Rate My Professor Jane Ferns

Jane Ferns is a Lecturer in Interprofessional Practice at the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health (UONDRH) in the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, based in Taree, Australia. She holds a Master of Pharmacy from the University of Newcastle (2010) and a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences from the same institution. As a registered pharmacist with the Pharmacy Board of Australia, she is credentialed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to conduct medication management reviews and provide immunisation services. Her professional background includes management and professional services roles in community pharmacy. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE), Ferns coordinates interprofessional education for students across health disciplines, facilitating interactive and collaborative learning critical for team-based healthcare. She leads the development and implementation of interprofessional work-integrated learning opportunities for health students in rural communities, enabling authentic practice experiences and the cultivation of collaborative competencies. Through collaboration with academic colleagues at UONDRH, she delivers high-quality interprofessional education tailored to rural and remote settings.

Ferns' academic interests and research specializations focus on interprofessional education and collaborative practice, the design and delivery of high-quality rural health student placements, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She is committed to advancing best practices in health professions education via research and innovative teaching methods. Key publications include 'A framework for the design, delivery, and evaluation of rural health professions student placements' (2026, Advances in Health Sciences Education, co-authored with Green E et al.), 'What do Australian university staff perceive are the features of high-quality rural health student placements? A sequential explanatory study' (2025, BMJ Open, co-authored with Green E et al.), and 'The escape room experience: Exploring new ways to deliver interprofessional education' (2022, Innovations in Education and Teaching International). She has presented extensively at conferences, including 'Supporting students' collaborative practice: a narrative reflection on a workshop for developing clinical educators' interprofessional rapport' (2024) and 'Identifying features of quality in rural placements for health students' (2022). Her contributions enhance understanding of effective rural placements and interprofessional training, influencing health education in regional contexts.