Merrilyn Walton

Professor Emerita Merrilyn Walton serves as Professor of Medical Education (Patient Safety) in the Sydney School of Public Health within the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Holding qualifications including BA, BSW, MSW, and PhD, she has dedicated over 30 years to health care, establishing a prominent reputation in health professional regulation and patient safety. Her academic career includes prior roles such as Associate Professor at the Centre for Innovation in Professional Health Education and Research. Walton has contributed significantly to medical education and patient safety initiatives, including development of the WHO patient safety curriculum guide for medical schools. She chairs the Personal and Professional Development Theme in certain programs and teaches courses on quality and safety in health care.

Walton's research focuses on patient safety, medical education, open disclosure of adverse events, healthcare complaints, ethnic minority patient care, and One Health approaches. She has authored over 17 peer-reviewed publications and three books, including editing One Planet, One Health (Sydney University Press, 2019) and authoring Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting it Right. Key papers include 'Regulating healthcare complaints: a literature review' (2014, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance), 'Using patients' experiences of adverse events to improve health system performance' (BMJ Open, 2014), 'The safety of health care for ethnic minority patients' (International Journal for Equity in Health, 2020), 'Open disclosure of adverse events: exploring the implications' (Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 2022), and 'One planet one health: What about the kids?' (Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2021). She has participated in funded projects such as piloting empowerment programs for cocoa farmers in West Sulawesi. Walton has served on committees for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and received the Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Recognized among global elite researchers, her work influences health policy, education, and safety standards.

Professional Email: merrilyn.walton@sydney.edu.au