Rate My Professor Penelope Harrison

Dr Penelope Harrison is a Lecturer in Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast's Caboolture campus within the School of Health. Her academic background includes a PhD from the University of the Sunshine Coast, a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from the University of the Sunshine Coast, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England, and a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) from Southern Cross University. Dr Harrison has built a distinguished career primarily in the speciality of paediatric nursing, alongside experience as a Community Health Nurse across a range of settings, including metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote locations. Her specialist areas of knowledge cover nursing care in all settings, paediatric nursing, and community health nursing.

In her current role, Dr Harrison teaches key courses such as Nursing Practice Foundations, Practical Nursing Skills, and The Child Client. Her research specializations encompass nursing history, disability history, and education history. This is exemplified by her PhD thesis, 'Schooling for All?: A History of the Educational Opportunities of Children with Disabilities in Queensland State Schools'. Key publications include 'Snapshots of simulation: Creative strategies used by Australian educators to enhance simulation learning experiences for nursing students' (Nurse Education in Practice, 2013); 'Simulation: Preparation of Bachelor of Nursing students for aged care practice' (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 2016); 'Enhancing student nurse preparation for paediatric practice' (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 2017); 'Acute Illness: The child and their family' (book chapter, 2013); 'Growing transdisciplinary connections: creating a learning community' (conference presentation, 2015); 'Engaging child actors as simulated patients within Nursing simulation' (conference presentation, 2016); 'Acting for Health with Children: Final Report 2016' (2017); and 'Guidelines for Engaging Children as Simulated Patients' (2017). Dr Harrison is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a recipient of internal learning and teaching grants at the University of the Sunshine Coast.