Associate Professor Kim Foster

Associate Professor Mental Health Nursing
Sydney Nursing School
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery

M02 - Mallett St Campus
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

T: +61 2 9351 0860
F: +61 2 9351 0679
E:

Biographical details

I am a registered nurse with particular expertise and interest in mental health nurse education, curriculum development, and research. I joined Sydney Nursing School in late 2008 and am currently the Coordinator of Mental Health Nursing programs. I also hold an Adjunct Associate Professor appointment with James Cook University.
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Research interests

Areas of expertise

My predominant areas of teaching include mental health/psychiatric nursing; interpersonal communication in healthcare, psychosocial health, and research methodology.


Three main areas of research interest

Children, young people and families where parents have a mental illness; family/carers of people with mental illness; and physical health and mental health. I use mixed methods research and have expertise and interest in qualitative methodologies, particularly narrative inquiry and phenomenology.

Teaching areas

Current research students

Park T Prevention of weight gain with second generation antipsychotics: a nurse-led intervention (external associate supervisor) Phd in progress, JCU


Sando J ‘Analysis of how health practitioners in Far North Queensland manage people who are victims of Irukandji Syndrome’ (external associate supervisor) Phd in progress, JCU


West C ‘A collective mixed methods case study on chronic pain and family resilience’ (external associate supervisor) PhD in progress, JCU


Completed research students

Nurjannah I (2008) ‘Absconding from a psychiatric setting in Indonesia: a case study’ (Co-supervisor) Master’s by Research, JCU


Pettiford N (2002) ‘Care of the Human Spirit: A Nursing Perspective’ (Principal Supervisor) Master’s minor thesis, ACU


Tollefson J (2009) ‘The lived experience of chronic persistent pain in participants living in rural North Queensland’ (Co-supervisor) PhD, JCU


Areas of teaching

My current areas of teaching are in Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing, Interpersonal Relations in Clinical Environments, and Qualitative Research. I also mentor students in Reading Topics and Practice Development Projects in the post-registration master’s programs. I supervise a number of higher-degree research student projects.