Education Standing Committee
The CNSA Education Standing Committee was inaugurated in 2009 with all committee members representing public and private clinical and academic institutions. The committee currently consists of:
Nikki Dean
Nikki Dean is a highly experienced Specialist Cancer Nurse and Nurse Educator with over 20 years experience. Nikki has dedicated over half her career to nursing education, workforce support and development, with amassing experience in roles including; Practice Development Nurse, Nurse Educator, Nurse Manager, Nursing Education, and currently holds the position of Director, Nursing Education at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Nikki is deeply passionate about the development and advancement of the Cancer Nursing workforce and is focused on ensuring that Nurses are appropriately prepared to deliver patient care that is both safe and of high quality, anticipating and managing the complex needs of people with a cancer diagnosis. Nikki has completed post-graduate studies specialising in Cancer and Palliative Care Nursing, as well as undertaking studies in Health Professions Education.
Lindsay Adriaansen
Lindsay Adriaansen was the Nurse Educator for Western Australia Country Health Services. She has over ten years of experience working as a Cancer Nurse both across oncology and hematology (medical, surgical, and radiation) settings, in a variety of leadership roles including education, program management, and strategic development. Lindsay has completed her Master of Nursing with a specialisation in leadership, change management, and adult education.
Lindsay is passionate about providing high-quality person-centred care to patients affected by cancer, with a particular interest in addressing the inequalities that our more vulnerable patients face. She has a keen interest in the development of cancer nurses to ensure they are equipped to deliver safe high-quality care.
Suzanne Bishaw
Suzanne Bishaw is currently an academic in the School of Nursing at Curtin University in Perth. Suzanne has 20 years of experience in cancer nursing as a registered nurse, nurse manager and nurse educator. She has worked predominately in Northern Territory, Queensland, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Whilst in the UAE Suzanne was a founding member of the Emirates Oncology Nursing Society.
Suzanne has spent the last 10 years in cancer nurse education and is interested in cultural care especially at end of life. Her research has explored the experiences of expatriate nurses in the UAE providing end of life care to Muslim patients. Her PhD will explore what are the interactions that nurses providing care in the context of a life-limiting illness have to happen to create a transpersonal caring relationship. Suzanne is a member of the CNSA Education Standing Committee and Chair of the ISNCC Conference Management Committee, member of the ISNCC Membership Development Committee.
Erin Shooter
Erin Shooter is the Cancer Nurse Educator for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and has 17 years’ experience as a Registered Nurse within the Cancer program. Her career started in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital where she has worked in a variety of roles such as associate nurse unit manager, student facilitator and clinical practice consultant across Oncology and Haematology and more recently she established the clinical educator role within the Enterprise Data and Information team for SA Health.
Erin is passionate about the development of the cancer nursing workforce to ensure nurses are equipped to deliver patient care that is safe and of high quality whilst managing the complex needs of people with a cancer diagnosis. She is committed to the challenges of nurse education in designing and delivering relevant and timely education to cancer nurses in this continually evolving area.
She is committed to and strongly believes that as nurses, we never stop learning.
Gillian Kruss
Gill currently works in two cancer care roles. She has worked as the breast cancer nurse practitioner at Monash Health since 2015 and as the Chief Clinical Lead for Education for the McGrath Foundation for over 5 years. She has completed post graduate diplomas in gerontology nursing and in oncology/ palliative care nursing; a Masters of Nurse Practitioner and is currently undertaking a post graduate certificate in Health Professionals Education at Monash University. Gill has a special interest in empowering nurses through professional development and is involved in designing and curating pedagogical initiatives aimed at enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of cancer nurses. She facilitates a national metastatic breast cancer nursing education program, led the development and research of a cancer nurse practitioner mentoring program and mentors oncology nurse practitioners and cancer care nurses around Australia.
Kate McKibbin
Kate McKibbin is an Oncology Nurse Educator with Cancer Care Associates, working at an organisation-wide level to support nursing education, clinical practice and systems-level improvement across day oncology services in Australia. She has over 15 years of nursing experience across Australia and the United Kingdom, with experience in medical oncology, haematology and radiation oncology. Kate has also held a variety of education roles across healthcare, industry and the vocational education sector. She has completed a Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing and holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Kellie Jeffries
Kellie Jeffries is a passionate oncology nurse with over 20 years experience in ambulatory cancer services providing expert care to oncology & haematology patients. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of specialist cancer nursing roles at senior levels within the Bendigo Health Cancer Centre Chemotherapy Day Unit and the Symptom Urgent Review Clinic and holds a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice in Cancer and Palliative Care.
Working as a Clinical Nurse Educator at Bendigo Health, Kellie is passionate about building a skilled, confident and sustainable cancer nursing workforce. Her portfolios include Chemotherapy Day Unit, Radiotherapy, Inpatient Oncology and the Specialist Palliative Care Evaluation Unit, as well as providing education support across the Loddon Mallee Region. Her work focuses on developing and delivering innovative oncology education programs, supporting nurses transitioning into specialty practice, and promoting evidence-based, patient-centred cancer care. Kellie has lead clinical education and workforce development strategies to ensure region wide workforce capability, mentorship and the creation of accessible educational opportunities that support nurses and allow patients to receive safe, high-quality care close to home. She is committed to fostering professional growth at all career stages and believes education is fundamental to improving patient outcomes, strengthening teams and supporting workforce wellbeing.
Antonia Champion
Toni has had more than 10 years of experience across paediatric and adult oncology and haematology nursing. She has held a range of clinical and leadership roles including Clinical Nurse Educator, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Clinical Nurse Consultant across various NSW Health Local Health Districts. Toni has developed expertise in nursing education, championing evidence-based nursing practice and professional development.
Currently working as the Illawarra Shoalhaven Cancer and Haematology Network Nurse Educator, Toni leads strategic education and professional development initiatives across inpatient and outpatient cancer services, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy suites, and clinical trials. She holds a postgraduate qualification in Nursing Education and was recognised with an Emerging Educator award for her contributions to cancer nursing education. Passionate about cancer nursing, Toni is dedicated to fostering excellence in clinical practice, empowering nurses at all stages of their careers, and improving outcomes for people affected by cancer.
Liz Murray
Liz has been nursing for 30+ years. Originally trained in the UK and came to Australia permanently in 2002. Liz has been directly involved in Cancer Nursing since 2024 when she became a Cancer Nurse Coordinator for Colorectal Cancer. Prior to this Liz had many specialist roles in education which has always been her passion. Liz have been the Nurse Educator at the Cancer Network WA for just over a year and is developing the role as it was vacant for a long time.
The Cancer Network WA service is statewide and Liz hopes to eventually provide education programs at a statewide level. She is hoping to create closer ties with CNSA and other organisations and is looking forward to contributing to the Education Committee.
Mohini Bhatt
Mohini is from the UK where she trained and worked, prior to moving to Australia in 2017. In her 10 years of nursing, she has worked in various streams of cancer care including surgical oncology, haematology and cellular therapies with her passion and interest being in haematology and cellular therapies. Demonstrating expert knowledge, skill and capability has led to recognition as a specialist cancer nurse.
Mohini has a commitment to learning, experience in developing and delivering education and providing clinical support to a high standard at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. These experiences and opportunities have fostered within her, a strong interest in nursing education. Working in nursing education, she is passionate about strengthening and supporting the nursing workforce across all career stages, in clinical capability and competence through evidence-based education that supports safe, consistent high-quality nursing practice and patient care.
Kathryn (Kate) Uren
Kathryn Uren has been nursing for 16 years and first discovered cancer nursing during her graduate year on the Haematology and Oncology ward at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. After spending several years gaining experience across different areas of nursing, she found her way back to cancer nursing at Barwon Health six years later and has never looked back.
Since joining Barwon Health, Kathryn has worked in a variety of roles across cancer services, including inpatient nursing, clinical support and apheresis, before moving into the Clinical Nurse Educator role two and a half years ago.
Kathryn has always had a passion for learning, best practice and supporting others to grow, long before education became her formal role. She is particularly passionate about helping nurses translate evidence and knowledge into safe, high-quality care at the bedside.
As cancer treatment and nursing practice continue to evolve at a rapid pace, Kathryn is excited to join the CNSA Education Standing Committee and contribute to supporting cancer nurses with meaningful, accessible opportunities for lifelong learning.
Please click here to access the Education Standing Committee Terms of Reference.