Mrs Smitha Raj

Smitha is a lecturer in nursing, working within the UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences Academic Unit at the City East Campus. Throughout her 22-year nursing career, Smitha has worked in a variety of specialties. However, the majority of her clinical experience is in orthopaedics, trauma, and neurosurgery. Smitha was an active member of the in-service education and training teams in India and Ireland. Smitha has always been interested in education and believes that the nursing profession requires a holistic approach in addition to academic and clinical abilities. Throughout her nursing career, Smitha was actively involved in in-service training and clinical facilitation and preceptorship for students from diverse nursing, medical, and allied health specialties. Smitha has worked as an Academic Tutor at the University of South Australia for three years on the BNS programme. Smitha had the opportunity to share her clinical experience and enthusiasm for nursing with students, and she found it rewarding to observe their growth and progress during the programme. Smitha is particularly interested in research around mental health nursing (family-centered care for parents of disabled children) and connecting families to the first line of care. She feels that by emphasising a family-centred approach, parents of children with disabilities can obtain the assistance and resources they require to navigate the complex healthcare system. Smitha hopes that connecting families to primary health care services could enhance access to relevant care on time and, in turn, the general well-being of families confronting these issues. Smitha hopes that her research will have a positive impact on the lives of these families while also contributing to the area of nursing research and education.

2008 - ongoing Member AHPRA, Australia

2013 - ongoing Member ANMF SA, Australia

2007 - ongoing Member Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO) Ireland

2002 - ongoing Member Indian Nursing Council

2002 - ongoing Member KNMC (Kerala Nurses and Midwives council)

Qualifications

• Graduate Diploma of Nursing (Orthopaedic Nursing) University of Tasmania

Work history

July 24 - ongoing Lecturer in Nursing, University of South Australia

Jan 24 - July -  Associate Lecturer, The University of Adelaide

July 21 - July 24 - Academic Tutor, University of South Australia

2021 - 2023 Academic Tutor, Flinders University

2013 - ongoing Senior Registered Nurse, Calvary Adelaide Hospital

l2007 - 2013 Senior Registered Nurse, Hermitage Medical Clinic,DUblin, Ireland

2006 - 2007 Registered Nurse, Assisi House LTD,Dublin, Ireland

2006 - 2006 Senior Registered Nurse, Max Healthcare, New delhi, India

2003 - 2005 Registered Nurse, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre,Cohin, Kerala, India