Rate My Professor Georgina Stephens

Dr Georgina Stephens is an education-focused Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Human Anatomy Education (CHAE) within the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, at Monash University. A Monash University graduate with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS Hons), she practiced as a junior doctor in Australia and New Zealand before returning to Monash in 2017 as an Assistant Lecturer in CHAE. Her PhD research examined uncertainty tolerance among medical students, investigating uncertain aspects of healthcare and education, students’ responses across cognition, emotion, and behavior, and factors influencing these experiences to inform curriculum development. Stephens teaches clinical anatomy in the medical curriculum, emphasizing whole-body donor dissection and team-based active learning with clinical cases. She also leads professional development for anatomy demonstrators and trains new staff in evidence-based approaches to medical education and donor dissection.

Her research explores how anatomy and medical education can develop psychosocial skills, particularly uncertainty tolerance and ethics in donor dissection. Notable contributions include an innovative ethics documentary from donor, educator, and student perspectives, now central to CHAE’s ethics training compliant with the Human Tissues Act—the first worldwide. Key publications encompass “A practical guide to using diary methods in qualitative research” (Anatomical Sciences Education, 2026), “More than words: The value of qualitative research for advancing educational practice” (2026), “Because everybody's different: Co‐designing body donor program consent processes” (2026), “Exploring response process validity of uncertainty tolerance scales implemented among health professions students” (2025), and “How to choose methodology in health professions education research” (2025). Awards include the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education—Innovation and Learning and Teaching (2023), Leon Piterman Prize for Social and Educational Research (2024), Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology PhD Excellence in Publication Award (2021), and ECR Excellence in Publication Award (2022). As guest editor for John Wiley & Sons and prolific publisher in leading journals, Stephens advances health professions education, better preparing learners for clinical uncertainties.