Rate My Professor Maria Mackay

Associate Professor Maria Mackay, a proud Wiradjuri woman with ancestral ties to Blaney, New South Wales, holds the position of Academic Leader, Indigenous Health in the Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health at the University of Wollongong. As a registered nurse and midwife, she brings extensive clinical and leadership experience to her academic role. Her qualifications include a Doctor of Philosophy in person-centred education from Queen Margaret University, a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from the University of Wollongong, a Graduate Certificate in Public Health, and a Paediatric Certificate. Throughout her career at the University of Wollongong, Maria has served in key positions such as Senior Lecturer and Director of Clinical Learning, focusing on advancing nursing and midwifery education through transformational approaches that incorporate Indigenous knowledges.

Maria's research interests center on person-centred practice, Indigenous research methodologies, and collaborating with Aboriginal communities to improve health outcomes, particularly in bushfire and COVID-19 recovery contexts. She is a Director of the Person-centred Practice International Collaborative of Practice CIC and contributes to the Ngarruwan Ngadju Indigenous research centre. Her scholarly impact is evidenced by over 365 citations on Google Scholar. Notable publications include 'Practices Supporting Community Recovery and Healing Following Cumulative Trauma and Disaster: An Australian Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisation Case Study' (2024, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, with Lynne Keevers and others), 'Supporting recovery, healing and wellbeing with Aboriginal communities of the southeast coast of Australia: a practice-based study of an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation's response to cumulative disasters' (2024, BMC Health Services Research), 'The SEED Wellness Model: A Workplace Approach to Supporting Healthcare Workers’ Mental Health and Wellbeing After Trauma and Disaster' (2022, Frontiers in Health Services, with Padmini Pai and others), 'Facilitating person-centred learning between nursing students and clinical supervisors in practice: guideline and programme development' (2023, with Carley Jans), and 'Interventions That Support Breastfeeding for Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Scoping Review' (2024, with Naema Alatawi and others). Maria supervises Doctor of Philosophy students and integrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health frameworks into nursing curricula.