Adjunct Professor Michael Roche is a mental health nurse with experience in clinical, education, IT and management positions in the public health system. He has undertaken wide-ranging research that has investigated the the links between the nursing practice environment and patient, nurse and system outcomes. He has explored the influence of the practice environment on the therapeutic relationships of nurses working in mental health, nursing workload, skill mix, and patient outcomes, nursing turnover, the role of Assistants in Nursing in mental health, the use of primary health care services by homeless men, and the impact of parenting programs for incarcerated parents. His work has explored the nursing practice environment, staffing and skill mix, nurse retention, resilience, and wellbeing, occupational violence, professional pathways for nurses in mental health, and the safety culture of mental health units.

Michael has over 175 research outputs including peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and international conference presentations. He has written numerous reports and papers for government bodies and health services. He is a fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, was a founding member of the ACN workforce sustainability policy chapter, and served on the editorial board of Collegian for many years.

He is experienced in the design and conduct of multi-site studies and in the analysis of administrative and prospectively collected data, particularly research using novel approaches to integrate data from disparate sources to provide new insights. He has a strong record in researcher development and supervises PhD, Masters and Honours students studying aspects of mental health nursing, the practice environment, nurse outcomes, workplace violence, and nursing leadership.