Walter Eppich

Professor Walter Eppich holds the position of Professor of Work Integrated Learning Research at the University of Melbourne in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. He has dual appointments in the Department of Medical Education within the Melbourne Medical School and as Lead for Research at the Collaborative Practice Centre for Health. Appointed on 30 October 2023, Eppich brings extensive experience from prior roles. He earned an MD and a PhD in Health Professions Education from Maastricht University. His clinical expertise stems from paediatric emergency medicine, serving as an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Previously, he spent over 15 years at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he directed the Feinberg Academy of Medical Educators and faculty development in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Education. Most recently, he was Professor and Chair of the SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin, overseeing simulation-based education and assessment for medicine, surgery, pharmacy, physiotherapy, and nursing programs.

Eppich’s research investigates the intersections between simulation and workplace learning, emphasizing interprofessional collaborative practice, team reflection, healthcare debriefing, team adaptation, and strategies to enhance teamwork in healthcare settings. He collaborates with team and organizational psychologists to analyze workplace talk and team interactions contributing to collaborative learning and performance. Notable publications include “Debriefing as formative assessment: Closing performance gaps in medical education” (Academic Medicine, 2016, over 500 citations), “Behavioral sciences applied to acute care teams” (BMC Health Services Research, 2024), “Navigating the discomfort dilemma in work-based assessment” (Medical Teacher, 2025), and “A Surgical Handover System for Patient Physiology and Safety” (JAMA Network Open, 2025). With more than 8,600 citations across 177 publications, his scholarship has profoundly influenced health professions education and simulation science. Eppich is a 2019 KIPRIME Fellow and serves as Senior Editor for Advances in Simulation.

Professional Email: w.eppich@unimelb.edu.au