ProfSamantha Jakimowicz

Samantha's research focuses on three main streams: wellbeing support and education of (1) healthcare professionals (HCP); (2) consumers and the (3) community.

Samantha is committed to enhancing wellbeing of those learning about, working in and using healthcare services through providing an evidence base that is translated into the clinical setting. Her research interests specifically include: wellbeing and education; healthcare student experience, including professional and transition to practice; inter-professional experience; empathy; compassion; workforce culture and retention. Samantha has extensive experience in mixed method research including grounded theory and systematic reviews. She is a reviewer for multiple nursing and healthcare journals including Journal of Clinical Nursing, Collegian and European Journal of Cancer Care.

Samantha has forged national and international research collaborative relationships resulting in wellbeing interventions such as Schwartz Rounds, Compassionate Leadership and Empathy circles being adopted within higher education and healthcare facilities.

In 2018 she was awarded her PhD, titled: An investigation of patient-centred nursing and compassion satisfaction or compassion fatigue in Australian intensive care units arose from her experience as an intensive care nurse. Critical care nurses provide expert clinical skills and knowledge in a technologically diverse and complex setting. Aspects of patient-centred nursing in this environment can sometimes be lost in the biomedical milieu. Critical care nurses are exposed to extremely stressful and unpredictable conditions for long periods and are vulnerable to fatigue; compassion fatigue is recognised as a major problem impacting nurses’ health. Samantha found that intensive care nurses suffered an average amount of compassion fatigue, but also experienced only an average level of satisfaction. Ideally, nurses should be supported to experience high satisfaction and low fatigue. Importantly, her research also found that mid-career critical care nurses are the most at risk of compassion fatigue and that interventions that include time for collegial networking supported by the health service would enhance compassion satisfaction in this group of nurses. Results from Samantha's doctoral work has implications for nurses’ health, nursing workforce retention, patient experience and health outcomes in Australian hospitals.

Samantha completed her Honours in 2013 titled: Patients’ experience of nurse-led clinics: a qualitative systematic review. The aim was to determine factors impacting the subjective experience of patients attending nurse-led clinics. A systematic review of primary, qualitative literature was conducted using meta-aggregation methodology proposed by The Joanna Briggs Institute. It was concluded in order to improve patient experience, nurses need to ‘go back to basics’ with holistic nursing care. The concepts of the person-centred care model are key factors impacting patients’ subjective experience of nurse-led health care. Additionally, further qualitative research is required to evaluate the person-centred care model in relation to clinical outcome and practice.

Grants awarded:

Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Exploring the education of Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses in Australia: mixed methods research, $191,734

Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Distress Screening for Prostate Cancer (DSPC) E-Learning Module, $90,973

Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Investigating the implementation and effectiveness of a nurse-led telephone support service for men with prostate cancer: a mixed methods study, $60,000

University of Technology Sydney, Enhancing wellbeing of undergraduate and early-career healthcare professionals across disciplines, $24,668

Australian Technology Network of Universities, A Virtual Empathy Museum: A Unique Approach for Improving Healthcare Graduates' Empathy and Employability Skills, $30,000

Florence Nightingale Memorial Scholarship Grant, The Australian College of Nursing – Chief Investigator ($10000)

NSW Health Funding – visiting Professor, Schwartz Rounds UK ($10,000)

Transition to Professional Practice: Nursing Student Experience of Clinical Placement, UTS ($5000)

Using student perspectives and experiences to ‘design out’ academic misconduct, UTS ($5000)

Connecting with compassion: adapting an existing well-being program focusing on compassionate leadership to a regional healthcare centre (ISLHD) (co-investigator) – Nurse Strategy Funding ($10,000)

Research Scholarship Award, Illawarra & Shoalhaven Local Health District ($2500)