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Research

ACORN supports and encourages research relating to perioperative nursing. In particular research that promotes evidence-based practice and increases knowledge and learning.

Research Committee

ACORN Research grant

3MT competition

PhD student group

Research webinars

Requests to survey ACORN Members

Researcher profiles

Research Committee

The ACORN Research Committee guides and coordinates all aspects of research activity for the College.

Research Committee terms of reference

Members of the Research Committee are available to discuss research plans and decisions regarding research supervisors. See below for profiles and email addresses. 

Committee members

Professor Brigid Gillespie (Committee Chair)
PhD, BHlth Sc (Hons), RN, FACORN 
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Griffith University & Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast Health, Queensland 
Email: b.gillespie@griffith.edu.au

Carollyn Williams (Honorary Secretary)
M Hlth Sc (Nur), FACORN, FACN

Professor Jed Duff
PhD, RN, FACORN
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Queensland 
Email: j2.duff@qut.edu.au

Dr Weili (Lily) Gao
PhD, MN, BN (Hons), Grad Dip (Periop), RN
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Victoria
Email: weili.gao@monash.edu

Dr Judy Munday
PhD, RN, FHEA
Queensland University of Technology, Queensland 
Email: Judy.munday@qut.edu.au

Associate Professor Patricia Nicholson
PhD, RN, FACORN
Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria
Email: p.nicholson@deakin.edu.au

Rona Pillay
PhD candidate, FACN, MACORN
Academic Course Advisor, Bachelor of Nursing Parramatta, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University Western Sydney, New South Wales
Email: rona.pillay@westernsydney.edu.au

ACORN Research grant

ACORN is committed to encouraging and supporting research into perioperative nursing practice. Through research, perioperative nurses can adopt best practice which is based on current evidence. Research takes time, commitment and funds so ACORN offers an annual research grant.

3MT competition

The ACORN Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition celebrates the exciting perioperative research conducted by Australian higher degree research students. The 3MT cultivates students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Entries close 24 September 2022.

PhD student group

This group is for members who are at different stages of their PhD journey in perioperative nursing practice. The group meets online to discuss their experiences. Members who have begun, or are considering undertaking, a PhD in the area of perioperative nursing and would like peer-support are encouraged to join these meetings. Please send your contact details to education@acorn.org.au for further information.

Research webinars

ACORN is presenting a series of webinars about perioperative research. More information will be available here soon.

ACORN webinars are recorded and available for viewing on the ACORN webinars page.

Requests to survey ACORN members

If you wish to survey ACORN members for a research project, please read Requests to survey ACORN Members. To request a survey of ACORN members, please click here.

Researcher profiles

ACORN posts profiles of perioperative nursing researchers on facebook. 

Rebecca Munt 

Sonia Mackenzie