Pieta Shakes is overly enthusiastic about patient experience and person-centred care within our fast-paced systems and society. With a professional goal to improve equity, diversity and the translation of evidence into practice, Pieta was drawn towards education and research after her clinical career in mental health. 

Pieta's developing program of research focuses on the experience and psychosocial aspects of prenatal diagnosis. She is currently in the final stage of her PhD, after publishing the findings of her hermeneutic phenomenological study of the maternal lived experience of receiving a prenatal diagnosis of agenesis of the corpus callosum. Pieta is also involved in other research projects that aim to address knowledge gaps in the experience and psychosocial outcomes of prenatal diagnosis and workforce perspectives, needs and training. Pieta is leading an innovative project to co-produce training resources, alongside parents with lived experience and she herself is a parent with lived experience of receiving a prenatal diagnosis at 32 weeks gestation. 

Pieta is a credentialed mental health nurse with postgraduate qualifications in mental health nursing, diagnostic genomics and higher education innovative teaching and learning. She is the founder and Executive Director of Through the Unexpected, sits on the Perinatal Ethics Subcommittee of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and frequently provides consultation on, or speaks at events about matters relating to diagnosis and prognosis communication, language, psychosocial outcomes and parent experience within prenatal diagnosis. 

Teaching

• 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)

Interests

Research

• Patient experience, genomics and nursing, prenatal screening and diagnosis, online education, innovative teaching, student-centred teaching, equity and diversity in nursing, neurodevelopmental differences, hermeneutic phenomenology, discourse analysis, agenesis of the corpus callosum, rare conditions and mental health

Experience

• 2020 to 2022 - Sessional academic, James Cook University
• 2018 to 2020 - Sessional academic, Deakin University

Research Disciplines

• Nursing (4205)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Clinical health (2001)
• Provision of health and support services (2003)

Awards

• 2021 - Southern Cross University Student Excellence Award
• 2018 - Academic Excellence, Southern Cross University

Memberships

• Global Genomics Nursing Alliance G2NA
• Through the Unexpected (Director)
• The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
• Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand
• Australian College of Mental Health Nurses
• Golden Key International Honour Society

Other

• RTP Scholarship
• 2021 - Letter of commendation for a high level of achievement in OUA SP 3 (GradCert Higher Ed Innovative Teaching and Learning)
• 2021 - Letter of commendation for a high level of achievement in OUA SP 2 (GradCert Higher Ed Innovative Teaching and Learning)

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

• Shakes P, Cashin A and Hurley J (2023) Threat and adaptation: The maternal lived experience of continuing pregnancy after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of agenesis of the corpus callosum. Social Science and Medicine, 339.
• Shakes P and Cashin A (2021) Mental health nursing and the prenatal diagnosis of a congenital anomaly; a narrative of experience. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 28 (2). pp. 271-277
• Johnson J, Arezina J, Tomlin L, Alt S, Arnold J, Bailey S, Beety H, Bender-Atik R, Bryant L, Coates J, Collinge S, Fishburn J, Fisher J, Fowler J, Glanville T, Hallett J, Harley-Roberts A, Harrison G, Horwood K, Hynes C, Kimm L, McGuinness A, Potter L, Powell L, Ramsay J, Shakes P, Sicklen R, Sims A, Stacey T, Sumra A, Thomas S, Todd K, Torrington J, Trueman R, Walsh L, Watkins K, Yaz G and Hardicre N (2020) UK consensus guidelines for the delivery of unexpected news in obstetric ultrasound: The ASCKS framework. Ultrasound, 28 (4). pp. 235-245
• Shakes P and Cashin A (2020) An Analysis of Twitter Discourse Regarding Identifying Language for People on the Autism Spectrum. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 41 (3). pp. 221-228
• Shakes P, Cashin A and Hurley J (2020) Scoping Review of the Prenatal Diagnosis of Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 49 (5). pp. 423-436
• Shakes P and Cashin A (2019) Identifying language for people on the autism spectrum: a scoping review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 40 (4). pp. 317-325

Other research outputs

• Shakes P and Deslandes A (2021) The challenges for patients and sonographers when complex obstetric anomalies are identified. Sonography, 8 (2). pp. 65-70

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

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