Rate My Professor Kate Rhodes

Dr. Kate Rhodes serves as a Lecturer in Nursing within the School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health, at Adelaide University. She possesses qualifications as a Developmental Educator, Registered General Nurse, and Registered Mental Health Nurse, accumulating over 30 years of clinical experience across diverse mental health settings. These include crisis intervention in suicide prevention, emergency mental health assessments, supportive nursing care for consumers and families, acute and rehabilitation inpatient units, and case management for homeless youth in adolescent community teams. Rhodes completed a Bachelor of Psychology at the University of South Australia from 2002 to 2010, followed by a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (First Class Honours) at Flinders University in 2011, and a Doctor of Philosophy at Flinders University School of Medicine in 2017. Her doctoral dissertation, titled 'The Intergenerational Transmission of Dietary Behaviours in Three Generation Australian Families,' examined health behaviours, family health history, and disease prevention through lifestyle changes in Anglo-Australian, Chinese-Australian, and Italian-Australian families. Earlier academic roles encompassed tutoring in Health Psychology and Research Methods for Flinders University's Master of Public Health program, and course coordination for Undertaking Translational Research in Cancer Prevention. Since 2016, she has lectured and coordinated postgraduate courses such as Perspectives in Mental Health Practice, Theoretical Approaches to Mental Health Practice, and Consolidation of Mental Health/Nursing Practice at the University of South Australia, alongside Quantitative Design for Nursing and Midwifery Health Research from 2018 to 2020. Currently, she is Program Director for the Graduate Diploma in Nursing specializing in Mental Health.

Rhodes specializes in mental health research translating into clinical practice, with key interests in suicide prevention, safety planning interventions, mixed methods research, psychology, statistics, and community engagement. Notable publications include 'The Impact of Clinical Supervision on the Mental Health Nursing Workforce: A Scoping Review' (McDonough, Rhodes, Procter, 2025, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing), 'The experiences of consumers, clinicians and support persons involved in the safety planning intervention for suicide prevention: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis' (O'Connor et al., 2024, Frontiers in Psychiatry), 'The effectiveness of the safety planning intervention for adults experiencing suicide-related distress: A systematic review' (Ferguson et al., 2021, Archives of Suicide Research), and 'Intergenerational transmission of dietary behaviours: a qualitative study of Anglo-Australian, Chinese-Australian and Italian-Australian three-generation families' (Rhodes et al., 2016, Appetite). She received the Australian Postgraduate Award PhD Scholarship worth $75,000 in 2012. As a member of the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research and Education team, Rhodes co-supervises PhD candidates on topics including elder abuse and the role of nurses, barriers to consumer engagement in pain management, and effects of gender and social class on sibling relationships post-childhood emotional abuse. She is eligible to co-supervise Masters and PhD students and holds memberships in the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Lived Experience Leadership and Advocacy Network, and Suicide Prevention Australia.