Professor Robyn Aitken has been appointed Deputy Dean, Rural and Remote Health in the College of Medicine and Public Health. In this role Professor Aitken, alongside interim Dean, Rural and Remote Health Professor Jonathan Craig, will oversee Flinders University NT and Flinders Rural Health SA.
Professor Aitken has worked extensively in the Northern Territory and nationally. She is currently with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, where she has been leading the accreditation of the Bachelor of Nursing programs.
She has a long association with the University, including as Deputy Director at the Centre for Remote Health in Alice Springs from 2008–2012. She worked with the Northern Territory and Australian governments during this time to establish the Northern Territory Medical Program.
Professor Aitken’s leadership, teaching and research span acute care, primary health care and public and population health. Her expertise includes remote and Indigenous health care delivery, teaching and research; health care in low resource settings; health workforce design and innovation; and health professional regulation.
With a distinguished record of achievement in the health service and University sectors, she has influenced key directions in nursing, midwifery, and health care broadly both nationally and internationally, including in remote Australia and Indonesia.
In 2009, her thesis was recognised as the ‘most meritorious PhD’ with the Judith Parker prize.
Her most recent work is underpinned by a commitment to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and her active role in supporting the work of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.
Her previous roles include in the Northern Territory Department of Health include Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Executive Director: Clinical Support, Education and Public Health, and senior policy advisor nursing and midwifery education and research.
Professor Aitken will transition from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences to her new role in early July.