Rate My Professor Sandra Carr

Professor Sandra Carr serves as Professor and Head of the Department of Health Professions Education in the School of Health and Clinical Sciences at the University of Western Australia. Her academic background includes a clinical foundation in nursing and midwifery, a BSc from Curtin University, an MPH from the University of Western Australia, and a PhD in Medical Education from the University of Western Australia. As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she has earned several teaching accolades, including the UWA Excellence in Teaching Award for a Program that Enhances Learning in 2025 (shared with K. Evans, K. Smith-Han, and E. Bartle), the School of Allied Health Excellence in Teaching Award for a Program that Enhances Learning in 2024 (shared), and the SAH Excellence in Individual Teaching Award in 2022. She has supervised more than 35 higher degree research completions and has been instrumental in developing postgraduate programs in health professions education tailored for professionals in medicine, nursing, and allied health, delivered both face-to-face and online. Additionally, Sandra founded and coordinates Australia’s first undergraduate major in Humanities for Health and Medicine, which incorporates arts and humanities to cultivate empathy, critical thinking, and cultural awareness in future health professionals.

Sandra leads the Health Humanities Research Network and her scholarship centers on student selection, learner motivation, clinical education, academic performance, curriculum design, program evaluation, and the intersections of health humanities and education. Her expertise encompasses higher education, outcome-based education, simulation techniques, emotional intelligence, predictors of preparedness, selection processes, feedback enhancement, interprofessional learning, curriculum development, qualitative research, narrative inquiry, action research, and teaching quality evaluation. Key publications include 'Widening access to medicine: A realist review' (Medical Education, 2026), 'A Framework for Implementing Community-Based Dental Education' (The Clinical Teacher, 2025), 'Identifying as an intensivist: The transition from failure to success in a high-stakes medical specialist exam' (Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, 2025), and 'Integrating medical humanities in undergraduate medical education: a curricular model aligned with the InspirE5 framework' (BMC Medical Education, 2025). Through her leadership, she influences policy and practice in assessment, workplace-integrated learning, professional behaviour, and interprofessional education, promoting a holistic approach to health professions training aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, and 10.