2024 Palliative Care Nursing Research Fund Recipient
Jo Kelly has been awarded the Department of Nursing's Dame Quentin Bryce Palliative Care Nursing Research Fund Scholarship, created in conjunction with the Centre for Palliative Care. The grant of $30,000 will support Jo in completing her PhD, in which she hopes to uncover the value of community palliative care service provision.
Jo is passionate about improving the quality of life for every person she cares for. She embarked on her palliative care career in 1993 after caring for her father, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was 17. Jo has worked in both inpatient and community settings in metropolitan Melbourne and the Gippsland region in Victoria for the past 31 years.
In 2005, Jo began to service Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF), helping residents to improve their health outcomes. While undertaking this role, she recognised the need to educate their staff, which become a great passion for her. Jo worked closely with General Practitioners, Palliative Care Physicians, and Geriatricians, seeing herself as part of a team that could make a difference. These relationships encouraged her to become an endorsed Nurse Practitioner, which she achieved in 2013.
Since then, Jo has been committed to leading and mentoring other Advance Practice Nurses to expand their knowledge and skills benefiting their patients. She works diligently to provide high-quality service provision in all her tasks. Jo is certified in training and assessment and offers a tailored consultancy service to educate health professionals. Jo is also a qualified Neurocoach Practitioner to help people achieve the goals, fostering self-care and personal growth. She has her own business, ‘What Matters Most,’ which helps educate, support, and serve others.
Jo expresses concerns about the aging workforce in Victorian palliative care and the sector’s dwindling appeal in future healthcare. Discussing her PhD study, Jo elaborates, “This thesis advocates for innovative care models that prioritise empowering consumer choice and caregiver support, emphasising the importance of equitable access to community palliative care service.”
She highlights the significance of these potential findings on policy reform, building workforce capacity, bridging current care gaps, and reducing health disparities. Jo states, “This thesis proposes a forward-thinking framework for palliative care that could significantly influence the sector’s future, ensuring high-quality, equitable care for those with life-limiting illnesses and their caregivers, irrespective of location.”
Find out more about The University of Melbourne’s Nursing scholarships.
ABOUT THE CENTRE FOR PALLIATIVE CARE
The Centre for Palliative Care has a state, national and international focus, with the aim to improve access to quality palliative healthcare through research, education, and training. The Centre was established as a department of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne as well as a Collaborative Centre of the University of Melbourne. An integral part of the St Vincent’s Health Australia network, this collaboration aims to increase the quality of palliative care provided to the community via extensive psychological research, clinical trials, and education for health professionals.