Rate My Professor Michelle Gray

Associate Professor Michelle Gray is the Deputy Head of School (Education) and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where she joined in 2024 to oversee education functions. Trained in nursing and midwifery in England, she earned her Diploma in Midwifery in 1993, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), Master in Professional Learning, and PhD in 2016 examining Australian midwives' perspectives on the transition to national registration in 2010. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), Gray brings over 16 years of academic experience across three Australian universities in three states. She previously served as Associate Professor of Midwifery at Edith Cowan University from 2019 to 2024, leading the Master of Midwifery Research (2019-2020), Diploma in Prescribing and Pharmacology (2020-2021), Master of Midwifery (2020-2024), and accrediting the Graduate Diploma in Midwifery while supervising seven higher degree by research students. At Charles Darwin University in 2020, she was Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Master of Midwifery course coordinator. From 2007 to 2019, she lectured in nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast, contributing to its inaugural Master of Midwifery. Her clinical career includes practice nursing for the armed forces in Germany (1990-1993) and extensive midwifery roles across UK and Australian models, with joint hospital-university appointments.

Gray's research centers on midwifery education innovation, including three-dimensional virtual reality simulations, case-based and blended learning, regulation of practice, workforce issues, transition to practice, and qualitative studies in child health nursing. She co-authored books such as Pharmacology in Midwifery (2024) and Starting life as a midwife: An international review of transition from student to practitioner (2019), alongside chapters on preterm labour, asthma, infections, and professional frameworks. Key journal articles include 'The lived experience of midwives’ transitioning from a clinical role into teaching in higher education in one jurisdiction of Australia: A pilot study' (2024), 'Midwives’ perceptions of support for New Graduates: A survey' (2025), 'Stakeholder Perspectives of the Adoption and Effectiveness of Digital Learning in Midwifery Education in Africa: A Scoping Review' (2025), and 'What do we know about midwives' transition from clinical practice to higher education teaching roles? A scoping review' (2023). She received Professional Development Award funding of 20,000 in 2015.