Dr Tracey Ahern - Research Portfolio

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About

Dr Tracey Ahern is Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator of JCU's Master of Nursing (Online), a successful 100% online postgraduate course for Registered Nurses wanting to increase their knowledge base in one of three nursing specific specialisations: Education, Leadership and Management or Advanced Practice.

Dr Ahern is a Registered Nurse who holds a PhD (Nursing) and BNSc (Hons Class 1). She is also an experienced Queensland Registered Teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and Graduate Certificate of Education (Academic Practice). Dr Ahern joined JCU in 2015 as a sessional academic, to combine her teaching and nursing practice and extend her professional practice to the higher education context.

Dr Ahern has expertise in research with a exploratory quantitative design, particularly using online surveys to collect data. Her PhD explored the role of the Breast Care Nurse in Australia across metropolitan, rural and remote areas and the support they provide to women with breast cancer. During this time, she developed research interests in; women's health, models of nursing care, supportive care for people with cancer living in rural and remote areas, and disparities in healthcare for people in rural and remote Australia. In recent times, whilst working predominantly in online education, Dr Ahern has developed a keen interest in best practice models of online education, and is particularly interested in research exploring the support and training required to build capacity in educators working in online courses.

Teaching

HS5381: Health Education and Self Management (Level 5; ONL)
NS5330: Persuasive Communication (Level 5; ONL)
NS5331: Effective Clinical Governance (Level 5; ONL)
NS5332: Informatics for Health Professionals (Level 5; ONL)
NS5333: Synthesising Evidence for Healthcare (Level 5; ONL)
NS5334: Professional Portfolios for Career Advancement (Level 5; ONL)
NS5338: Ethics and Health Management (Level 5; ONL)
NS5339: Leading and Managing in Health (Level 5; ONL)
NS5340: Conflict and Dispute Resolution in Healthcare (Level 5; ONL)
NS5341: Business and Finance for the Health Manager (Level 5; ONL)
NS5342: Principles of Education for the Health Professional (Level 5; ONL)
NS5343: Teaching in Practice Settings (Level 5; ONL)
NS5344: Clinical Coaching (Level 5; ONL)
NS5345: Contemporary Healthcare Education (Level 5; ONL)
NS5346: Advanced Health Assessment (Level 5; ONL)
NS5347: Quality Use of Medicines in Practice (Level 5; ONL)
NS5348: Applied Health Assessment for Advanced Practice (Level 5; ONL)
NS5349: Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Practice (Level 5; ONL)
NS5352: Qualitative Research in Healthcare (Level 5; ONL)
NS5353: Quantitative Research in Healthcare (Level 5; ONL)
NS5354: Implementing Practice Development in Healthcare Contexts (Level 5; ONL)
NS5380: Foundations of Clinical Diabetes (Level 5; ONL)
NS5382: Applied Clinical Diabetes Education (Level 5; ONL)
NS5383: Diabetes Education Professional Practice (Level 5; ONL)

Interests

Professional

Teaching and learning in higher education

Research

Women's health
Psychosocial support for people with a cancer diagnosis
Healthcare disparities for people living in rural and remote Australia
Models of nursing care
Postgraduate nursing education
Online teaching and learning

Experience

2021 to present - Senior Lecturer, Course Coordinator: Master of Nursing (Online), James Cook University (Townsville)
2018 to 2021 - Lecturer, Deputy Course Coordinator, Master of Nursing (JCU Online), Academic Lead: Student Advocacy and Experience, James Cook University - Nursing and Midwifery (Townsville)
2017 to 2021 - Lecturer, James Cook University - Nursing, and Midwifery (Townsville)
2015 to 2016 - Sessional Academic, James Cook University - Nursing and Midwifery (Townsville)
2007 to 2012 - Registered Nurse, Ayr Medical Group (Ayr)
1990 to 2008 - Secondary Teacher, Qld Department of Education (Innisfail SHS, and Ayr SHS)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

2024 to 2025 - JCU Learning and Teaching Innovation Large Grant.
2023 - Australian College of Nursing, Institute of Leadership scholarship valued at $1100 to complete The Leader's Mindset Series 3.
2023 - Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Collaboration (AMHHEC) Bursary receipient to attend the 2023 STARS Conference in Brisbane, 3-5 July.
2019 to 2020 - JCU Learning and Teaching Grant: A cross collaboration project with Psychology researchers at JCU Singapore (James Cook University)
2017 to 2018 - JCU Learning and Teaching Grant (Nursing and Midwifery, James Cook University)
2014 - Cancer Council Queensland Travel Grant (Cancer Council Queensland)
2014 - Faculty Research Student Support Scheme Grant (Australian Catholic University)
2012 to 2014 - APA Scholarship (Australian Catholic University)
2013 - Faculty Research Student Support Scheme Grant (Australian Catholic University)
2009 - Honours Scholarship (James Cook University)
2009 - Best Presentation by a Registered Nurse (International Nurses Day Conference - Townsville Hospital)
2009 - Academic Medal (Bachelor Honours) (James Cook University)
2008 - North Queensland Nurse of the Year (Cancer Council Queensland)
2005 - Alf Kretschmar Award (Cancer Council Queensland)

Memberships

2023 to 2024 - Accepted into the HERDSA Mentoring and Coaching Support (MCAPS) for Career Advancement Program.
2023 - Co-management of the Events Portfolio for the HERDSA Online Engagement SiG.
2010 to 2023 - Member Australian College of Nursing (ACN)

Other

2022 to 2023 - Contracted as co-designer and co-developer for a collaboration with The Northern Australian Regional Digital Health Collaborative to develop and design a micro-credential digital health online course.

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Ahern T, Gooding T and Biedermann N (in press) CONNECT:a framework to enhance student connection to their course content, peers, and teaching staff in online learning environments. Teaching and learning in nursing,
Ahern T (2023) CONNECT: A framework for building effective working relationships with distance education doctoral students and their advisers. Distance Education, 44 (3). pp. 588-598
Ahern T, Pardon M, Lindsay D and McAuliffe M (2023) Linking student in nursing/student in midwifery employment to Australian professional standards: A cross-sectional study. Collegian, 30 (3). pp. 498-505
Biedermann N and Ahern T (2023) "Teaching Through Your Fingertips”: A Descriptive Study to Understand the Experiences and Needs of Online Educators in Postgraduate Nursing Education in Australia. SAGE Open Nursing, 9.
Lindsay D, Ahern T, Pardon M, McAuliffe M and Rannard S (2023) Student Employment Models for Undergraduate Nurses and Midwives in Australia: A Scoping Review. SAGE Open Nursing, 9.
Ahern T and Biedermann N (2022) Nursing and midwifery educators teaching postgraduate online courses: a cross-sectional survey. Teaching and learning in nursing, 17 (2). pp. 185-190
Jones A, Nagle C, Ahern T and Smyth W (2022) Evidence for a nurse-led protocol for removing urinary catheters: A scoping review. Collegian, 30 (1). pp. 190-197
Ahern T, Gardner A and Courtney M (2016) Exploring patient support by breast care nurses and geographical residence as moderators of the unmet needs and self-efficacy of Australian women with breast cancer: results from a cross-sectional, nationwide survey. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 23. pp. 72-80
Ahern T, Gardner A and Courtney M (2016) Development, face validity and reliability testing of a survey instrument to explore the role of the Australian breast care nurse. Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing, 17 (1). pp. 26-31
Ahern T, Gardner A and Courtney M (2015) A survey of the breast care nurse role in the provision of information and supportive care to Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer. Nursing Open, 2 (2). pp. 62-71
Ahern T, Gardner A and Courtney M (2015) Geographical comparisons of information and support needs of Australian women following the primary treatment of breast cancer: a 10-year replication study. Health Expectations, 18 (6). pp. 2678-2692
Ahern T and Gardner A (2015) Literature review: an exploration of the role of the Australian breast care nurse in the provision of information and supportive care. Collegian, 22 (1). pp. 99-108

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 21+ research outputs authored by Dr Tracey Ahern from 2013 onwards.

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Does Nurse led HOUDINI Protocal for early Removal of Indwelling urinary Catheters Reduce Incidence of Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections? (Masters , Secondary Advisor)