Congratulations to Keryn Wright on her ANZAHPE Associate Fellowship
Keryn Wright is the Lecturer in Rural Workforce Development for the University of Melbourne and Manager of the Going Rural Health programme, Department of Rural Health (UoM-UDRH). Keryn has worked at multiple UDRHs, holds a Master of Clinical Education and has published in the fields of interprofessional and rural clinical education.
"My background is in critical care nursing and midwifery, with extensive experience in rural health education, and I am completing my PhD through UoM MDHS. My research, entitled “Learning environments in rural health: examining the elements to foster and sustain staff learning,” employs Video Reflexive Ethnographical (VRE) observation from a postmodern perspective.
My position is a leadership role in managing the GRH program and leading Interprofessional Education across the Department of Rural Health which includes leading the student placement team to ensure nursing and allied health student placements are supported in rural hospitals and community settings, service-learning placements are developed and implemented, education in rural health services is enhanced, partnerships are created with multiple universities, and education and training projects related to GRH are conducted. My goal is to integrate interprofessional education across nursing and allied health training and to collaborate with UDRH programs to identify and develop opportunities for interprofessional education and practice. I facilitate innovative nursing and allied health student placements and workforce development that address the needs of local communities and healthcare services, inspiring rural careers.
I was first introduced to ANZAHPE by my PhD supervisors, and from the very first time I attended, it was abundantly clear how supportive and welcoming the ANZAHPE community was. I could network with senior researchers from various disciplines who, until then, had only been names in journals, authoring my favourite papers. It was intimidating, but I was immediately put at ease and felt supported as a novice researcher. I received valuable and constructive advice and feedback on my presentations, writing, and how to structure my academic career. It was a genuine learning environment that I feel grateful to have had access to, and I would love the opportunity to ‘pay it forward’ because of how my research journey has been fostered. ANZAHPE is my ‘must-attend’ conference (with the unfortunate exception of this year), and Focus on Health Professional Education (FoHPE) is one of the key journals in which I aspire to be published."
