Keynote Speaker

Callan Battley
Executive Director, Nursing Services
Children's Health Queensland

Keynote Presentation
High Performance Culture in a Time of Uncertainty and Great Opportunity for Nursing
In these unprecedented times with our community responding to a world-wide pandemic, how can we possibly afford the time to invest in our culture? I would respond by suggesting, how could we not invest in our culture in nursing. COVID-19 has taught us some things and has created a unique opportunity for nursing professionals to respond with a renewed enthusiasm, purpose and relevance to those we serve.  This will require a culture and professional resilience that can stand up to the challenges ahead! 

RN
Bachelor of Nursing Science 
Graduate Certificate in Nursing 
Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management 
Adjunct Professor University of Queensland, School of Nursing and Midwifery 

Callan Battley began in the role as Executive Director, Nursing Services (EDNS) at Children’s Health Queensland (CHQ) in late 2019. Callan moved to CHQ after his most recent role as Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at Mater Health Services and has previously worked in a range of health services, including Uniting Care Queensland. Callan is a highly respected executive nurse leader and his professional achievements reflect a depth of strategic leadership as well as operational expertise. He has a strong track record of leading transformation to deliver sustainable and contemporary models of care. Callan has a professional interest in patient experience, nursing education and research and is actively involved in children’s health and well-being in rural and remote Queensland through volunteer work he is involved in.

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Keynote Speaker

Rachel Buckley
Clinical Nurse Consultant in Adolescent Health in the Northern Territory
Honorary Clinical Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research

Keynote Presentation
Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) for Young People in Clinical Practice
In this presentation, Rachel will discuss; ​The effects of SDOH on health and well-being outcomes for young people in the Top end (outcomes highlighted in my study).  Ways to address the SDOH through assessments and health screening at a practice level.  How nurses can influence SDOH and advocate for health equity in their roles.  All of this would be focused on a lens of working with young people and also discuss the impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. 

RN BSc(Hons) MPH

Rachel Buckley is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Adolescent health in the Northern Territory and an Honorary Clinical Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research. Rachel has a background in paediatric nursing and training in public health. Rachel has clinical experience in Adolescent health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, paediatric oncology, paediatric palliative care and child protection. In her current role Rachel has been responsible for the redesign of the adolescent health service, promoting safety and equity for young people, working with key stakeholders to provide meaningful outcomes and sustainable change. This work has focused predominantly on improving hospital care and health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents. Rachel is currently undertaking research looking at the value of opportunistic screening in hospital settings creating opportunities for interventions and a change in trajectory, particularly for at risk youth. 

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Keynote Presentation 
A Generation Waiting for a New Normal: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Children and Young People
The COVID-19 global pandemic has changed the world we live in many ways. Living in uncertain times, the intermittent nature of lockdowns, closures of schools, playgrounds and less time spent with peers and family, begs the question: How are Australia’s children and young people being affected by this? This talk will review the literature related to the impact of COVID-19 on young people’s mental health and consider how we can respond to a generation growing up in a ‘new normal’.

Dr Tara-Jane (TJ) Clark is a Senior Health Psychologist. Over the past 11 years at The Royal Children’s Hospital, TJ has worked in The Children’s Cancer Centre, Weight Management Service, Consultation & Liaison and Emergency Department. She currently works in RCH’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit supporting patients and their families to navigate the challenges associated with a traumatic hospital admission. Within her PICU role she also has the privilege of providing staff support to the unit on both an individual and departmental level.

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Keynote Presentation 1
Health Care Professionals Mental Health and Well-Being
This presentation will provide a comprehensive summary of the research pertaining to nursing mental health and well-being and how other disciplines and interactions impact well-being. This talk will ask the question, is all this talk on burnout, burning us out? Unlike many talks on well-being, it will explore the research on what proactively protects our well-being, and how humour and meaning can mitigate against burnout and poor mental health. It will investigate how leadership and a sense of belonging are critical to the well-being of individuals and teams. This talk will aim to help us all reflect who we are at work, and what role we can play in maintaining good mental health for ourselves and those around us, including our patients.

Keynote Presentation 2
Does Staff Wellbeing Need to Change During A Pandemic?
Hospital and health systems did not have a perfect record for ensuring the wellbeing of their staff prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has placed everyone under extreme pressure at home and professionally.

During the pandemic staff require engaged leadership, innovation on how to remain connected to their colleagues and freedom from unnecessary bureaucratic processes. Simplicity of instructions to do their work with excellence and reduce cognitive load. The literature and our international COVID research has signposted the needs of staff during this pandemic. Staff need to feel heard, acknowledge and appreciated, to be kept safe, flexibility and innovation, excellent and present leadership and to remain connected to their colleagues.

Liz Crowe  has two decades of expertise in grief, crisis, end of life, bereavement and staff well-being in pediatric critical care environments.  Liz is now exclusively working with hospital staff providing consultation, coaching, counselling and education for staff well-being.  She is in the final stages of completing her PhD examining risk and protective factors for staff well-being in critical care. Liz is a passionate and humorous educator who regularly speaks internationally. Liz is the successful author of ‘The Little Book of Loss and Grief You Can Read While You Cry’. She is a proud member of the St Emlyn’s education team and an active member of #FOAMed,  and can be found on Twitter @LizCrowe2. 

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Keynote Speaker & Panel Presenter

Sonja Elia
Nurse Practitioner And Manager Immunisation
Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne

Keynote
COVID-19 Vaccination and Children

The current global pandemic has seen unprecedented collaboration between scientists around the world in the pursuit of a vaccination against COVID-19. With several vaccines now licensed and the associated considerable media coverage of these products, what does this mean for Australia's paediatric population? What vaccination strategy should be optimised in those patients that are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and what age groups will be eligible in the future?

MAdvNursPrac, BN, RN   

After choosing to specialise in Immunisation in 2003, Ms Sonja Elia became an integral part of the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Immunisation service and in 2017, became Victoria’s first Nurse Practitioner in the field of Immunisation. She has a particular interest in vaccine hesitancy, special risk groups, needle phobia and immunisation education. In 2019, she was awarded the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Nursing Development scholarship to support improving immunisation rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In addition to her role at the RCH, Sonja is a current member of the Immunisation Coalition and holds honorary positions with the University of Melbourne Department of General Practice and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

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Keynote Speaker & Panel Presenter

Professor Sarath Ranganathan
Chair and Head of the Department of Paediatrics University of Melbourne

Keynote
COVID-19 and the Paediatric Population

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event in our lifetimes. Changes in how we live, socialise, work and learn have occurred with many countries managing the pandemic differently. It appears that children are less susceptible to the mortality and morbidity of the COVID-19 disease than adults. Is that true and why are they different? Professor Sarath Ranganathan will review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of COVID-19 and how it affects the paediatric population.

Sarath is Stevenson Chair and Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. He is a former Director of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and current Head of the Respiratory Diseases Research Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. In 2019 he was elected Fellow of the American Thoracic Society for his contribution to Paediatric Respiratory Medicine.

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Keynote Speaker

Professor Linda Shields
Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland
Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, University of the Sunshine Coast

Keynote
Paediatric and Child Health Nursing: The Past, the Present and the Future
In western countries, the concept of childhood did not really exist until after the Industrial Revolution. Many civilisations regarded children as a resource, a part of the family unit that would evolve into a contributing member of that family. During the Industrial Revolution and afterwards, egregious things were done to children, for example, making them work in mines, factories, and so forth. The idea of providing specialist healthcare for children arose, at least in the Western world, in the 1700s. This was before nursing began its evolution into an educationally prepared profession.

This presentation will discuss how childhood evolved, how its concomitant health care evolved, and how paediatric and child health nursing evolved at the same time. The past will be compared with the present, with examples of how paediatric and child health nursing has changed to be what it is today. Then, and perhaps somewhat recklessly, I will try and predict what it is going to look like in the future.

DMed, PhD, MMedSci, BAppSci(Nursing), FACN, Centaur Fellow, CCYPN

Professor Linda Shields officially retired from academia early in 2019, and now holds the position of Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Queensland, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine at the University of the Sunshine Coast.  Over her career, her research interests have centred around two things – family-centred care and its implementation in health services, and the history of nursing and health care. Prior to retiring, she set up the International Network for Child and Family Centered Care, which includes over 60 members from 15 countries. Linda’s interests in history have led to investigations into how family-centred care developed, Australian military nursing, and most importantly, the role of nurses in the Nazi era in Europe, including paediatric and child health nurses. 

In retirement, Linda is keeping her research going, and is working as a nurse immuniser in the flu season. She is embarking on a new career as a funeral celebrant, and in her spare time, takes piano lessons (and yes, practices). She is turning her neglected garden into a sub-tropical paradise, and keeps fit, aided by her two dogs.

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Keynote Speaker

Susanna LEE Wai Yee 
Chief Nursing Officer
Hong Kong Baptist Hospital