Wounds Australia represents some of the best wound care professionals, researchers and educators in the country and they generously share their insights and expertise by volunteering to help us achieve our mission to minimise the harm caused by wounds.
In coming weeks, we'll be meeting some of the hardworking experts who volunteer for Wounds Australia and we launch the series with a Q&A with Associate Professor Christina Parker, chair of the Wounds Australia Research Committee.
Who are you and what do you do for a living?
I am a passionate Registered Nurse and experienced researcher with a wealth of clinical skills in hospital and community settings. I have been a Registered Nurse for 30 years, including 15 years working clinically across hospital and community settings, and I lead the Wound Research Advancement Group at Queensland University.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I gain immense satisfaction from playing a role in nursing students' growth and learning experience, particularly in relation to wound care. I also love seeing the research projects that are completed within our group making a difference to the care of people with wounds.
Why did you pursue this field?
As a nurse in primary care for 10 years, I could see that evidence-based practice was not always followed and that inconsistent wound care was a challenge. As a nurse researcher I can help make a difference to improving care for people with wounds.
Tell us about your volunteer work for Wounds Australia – now and in the past. What does it involve? What do you hope to achieve?
I have been a Qld committee member of Wounds Australia (and previously Australian Wound Management Association) for well over a decade. I am a current member of the Education Endorsement Committee and now Chair of the Wounds Australia research committee. These groups include passionate Wounds Australia members who kindly give their time to make Wounds Australia a success.
What do you enjoy about volunteering generally?
In all these roles I love the collaboration with interdisciplinary professionals who are passionate about wanting to make a difference in wound care, from education to research. I love meeting people at Wounds Australia events and seeing what they learn to take back to their own health areas.
What is your proudest achievement – personal or professional?
My proudest moment was completing my PhD in developing a risk assessment tool for healing for venous leg ulcers. Post-doctoral work has developed the risk assessment tool into an IT application where I have led studies looking at validation in three overseas populations (UK, New Zealand and Vienna) and incorporation of the risk assessment in pathways of care in General Practice. The delayed healing risk assessment tool has also been incorporated in the Nova Scotia government pathway for venous leg ulcers and in a Canadian/French textbook chapter on venous leg ulcers in Ottawa, Canada (2022).
What did you want to be at 10, 18 and 30 years old?
Nurse (with a small thought that I may want to be a flight attendant), nurse and nurse. I always wanted to be a nurse and couldn’t be prouder to call myself a Registered Nurse.
How do you spend your spare time? Hobbies?
Not much time for hobbies but a good movie is always good in any spare time and my husband and I have just invested in a campervan as we enjoy travelling the great outdoors.
What do you wish you’d known when starting out?
Nothing, I’ve loved learning from every experience and every opportunity to improve myself.
Interested in volunteering for us? Email admin@woundsaustralia.org to find out how.
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