OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
VIC McEWAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE CAD FACTORY

BIOGRAPHY:
Vic McEwan is the Artistic Director of The Cad Factory, an innovative arts organisation based in regional NSW. He explores experimental and contemporary arts practice in partnership with diverse sectors.

Vic was the 2015 Artist in Residence at the National Museum of Australia and the recipient of the Inaugural Arts NSW Regional Fellowship 2014/16. Vic’s practice involves working with sound, video, installation and performance, with a particular interest in site-specific work. He is interested in creating new dynamics by working with diverse partners and exploring difficult themes within the lived experience of communities and localities.

Vic aims to use his work to contribute to and enrich broader conversations about the role that the arts sector can play within our communities. He sits on the NSW/ACT Arts and Health State Leadership Group and is a board member of Music NSW. Vic has recently completed three years of artistic research exploring the negative effects of noise within hospital spaces. He has shared the outcomes of this work internationally in the UK, Lithuania and Australia.
                         
            

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
PROFESSOR KIM MANLEY BA, PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT, RESEARCH & INNOVATION & CO-DIRECTOR ENGLAND CENTRE FOR PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT, CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

BIOGRAPHY:
Kim integrates research and scholarly inquiry, practice development, workplace learning and leadership development to develop and sustain effective workplace cultures that are person centred, safe, effective and good places to work.

She is committed to whole systems integrated working, is passionate about helping staff to develop their potential and flourish, and for patients and service users to experience excellence. In 2000, she was awarded the CBE for quality patient services, in 2015, identified as one of the Nursing Times top 50 leaders and in 2018, recognised as one of seventy nurses having most impact on the National Health Service (NHS) since its inception in the NHS 70 year celebrations.

As a passionate nurse, Kim launched and established Nursing in Critical Care Journal as co-editor and established the first Nursing Development Unit in critical care, pioneering the use of primary nursing and the consultant nurse role.

Whilst at the Royal College of Nursing, Kim was a key partner in establishing the International Practice Development Collaborative, led the development of the Principles of Nursing Practice, and was a founding director of the Health Care Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) with the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges and National Voices (Service Users).

She currently leads the development of a multi-professional consultant capability and impact framework for Health Education England, aligned to advanced practice and systems leadership. She has over 165 publications, six edited books and has examined many doctoral studies internationally.
       

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
JO SPICER, AUTHOR & SPEAKER,
CO-FOUNDER, BRIGHT BUTTERFLY

BIOGRAPHY:
Jo Spicer is an esteemed international author and speaker, dedicated to empowering people to survive trauma, revive their potential and to thrive with passion.

A gifted communicator, Jo has featured in the media with interviews on the Today Show, ABC radio and 2Day FM. She is also an active advocate, fulfilling roles as Ambassador for the Cancer Council Relay for Life and the Leukaemia Foundation Angels at Work. Jo is a consumer representative on the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) Clinical Governance Council and Standard 2 Committee.

From her own lived experience of trauma, including two primary cancer diagnoses, the complex pregnancy and births of her children, chronic migraines and PTSD, Jo has observed the need for a different kind of resource to improve consumer outcomes.

With a 35-year background in journalism, training and mentoring, Jo is the author of fiction and non-fiction books that deal with the emotional, psychological and practical needs of patients, carers and families when trauma impacts their lives.

Jo’s work brings together her research, presented through inspiring stories and proven strategies, to facilitate understanding and connection between patients and medical professionals. Her mission is to communicate the patient voice, working together with healthcare professionals to enhance person-centred care throughout the world.

Today, Jo channels her energy into creating more tools to help people deal with all types of trauma. Her enterprise, Bright Butterfly, founded with her sister Kerri, is a platform to connect individuals to the support they need to process traumatic experiences such as cancer, pregnancy and infant loss and more.

Filled with inspiration for the body, mind and soul, Bright Butterfly strives to facilitate our ability to survive, revive and thrive.

            

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
DR DUNCAN MCKELLAR

BIOGRAPHY:
Duncan McKellar is a psychiatrist specialising in the care of older people. He was a member of the Oakden Review panel with the South Australian Chief Psychiatrist in 2017, undertaking a deep dive into problems occurring in the Oakden Older Persons’ Mental Health Service, leading to the publication of the Oakden Report, which triggered further national investigation and review, including the Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care.

Duncan was subsequently appointed to the role of Head of Unit for the Older Persons’ Mental Health Service in the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, to lead the implementation of the recommendations of the Report.

Duncan had a lead role in the Oakden Response Oversight Committee appointed by SA Health and chaired the state wide working groups for the development of new models of care, staffing profiles and reducing restrictive practices project, as well as co-authoring the South Australian Older Persons’ Mental Health Culture Framework.

After operationalising the closure of the Oakden Campus, he led the development and commissioning of Northgate House, which is developing as an exemplar of new ways of working with people with dementia in South Australian public health services.

In November 2018, Northgate House won the SA Health Excellence Award for improving safety and quality.

He remains committed to rethinking the way health organisations work in order to deliver compassionate relationship-centred care through deliberately developmental inter-disciplinary teams with people, their families and carers at the centre of activity and service development.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
PROFESSOR TANYA MCCANCE, DPhil, MSc, BSc (HONS.) RGN

BIOGRAPHY:
Professor Tanya McCance has an international reputation in the development of person-centred practice through the use of participatory research approaches, such as practice development and action research.

She has been a registered nurse since 1990 and throughout her career has held several joint posts between higher education institutions and health and social care providers demonstrating her commitment to the integration of practice, education, and research.

She leads a programme of research that is underpinned by the Person-centred Practice Framework, which she has developed with Professor Brendan McCormack over the last 15 years, and which is central to the impact of her research. Her most recent work focuses on the identification of a relevant and appropriate set of key performance indicators for nursing and midwifery that are indicative of person-centred care and the development of methods that will demonstration the unique contribution of nursing to the patient experience.

Tanya’s research activities reflect her passion for nursing and her commitment to the development of person-centred practice that will enhance the care experience for patients and their families. She has been recognised for her research contribution by inclusion in the Nursing Times Inspirational Nurse Leaders List (September 2015).

More recently, she was awarded the Royal College of Nursing, Nurse of the Year 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award, and in 2018 she was listed as one of 70 influential nurses and midwives in 70 years of the NHS.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
PROFESSOR VAL WILSON, RSCN RN BEdSt.MN

BIOGRAPHY:
Val holds a joint appointment as Professor of Nursing Research at Illawarra & Shoalhaven Local Health District and the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

The focus of her role is on ‘working with’ clinicians to develop person centred approaches to care, that are both evidence based and take into account the needs of patients and their families.

She has considerable research experience in qualitative approaches, mixed methods, action research and realist evaluation and has extensively presented and published the outcomes of her work. She has been an active member of the International Practice Development Collaborative for over 15 years.

Her current research projects include for example an International study focusing on measurement of person centred KPI’s via an app, action research studies aimed at reducing falls, medication errors and pressure injuries, measuring safety attitudes of staff across a large acute care hospital, implementing a staff well-being program and developing compassionate leaders.

Her teaching focus is on person centred practice, leadership, reflection and facilitation of cultural change. She is currently supervising 12 HDR candidates.