Staff profile

Qualifications

RN, BN, GradDipCommNsg, MHP, MRCNA

Membership of professional associations

Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA), Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) Mooroopna Base Hospital / Goulburn Valley Base Hospital Graduates Association (committee)

Area of study

Nursing

Brief profile

Beverley Guest-Smith has six years full-time experience as a Lecturer in Nursing at the Shepparton Campus. During this time Beverley was also responsible for coordinating the Bachelor of Nursing course in Shepparton. She has seen the program grow from one full-time lecture for 20 nursing students to a team of inter-disciplinary staff for 90 health sciences students.

The newly formed La Trobe Rural Health School (LRHS) (Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga, Mildura & Shepparton), now administers the Faculty of Health Sciences programs at the Shepparton campus. This currently includes the three year Bachelor of Nursing and first year of the Master degrees in: Health Information Management, Occupational Therapy, Paramedics, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Speech Therapy.

With academic qualifications, professional training and experience as a community health nurse and centre manager, as a health care quality improvement coordinator and a research nurse, Beverley lectures into several 1st, 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate subjects. These include, health sciences / public health first year: inter-professional practice; individual & social determinants of health; perspectives on health & wellbeing. Second year nursing: clinical health assessment; and community nursing. Third year nursing: professional transitions in nursing; managing chronic conditions; and complex interactions in nursing. These subjects now include streamed components from subjects previously taught by Beverley in bioethics, healthcare law, professional accountability, quality of care, program evaluation and evidence-based practice.  

Nursing interests

Beverley is currently undertaking nursing professional practice at Goulburn Valley Health, chronic diseases out-patient unit. She maintains an interest in local community health and community development issues via liaison with the City of Greater Shepparton public health planning process, Goulburn Valley Primary Care Connect (community health service) and Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership.

Prior to work at The University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, Beverley was regional coordinator for Goulburn Valley Falls Prevention Projects with Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS), for three years. Beverley was awarded Victorian best-practice recognition from the DHS for this work. She was the community health nurse in the rural townships of Nathalia, Numurkah, Maffra and Lock Sport over a ten year period, which included project work for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. As part of her three year health promotion nurse role with the Victorian Department of Health (Gippsland), Beverley established the state’s first region-wide asthma education nurses’ network; which lead to her teaching for the Asthma Foundation.

Beverley has experience in a broad range of nursing roles in Australia and England (including as an occupational health nurse for Harrods of London). She also trained as a midwife in London and a burns and reconstructive surgery nurse specialist at East Grinstead, England. Her nursing training started at Mooroopna Base Hospital. Beverley is a committee member of the historic Mooroopna Base Hospital / Goulburn Valley Base Hospital Graduates Association.

Research interests

Community Nursing / Health Promotion / Program Evaluation / Community Development / Public Health

Beverley’s Master of Health Promotion by research studied the health effects, over a 12-month period, of a strength training social group program for community-dwelling older adults in rural Victoria (Nathalia). Beverley presented this work at conferences in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Whilst employed for two years at The University of Melbourne, School of Rural Health Research Centre, Shepparton campus, Beverley was awarded a Primary Health Care Research Evaluation & Development program (PHCRED) Research Fellowship. During this period Beverley undertook project evaluation research work for Goulburn Valley Health hospital admission risk program (HARP); City of Greater Shepparton ‘Best Start Project’ children’s services program; and the Victorian Department of Health, ‘Community Building Projects’ in North Shepparton and Seymour.

Current La Trobe University research project involvement by Beverley includes a focus on graduate nurses’ health and wellbeing as they transition from university into hospital-based Graduate Nurse Programs. The project aims to impact positively on nursing student preparation and nurse retention in rural health care services.

Beverley’s interest in public health includes examining the individual and social determinants of health in regional communities.  

Research interests

Community Nursing

- Please contact me to discuss a topic.

Quality and Safety

- Please contact me to discuss a topic.

Teaching units