Rate My Professor Sue Walthert

Dr Sue Walthert is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Convenor for Professional Development in the Medical Education Unit of the Dunedin School of Medicine at the University of Otago, part of the Division of Health Sciences. In this role, she contributes to the professional development of medical students and educators, focusing on ethical and practical aspects of medical practice. Her work supports the creation of positive learning environments and addresses key challenges in healthcare training. Walthert has extensive experience as a general practitioner, integrating clinical insights into her academic responsibilities. She has been involved in developing educational content on emerging issues such as the use of social media and internet searches in patient care.

Walthert has co-authored significant publications on healthcare ethics and education. In 2015, she contributed to 'Bullying in health care settings: time for a whole-of-system response,' published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. Co-authored with colleagues including Prof Peter Crampton and Prof Tim Wilkinson, the article calls for comprehensive strategies to combat bullying, including resilience training, robust reporting systems, and leadership initiatives to break cycles of intimidation in medical training and practice. In 2017, she co-authored 'Patient-targeted Googling and social media: a cross-sectional study of senior medical students' in BMC Medical Ethics, based on a survey of final-year Otago Medical School students. The study revealed that while patient-targeted Googling is uncommon, it raises ethical concerns about privacy, trust, and professionalism, recommending explicit guidelines and reflection in curricula. As a result, Otago Medical School incorporated the topic into early learning modules. Additionally, Walthert supervised related research and presented at international conferences such as AMEE 2018. She developed the Bridge to Health Cancer Survivorship Programme, addressing post-treatment support gaps, informed by her experience as a breast cancer survivor. Her efforts have influenced discussions on mental capacity assessments and contributed to toolkits and policy recommendations in New Zealand healthcare.