Rate My Professor Natalee Williams-Claassen

Natalee Williams-Claassen is a Senior Lecturer in Paramedic Science and Head of Course for Paramedic Science Postgraduate programs within the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences at CQUniversity Australia, based at the Rockhampton North campus. She coordinates several key units in the paramedic science curriculum, including PMSC20014, PMSC28002, PMSC20002 Advanced Critical Skills Application, and PMSC20012 Primary Healthcare 1, across multiple terms from 2020 to 2026. Her teaching responsibilities focus on advanced clinical practice, critical skills application, primary healthcare, and perfusion procedures in prehospital settings. Williams-Claassen contributes to the Paramedicine Professoriate Community of Practice through the Australasian Council of Paramedicine Deans. She has engaged in public education initiatives, such as leading a CPR workshop for parents in 2016, emphasizing life-saving techniques for children.

Williams-Claassen holds a Master of Technology in Emergency Medical Care from Durban University of Technology, completed in 2013. Her master's thesis, titled 'Development of a disinfection protocol for the public sector Emergency Medical Services in the eThekwini District of KwaZulu-Natal,' addressed the absence of a national policy for infection control in South Africa's prehospital environment. The study utilized qualitative multiple case studies across three phases: focus group discussions with operational and management staff to identify protocol factors, development of an ambulance-specific disinfection protocol using international guidelines, and implementation and evaluation at seven ambulance bases using open-ended questionnaires. Key findings highlighted themes in infection control, recommending staff training, a dedicated EMS policy, increased resources, and infection control supervisors to reduce risks to staff and patients. She co-authored a research critique, 'Application of the Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation system can reduce microbial surface contamination in ambulance compartments,' evaluating UVGI efficacy for ambulance disinfection, its variations by fixture location and surface reflectivity, and practical challenges in prehospital infection control, particularly relevant during outbreaks like COVID-19. Her work centers on prehospital emergency care, infection prevention, and disinfection protocols in emergency medical services.