Tanya Park

About
Degrees

PhD, James Cook University, Australia (2011)
Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Teaching, James Cook University, Australia (2006)
Masters in Midwifery, University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2005)
Post Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing, James Cook University (1998)
Bachelor of Nursing Science, James Cook University (1996)
In July 2014 I moved to Edmonton from Australia to join the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta.

My nursing practice includes both clinical and academic experiences. My clinical experiences include private and public settings (in rural, remote and urban centres) in general nursing, mental health nursing, and midwifery settings including crisis, community and emergency mental health services. My academic experience started in 2005 when I joined the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition at James Cook University, Queensland. I have had the opportunity to teach with both undergraduate and postgraduate students. I have held a variety of teaching and administration roles in the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition at JCU including Tutor, Subject Coordinator, Clinical Director, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Deputy Head of School.

In 2011 I completed a PhD investigating the effects of a healthy lifestyle program on weight gain for people with serious mental illness. This study has resulted in two additional studies investigating the experience of weight gain from the perspective of the person and the family.

My research and teaching interests reflect my clinical background and include mental health nursing, women's health, issues affecting the mentally ill, particularly living well with schizophrenia across the lifespan and nursing student experiences like simulation & clinical placement.

Research
My current research includes projects that inform the research program; Living well with schizophrenia across the lifespan. Other projects include; demonstration project of inter -professional simulation, investigating student nurses experience of bullying in health care settings, exploring different models of clinical placement from students’ perspective and understanding nursing students’ beliefs about nursing and gender. I currently supervise Honors, Masters and PhD students in Canada and Australia, in the areas of women's health, mental health, education issues for nursing students and simulation.