Rachel Walker

Current
I am a Registered Nurse and commenced my role as Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at James Cook University in August 2024, with a conjoint appointment at Townsville University Hospital and Health Service.

My current research focus is on pressure injury (PI) prevention. I plan to seek funding to identify predictors of PI using machine learning and to explore gaps in surgical PI prevention, based on current policies and procedures (funded).

I am also eager to engage in collaborative research with First Nations communities and research related to Women and Children.

I consider myself a generalist, open to a wide range of research opportunities, including:

• Quality and safety in clinical settings
• Knowledge translation
• Innovations in teaching and learning
• Digital health technologies
• Mixed methods research
• Systematic reviews
• Clinical trials
• Implementation science

 

Research Collaborators and Partners
Over the past seven years, I have established strong connections with a diverse network of research collaborators. Together, we have worked on projects such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, research grant applications, and publications. These teams are typically multidisciplinary, involving nurses, doctors, dietitians, statisticians, health economists, health consumers, and family members.

For example, in 2020, I led a systematic review of Cochrane Reviews, collaborating with colleagues from Princess Alexandra Hospital, Monash University, St Vincent’s Health (Sydney/Melbourne), the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, and Amsterdam University Medical Centre.

Walker RM, Gillespie BM, McInnes E, Moore Z, Eskes AM, Patton D, Harbeck EL, White C, Scott IA, Chaboyer W. Prevention and treatment of pressure injuries: A meta-synthesis of Cochrane Reviews. Journal of Tissue Viability. 2020; 29: 227-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtv.2020.05.004

Between 2018 and 2020, I led a significant international study funded by Becton Dickinson and Company (US$55,258) across five Latin American countries. This project focused on peripheral intravenous catheter use in acute health settings and was the first of its kind in the region. It involved developing culturally appropriate data collection tools in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Walker RM, de Oliveira Pires MP, Ray-Barruel G, Cooke M, Mihala G, Schoenau de Azevedo S, Sorgini Peterlin MA, Di Angelis Ambar Felipe M, Álvarez CP, Quintanilla M, Corzo MC, Cortez Villareal G, Nataren Cigarroa E, Pedreira MLG, Rickard CM. Peripheral Vascular Catheter Use in Latin America: The VASCULAR Study. Frontiers in Medicine. 2023; 9:1039232. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.1039232

My Background
In the early stages of my career, my research focused on education, specifically clinical education models and the interface between nursing academia and health services. My Masters thesis explored the experience of the RN Buddy in undergraduate clinical education, followed by a PhD that was nominated for the Chancellor’s Medal. This research examined the long-term impact of a Learning Circle initiative on leadership capacity and communication in clinical settings.

Mid-career, I transitioned into clinical research, undertaking a Research Fellowship with the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing at Griffith University, based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. During this time, my research centred on skin integrity, including pressure injury prevention and treatment, surgical site infections, and vascular access devices.

Five years after completing my PhD, I successfully secured the NHMRC Project Grant for the Effectiveness of Prophylactic Foam Dressings in the Prevention of Sacral Pressure Injuries in At-Risk Hospitalised Patients (EEPOC) Trial (2018), APP11583879, valued at $1,834,110.04. I also led a $706,528 NHMRC Early Career Project Grant and was an Associate Investigator in the Wiser Wound Care Centre of Research Excellence at Griffith University.

Walker RM, Chaboyer W, Cooke M, Whitty JA, Thalib L, Lockwood I, Latimer S, Campbell J, Probert R, Gillespie B. Effectiveness of Prophylactic Foam Dressings in the Prevention of Sacral Pressure Injuries in At-Risk Hospitalised Patients (EEPOC Trial): A multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial protocol and update. BMC Trials. 2023; 24:70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06999-y

My work has attracted over $6 million in research funding.

In 2019, I chaired the working group on Device-Related Pressure Injuries, which contributed to the development of new guidelines in the International Pressure Injury Clinical Practice Guidelines. These guidelines, translated into 19 languages, have had a significant international impact by addressing challenges in pressure injury assessment and management. As a result, I am recognised globally as a leading expert in this field, ranked in the top 1% of pressure injury researchers.