Rate My Professor Olivia Gallagher

Professor Olivia Gallagher is Professor and Head of the Department of Nursing in the School of Health and Clinical Sciences at the University of Western Australia. Holding a PhD and Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), she is a registered nurse with 22 years of clinical practice in surgical, operating theatre, critical care, and aged care settings. For the past 15 years, she has been a nurse academic and researcher in senior leadership roles, including Nurse Director Research at South Metropolitan Health Service and Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University. Previously associated with Edith Cowan University, she has supervised higher degree by research students on topics such as social and emotional support for nursing staff and experiences of older people in home care services.

Gallagher's research focuses on older adult care, clinical deterioration, simulation-based learning, and health professional education. Key publications include "Evaluating trauma nursing education: An integrative literature review" (Nurse Education Today, 2016), "Nursing student experiences of death and dying during a palliative care clinical placement: Teaching and learning implications" (2014), "Confronting reality: A case study of a group of student nurses undertaking a management of aggression training (MOAT) program" (Nurse Education in Practice, 2017), "Nursing leadership and pandemic preparedness via game-based learning simulation: A narrative review" (Nurse Education Today, 2026), and "Integration of virtual simulation within a nursing curriculum: A mixed methods study" (Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 2026). She has secured grants including the MRFF 2024 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant, Department of Health and Aged Care funding (2023), and Edith Cowan University Teaching and Learning Grants (2023). Gallagher leads initiatives such as UWA's new Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) degree and research fellowships in aged and disability care. She serves as Deputy Chair of the Aged Care Nursing Faculty of the Australian College of Nursing, editorial board member of the International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, Director of the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Council/Deans and Heads of School Forum, and member of the WA Health Central Human Research Ethics Committee. She contributes as a peer reviewer for journals and grants.