Rate My Professor Tash Hawkins

Dr Tash Hawkins is a passionate nurse academic and researcher committed to improving rural health outcomes through innovative nursing education and inclusive workplace cultures. She serves as a Lecturer in Nursing in the School of Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, at the University of New England. Her academic background includes a PhD in Nursing from the University of Newcastle, Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education and Training from the University of New England, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from Fortress Learning, and Bachelor of Nursing from Griffith University. With over 20 years in nursing and academia, she has led curriculum design, rural outreach, and placement innovations. She currently coordinates postgraduate aged care nursing courses and is the Tamworth Campus Community Engagement Lead for Nursing. Her teaching areas cover undergraduate nursing theory and practice, postgraduate aged care nursing, interprofessional education, legal and ethical nursing practice, and infection prevention and control.

Dr Hawkins' research interests include respectful workplace cultures in nursing, transition experiences of new graduate nurses, interprofessional and simulation-based education, neurodiversity in nursing practice, and aged care workforce development. Key publications are 'Navigating Integration in Mixed-methods: A Practical Guide for Novice Nursing Researchers' with S.-S. Jeong and J. Sim (2025, Research in Nursing & Health); 'Do multimedia-based exam questions enhance learning? Perspectives and insights from first-year nursing students' with M. Singh et al. (2025, Teaching and Learning in Nursing); 'The escape room experience: Exploring new ways to deliver interprofessional education' with J. Ferns et al. (2024, Innovations in Education and Teaching International); 'A conflicted tribe under pressure: A qualitative study of negative workplace behaviour in nursing' (2023, Journal of Advanced Nursing); 'Creating respectful workplaces for nurses in regional acute care settings: A quasi-experimental design' (2022, Nursing Open); and 'Coming ready or not! An integrative review examining new graduate nurses' transition in acute care' (2019, International Journal of Nursing Practice). She has earned the UNE Faculty of Medicine and Health Dean’s Award for Research (Early Career Researcher Award) in 2024, PRBC Publication of the Year in 2020, University of Newcastle DVC Award for Innovation and Impact in 2019, Australian Awards for University Teaching in 2014, Vice Chancellor’s Award for Programs that Enhance Learning in 2013, and University of Newcastle Clinical Nurse Educator of the Year in 2011.