Rate My Professor Charmaine Le Roux

Charmaine Le Roux serves as Senior Professional Practice Fellow in the Department of Nursing at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes, Health Sciences Division. A Registered Nurse and Flight Nurse in the Intensive Care Department at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Canterbury Waitaha, Christchurch Hospital, she brings extensive clinical expertise to her academic role. Originally from South Africa, Le Roux completed her Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Critical Care in her home country. She relocated to New Zealand in 2016 and has since worked in Christchurch Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. In 2020, she commenced her involvement with the Canterbury Air Retrieval Team and the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service, enhancing her specialization in aeromedical retrieval.

Le Roux earned her Master of Health Sciences from the University of Otago, with an endorsement in aeromedical retrieval and transport. Her master's research examined the professional quality of life of public sector flight nurses in New Zealand through a cross-sectional survey utilizing the 30-item Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) V Health survey tool. Key findings included mean scores for compassion satisfaction at 23.31 (SD 3), perceived support at 23.01 (SD 3.4), burnout at 17.25 (SD 3.4), secondary traumatic stress at 14.67 (SD 4), and moral distress at 14.69 (SD 2.9). Percentages indicated high compassion satisfaction (55.68%), high perceived support (44.32%), low secondary traumatic stress (2.27%), high burnout (89.77%), and high moral distress (51.14%). Qualitative insights highlighted positive aspects such as helping patients, autonomy, challenge, variety, and teamwork, alongside challenges like insufficient management support, extended shifts, and delays in transfers. This research contributed to the peer-reviewed article 'The professional quality of life of flight nurses: a cross-sectional study,' published in Contemporary Nurse in 2024, co-authored with Anuradha Perera and Julia Anne Myers. Le Roux presented her findings at the Waitaha Nursing Research Showcase 2024 and the Aeromedical Conference.