Rate My Professor Leigh Kinsman

Professor Leigh Kinsman serves as the Violet Vines Marshman Professor of Rural Health Research, Chair of Rural Health Research, and Director of the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research at La Trobe University Rural Health School. A Registered Nurse with over 40 years in healthcare, he earned his Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing), Master of Health Science, and Doctor of Philosophy from La Trobe University. His academic career includes roles as Lecturer in Acute Nursing at La Trobe University School of Nursing and Midwifery from 1998 to 2006, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor in Rural Health at Monash University School of Rural Health from 2006 to 2014, Professor of Evidence Based Nursing in a joint appointment with the University of Newcastle and Mid North Coast Local Health District, and a brief tenure as Professor of Healthcare Improvement at the University of Tasmania School of Nursing and Midwifery in 2018. He holds an ongoing position as Honorary Professor at the University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery. Earlier, he worked as a Registered Nurse at Bendigo Health from 1984 to 1998.

Kinsman’s research specializes in rural health, clinical pathways, health services research, knowledge translation, nursing, and acute care, with a focus on improving evidence-based practice access in rural settings, particularly through clinical pathways and building research capacity among nurses and midwives. He has produced over 100 journal articles and contributed to influential Cochrane systematic reviews. Key publications include “Emergency department crowding: a systematic review of causes, consequences and solutions” (2018), “Clinical pathways: effects on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay and hospital costs” (2010, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews), “What is a clinical pathway? Development of a definition to inform the debate” (2010), “Rating medical emergency teamwork performance: development of the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM)” (2010), and “Hospital nurse-staffing models and patient- and staff-related outcomes” (2019). Under his leadership, the Violet Vines Marshman Centre, funded by a $3 million philanthropic bequest, secured a $2.8 million grant from the Medical Research Future Fund to enhance skin cancer outcomes in rural areas like the Loddon Mallee region. He established Australia’s first Rural Health Consumer Panel, involving 282 rural Australians to shape research priorities and policy. His contributions have advanced rural healthcare equity and practice worldwide.