The Health Professions Education Research Group comprises Faculty members and students interested in the scholarship of learning and teaching in the various health professions.
Research areas and recent publications
With the Health Sciences and Medicine Faculty offering a range of health professional degrees, there are a number of research streams, many involving cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Research in this broad area includes, for example, the maintenance of competence, non-technical skills required for practising medicine, professional identity and student well-being. One area of funded research relates to what works best in post-graduate medical education in General Practice.
Contributors and Researchers
- Professor Kirsty Forrest
- Professor Peter Jones
- Professor Michelle McLean
- Professor Janie Smith
- Associate Professor Jo Bishop
- Associate Professor Suzanne Gough
- Associate Professor Neelam Maheshwari
- Associate Professor Treasure McGuire
- Associate Professor Jane Smith
- Assistant Professor Melanie Forbes
- Assistant Professor Lucy Grant
- Assistant Professor Patricia Green
- Assistant Professor Nicole Grove
- Assistant Professor Kristal Kemmerling
- Assistant Professor Sacha Kennedy
- Assistant Professor David Pache
- Assistant Professor Jessica Stokes-Parish
- Assistant Professor Jaclyn Szkwara
- Assistant Professor Carmel Tepper
- Assistant Professor Natasha Yates
Recent publications
- Battye K, Thomas M, Sefton K, Smith JD, Butler S, Skinner I, Springer S, Callander E,. 2021. Rural placements during undergraduate training promotes future rural work by nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Australian Journal of Rural Health, February 2021, DOI: 10.1111/ajr.12728. (In press)
- McLean M, Tepper C, Maheshwari N, Brazil V, Moro C. 2020. Developing future medical educators in an Australian medical program: supervisors’ reflections in the first four years of MD Professional Project implementation. Medical Education Online.
- Brooke T, Brown M, Orr RM, Gough S. 2020. Stress and burnout exploring postgraduate physiotherapy students’ experiences and coping strategies. BMC Medical Education 20:433.
- Malau-Aduli B,….. and Smith J. 2020. Examiners’ decision-making processes in observation-based clinical examinations. Medical Education.
- Yates N, Purdy E, Alsaba N, Spooner A, Smith J, Brazil V. Can simulation foster resilience in medical student? BMJ Simulation & Technology Enhanced Learning.
- Tepper C, Bishop J, Forrest K. 2020. Authentic assessment utilising innovative technology enhanced learning. Asia Pacific Scholar.
- Smith JD, Edwards E, Jones PD, Cheek C, Hays, RB. 2019. Transition from an MBBS to an MD – Using innovation and thinking outside the square. MedEdPublish.
- Kemp S, Hu W, Bishop J, Forrest K et al. 2019. Medical student wellbeing – a consensus statement from Australia and New Zealand. BMC Medical Education.
- Cheek C, Hays R, Smith J, Allen P. 2018. Improving case study research in medical education: A systematised review. Medical Education.
- van Driel ML, McGuire TM, Stark R, Lazure P, Garcia T, Sullivan L. 2017. Learnings and challenges to deploy an interprofessional and independent medical education programme to a new audience. Journal of European CME.
Funded research project
Associate Jane Smith (Academic Lead) has been awarded an RACGP Medical Education Research Grant: Exploring GP medical educator and trainee perceptions of benefits, challenges and enablers to online and face-to-face teaching and learning in vocational GP training. $150 000.
Current PhDs
- Patricia Green: Medical students’ core procedural skills competency and their maintenance (University of Queensland)
- Katrina Reynolds: Preparedness for practice: Podiatry graduates and clinical supervisors (Bond University)
- Natasha Yates: Training doctors for lifelong practice: Exploration of teaching, learning and assessment of medical students’ self-evaluation and recognition of limits (Bond University)
Routinely collected health data are often collected without specific a priori research questions. The growing availability of data routinely generated during health care delivery and through monitoring disease incidence and outcomes has transformed the research landscape. Real world findings from clinical practice such as typical medication use, have informed educational approaches that have been designed to improve clinical management and patient care.
Recent publication
- Pache DM, Hollingworth SA, van Driel ML, McGuire TM. 2019. Does consumer medicines interest reflect medicines use? A comparative quantitative analysis of medicines call centre queries with medicines use in Australia. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.
Ethics, law and professionalism are essential in healthcare. Inclusion in the various health professional curricula is essential and is likely to include ecological, planetary and public health ethics, discrete ethical dilemmas governing clinics as well as the complex challenges involved in research on humans and other animals. Current research focuses on questions of injustice, violence and disrespect in health care as these manifest systemically as well as an exploration of the philosophical drivers of inequities, which generally have health sequelae for both privileged and oppressed populations. Research also includes the ethics of judicious prescribing and clinical decision-making to inform safe and effective prescribing.
Contributors and Researchers
- Associate Professor Richard Matthews
- Associate Professor Wendy Bonython
- Professor Michelle McLean
- Associate Professor Treasure McGuire
Recent publications
- Matthews R. 2019. Health ethics and Indigenous ethnocide. Bioethics.
- Gray SG, McGuire T. 2019. Navigating off-label and unlicensed medicines use in obstetric and paediatric clinical practice. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research.
The health and well-being knowledge of Australia’s First Peoples is at least 65 000 years old. To date, this knowledge has largely been excluded from health professions education and healthcare practice. Current education in this area is mainly deficit-based which has done little to alleviate the gaps in health outcomes between First Nations People and other Australians. Research will look at the introduction of a strength-based approach to First Nations health and well-being. Naturally, recognising the value of traditional knowledge systems, there is synergy with planetary health education and research.
Contributors and Researchers
Recent publication
- Smith JD, Springer S. 2016. Integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health across an undergraduate medical curriculum in Australia. Australian Journal of Clinical Education.
Human health depends on a healthy planet. With the planet currently facing a number of crises such as rapid warming, biodiversity loss and water and air pollution, and with healthcare having a large environmental footprint, health care professionals need to mitigate further ecosystem disruption and adapt to changes that have already happened. Educating for sustainable healthcare and planetary health is therefore urgent. A number of MD student projects involve theatre waste audits.
The traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples around the world is vital for transforming the healthcare system and health professions education.
Contributors and Researchers
- Professor Michelle McLean
- Associate Professor Neelam Maheshwari
- Associate Professor Richard Matthews
- Associate Professor Treasure McGuire
- Associate Professor Beth Mozolic-Staunton
- Assistant Professor Kristen MacKenzie-Shalders
- Assistant Professor Lucy Grant
- Assistant Professor Clinton Schultz
- Assistant Professor David Pache
Recent publications
- Thomas ST, Thomas ET, McLean M, Thomas TT. 2021. Paving the way to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for women from Indigenous communities: lessons from Attappady, India. Discover Sustainability.
- McLean M, Gibbs T, McKimm J. 2020. Educating for planetary health and environmentally sustainable health care: Responding with urgency. Medical Teacher.
- Schwerdtle PN, Horton G, Kent F, Walker L, McLean M. 2020. Education for sustainable healthcare: A transdisciplinary approach to transversal environmental threats. Medical Teacher.
- Redvers N, Schultz C. 2020. Indigenous perspectives on education for sustainable healthcare. Medical Teacher.
- Redvers N Poelina A, Schultz C et al. 2020. Indigenous Natural and First Law in Planetary Health. Challenges.
- McGuire TM. 2019. Does size matter? Addressing pack size and antibiotic duration. Australian Prescriber.
Modern education practices aim to move away from traditional, didactic lecturer-focussed instruction to student self-directed, authentic and experiential learning environments. The introduction of technology has been one step towards achieving this goal. The introduction of serious games, virtual and augmented reality, web-based services and mobile-based interactive activities has been another step. Research assesses the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning and investigates the impact if its use on student achievement. Another area of expanding research is the use of social media in learning and teaching and the dissemination of health messages.
Contributors and Researchers
- Professor Victoria Brazil
- Associate Professor Suzanne Gough
- Associate Professor Cindy Jones
- Associate Professor Christian Moro
- Associate Professor Allan Stirling
- Assistant Professor Stephan Levonis
- Assistant Professor Iris Lim
- Assistant Professor Nicolene Lottering
- Assistant Professor Athanasios Raikos
- Assistant Professor Jessica Stokes-Parish
- Assistant Professor Stephanie Schweiker
Recent publications
- Moro C, Birt J, Stromberga Z, Phelps C, Clark J, Glasziou P, Scott AM. 2021, Virtual and augmented reality enhancements to medical and science student physiology and anatomy test performance: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Anatomical Sciences Education.
- Moro C, Phelps C, Redmond P, Stromberga Z. 2021, HoloLens and mobile augmented reality in medical and health science education: A randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Educational Technology.
- Brazil V, Stokes-Parish J, Spurr J. 2020. Role of social media in health professions education. In: Clinical Education for the Health Professions: Theory and Practice. Nestel D, Reedy G, McKenna L, Gough S (eds). Springer Nature.
- Stirling AC, Moro C. 2020. The Use of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality in Anatomy Education, in Teaching Anatomy: A Practical Guide. LK Chan, W Pawlina (Eds). Springer International Publishing: Cham. p. 359-366.
- Levonis SM, Tauber AL, Schweiker SS. 2020. 360° virtual laboratory tour with embedded skills videos. Journal of Chemical Education.
- Schweiker SS, Levonis SM. 2020. Insights gained while teaching first semester chemistry in the time of COVID-19 at Bond University in Australia. Journal of Chemical Education.
- Schweiker SS, Levonis SM. 2020. A quick guide to producing a virtual chemistry course for online education. Future Medicinal Chemistry.
- Moro C, Stromberga Z. 2020. Enhancing variety through gamified, interactive learning experiences. Medical Education.
- Moro C, Phelps C, Stromberga Z. 2020. Utilizing serious games for physiology and anatomy learning and revision. Advances in Physiology Education.
Two recently established Bond University collaborations, the Collaboration for Research in Understanding Stigma in Healthcare (CRUSH) and the Translational Simulation Collaborative are also involved in health professions education. CRUSH focuses on advancing knowledge and understanding on stigma to improve care provision and health outcomes for the individuals/groups experiencing stigma. The various members undertake evidence-based research on stigma and discrimination in healthcare to support stigma reduction efforts through education, prevention, care and treatment. Some members of this Collaboration are involved in researching student well-being, including sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) at university. The Translational Simulation Collaborative is an academic and operational alliance between Bond University and Gold Coast Health to deliver better care, improve simulation delivery techniques and develop healthcare practitioners who can use simulation in their everyday practice.