning Model across cultures. Brain Injury, 37(7), 572-580.

Recent grants

  • Emory-UQ Collaborative Partnership Research Grant: In 2023, Drs Adriana Penman, Freyr Patterson and Roma Forbes –all RET members– were successful in obtaining competitive grant funding to support a research project between UQ and Emory University to develop best practice guidelines for providing feedback in simulation.
  • Early Career Teaching Innovation Grant: In 2024, Drs Alana Dinsdale, Roma Forbes (Professional education RET members) alongside Dr Nathalia Costa successfully obtained $14,954 in grant funding for a project titled: The P.A.I.N. Framework: Building students’ capacity to Promote Accurate Information Narratives in an age of misinformation.

Chair

Dr Felipe Retamal Walter, Lecturer Speech Pathology

Deputy Chair

Dr Alana Dinsdale, Lecturer Physiotherapy

Academic staff

Research staff

Mehwish Nisar, Postdoctoral Research fellow CHEAR 

Conjoint staff

Karina O’Leary, STARS Conjoint Interprofessional Education and Practice Coordinator 

Clinic staff

  • Dani Cain, Clinical Education Liaison Manager in Speech Pathology
  • Lucy Hunter, Clinical Education Liaison Manager in Speech Pathology
  • Anne Pearson, Clinical Educator and PhD Candidate in Speech Pathology

HDR students

Candidate

Degree

Supervision

Project title/Description

Ms Hannah Jensen-Fielding

PhD

Professor Jodie Copley

Dr Leander Mitchell

Mastery of professional identity and interprofessional practice in the NDIS

Ms Alis Moores

PhD

Professor Jodie Copley

Dr Merrill Turpin

Occupational therapy students learning to use theory on placement

Ms Elisha Spackman

MPhil

Professor Jodie Copley

Dr Craig Greber

Professor Stephen Isbel

Practice-based evidence

Ms Wendy Milgate

PhD

Professor Jodie Copley

Dr Jess Hill

The experience of occupational therapy students who fail or are at risk of failing a long block professional practice experience.

Mr Abraham Jones

PhD

Dr Roma Forbes, Dr Alana Dinsdale, Associate Professor Allison Mandrusiak

An exploration into physiotherapy student intentions and placement experiences in private practice settings.

Kate Kruger (Brennan)

MPhil Candidate

Dr Adriana Penman

Dr Freyr Patterson

Dr Roma Forbes

Exploring student and practice educator experiences in feedback processes within clinical learning environments

Lauren Cox

PhD Candidate Physiotherapy

Associate Professor Allison Mandrusiak

Dr Angela Martin

Dr Joanne Bishop

Dr Olav Muurlink

Wellbeing of tertiary academics within health and rehabilitation sciences: where to next?

Renee Garuccio,

 

MPhil Candidate Audiology

Associate Professor Wayne Wilson

Associate Professor Jacqui Raymond

A competency-based assessment tool to provide valid judgements of audiology student performance in the workplace setting

Elaine McGivern,

 

PhD Candidate Physiotherapy

Dr Roma Forbes

Associate Professor Allison Mandrusiak

Dr Ann Rahmann

The contribution of patient caseload complexity in bridging the gap between student and new graduate physiotherapist

Curtley Nelson,
Associate Lecturer

PhD Candidate Physiotherapy

Dr Roma Forbes

Associate Professor Allison Mandrusiak

 

Preparing New Graduate Physiotherapists to Work with First Nations Australians

Anne Pearson,
Clinical Educator

PhD Candidate

Speech Pathology

 

Associate Professor Anne Hill

Professor Jodie Copley

Associate Professor Stacie Attrill

Working with culturally and linguistically diverse allied health students on placement

Amelia Tan

PhD Candidate Occupational Therapy

Professor Jenny Fleming

Professor Jodie Copley

Decision-making for upper limb interventions in neurological rehabilitation

Sebastian Gallegos-Berrios

PhD Candidate

Occupational Therapy

Dr Freyr Patterson
Professor Jodie Copley

Exploring the complexity of decision-making during the intervention of Chilean occupational therapists in people with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Luocheng (Rod) Zhang

PhD Candidate

Occupational Therapy

Dr Roma Forbes

Dr Freyr Patterson

Dr Adriana Penman

Educational experience and work readiness of allied health students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds

Danielle Czapnik

MPhil Candidate Speech Pathology

Dr Adriana Penman

Associate Professor Allison Mandrusiak

Exploring current practices in the evaluation of interprofessional simulation-based learning

Aprezo Pardodi Maba

PhD Candidate

Associate Professor Asaduzzaman Khan

A Lifestyle Approach to Promote Mental Health among High School Students in Indonesia

Karina, O'Leary

PhD Candidate

Physiotherapy

Professor Nadine Foster
Associate Professor Rebecca Olson
Interprofessional Practice in a hospital setting—Co-designing Excellence. Exploring the use of an 'Experience Based Co-Design' framework to develop interventions to develop interprofessional practice in a hospital setting.
Stephen West-Newman

PhD Candidate

Physiotherapy

Associate Professor Martin Sale
Doctor Roma Forbes
Associate Professor Stacie Attrill
Exploring the experiences of clinical based learning and transition to clinical practice for physiotherapy students from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background with a view to informing better student, university and clinical placement practices.

Enquiries 

For all enquiries related to research in the School, contact the Senior Administration Officer (Research):  research.shrs@uq.edu.au  

For all enquiries related to joining the Professional Education Research and Engagement Theme contact the chairs Dr Alana Dinsdale and Dr Felipe Retamal Walter.

For all general current HDR student queries and enquiries related to applications contact the HDR Liaison Officer:  

hdr.shrs@enquire.uq.edu.au 

Apply for a HDR Program

  • Dr Alana Dinsdale

    Lecturer in Physiotherapy
    School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
  • Dr Felipe Retamal Walter

    Lecturer in Speech Pathology
    School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
    Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR) & Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)
    Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health