Rate My Professor Gary Crowfoot

Dr Gary Crowfoot is a Registered Nurse and Senior Lecturer within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Newcastle, Australia. As Head of Professional Experience, he leads the strategic design, implementation, and evaluation of clinical placement programs impacting over 1,800 students annually. He previously served as Bachelor of Nursing Program Convenor from 2021 to 2023. Crowfoot holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Newcastle (2016), a Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), and a Bachelor of Nursing from the same institution. He continues clinical practice as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at Belmont District Hospital, Hunter New England Health, since 2012.

His research expertise centres on continuity models and professional education in pre-registration nursing, with a particular focus on the Continuity-Aligned Dedicated Education Unit (CADEU) model, which he led in co-designing and developing. This innovative model enhances student learning experiences, professional identity development, workforce readiness, preceptor experiences, and patient care quality across diverse clinical settings including acute care, community health, and chronic care. Employing mixed-methods approaches, his work examines impacts on students, staff, health services, and patients. Crowfoot's research portfolio also encompasses nursing education scholarship, healthcare workforce development, and stroke prevention, informed by his PhD investigating experiences of individuals with transient ischaemic attack or minor stroke. He has secured over $329,000 in competitive research funding and $864,000 in competitive education funding. Notable publications include the 2025 editorial "Co-designing the future of nursing education: Integrating tradition and innovation" in Contemporary Nurse; "Digital reflective practice among new graduate nurses – A scoping review" (2025); "The effect of hospital volunteering on empathy in nursing and medical students" (2025); and "Experiences of nurse preceptors in a continuity-aligned dedicated education unit" (2025). Through partnerships with Local Health Districts, he translates findings into practice, leads rural health pathways promoting equity, contributes to national and international placement innovation discussions, and reviews for journals such as Journal of Advanced Nursing and PLOS ONE. His published work has informed international stroke rehabilitation guidelines.