Professor Gerdtz said she was honoured to be appointed as the new Dean of Nursing and Midwifery at La Trobe.
“I am excited to be returning to the university that provided me with such an exceptional foundation on which to build my career.”
“It’s a real privilege to be charged with the responsibility of leading the School of Nursing and Midwifery at La Trobe at such an important time of growth and transformation.”
“I also want to pay tribute to the outgoing Dean Professor Lisa McKenna for her dedication and contribution to the school and thank the entire university community for such a warm welcome.”
Professor Gerdtz joins La Trobe from The University of Melbourne where she was Head of Department of Nursing for the past eight years.
A Registered Nurse with a background in emergency care, Professor Gerdtz has led numerous evidence-based initiatives funded by government to improve the safety and quality of care in hospitalised patients. Her influential PhD and postdoctoral research work played a pivotal role in transforming hospital triage systems within the Australian public healthcare sector.
More recently, her research in preventing and managing behavioural disturbance in hospitalised patients has been a key driver of knowledge generation about how to address this clinical problem feasibly and sustainably in practice.
