Photo: Prof. Svetlana King and Dr Patricia Carlisle (featured right)
Healthcare Law and Professional Ethics is a specialised topic within the Professionalism and Leadership Domain of the Flinders MD program, supporting students to navigate the legal and ethical foundations of modern medical practice. We spoke with Dr Patricia Carlisle, Lecturer and Teaching Specialist, about her role, career journey, interests and what she enjoys most about her work.
What is your role and what does your work focus on?
Since 2018, Dr Carlisle has taught Healthcare Law and Professional Ethics within the College of Medicine and Public Health. Her teaching introduces medical students to the essential legal and ethical principles that underpin professional and clinical practice across Years 1–4 of the MD programme and beyond.
Rather than aiming to produce “mini-lawyers,” the course emphasises how law and ethics coexist alongside medicine in a dynamic and complementary way. The focus is on supporting lawful, ethical and patient-centred healthcare delivery, ensuring patients are able to actively and autonomously participate in their healthcare journey. Students are encouraged to reflect on both how they must act (law) and how they ought to act (ethics) as future doctors.
Where did you work before joining CMPH?
Born and raised in rural South Australia, Dr Carlisle began her career in rural healthcare settings, recognising the value these environments offered in building strong communication and collaborative engagement with patients. She later moved to metropolitan healthcare to expand her experience and exposure to complex healthcare systems.
Her background includes extensive work as an ICU Registered Nurse across rural and urban South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Saudi Arabia, providing experience across diverse cultures, ethnicities and religious contexts. She also spent four years working in a private addiction and recovery centre. Following studies in law theory and legal practice, she worked as a Clinical Risk Manager within the Central Adelaide Local Health Network across Glenside, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
What journey brought you to this point in your career?
After more than three decades in clinical healthcare delivery, Dr Carlisle returned to academic study to consolidate her professional experience with formal legal scholarship. She commenced her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2017 and completed this in 2025, in the same year, was invited to join Flinders University to teach Healthcare Law from 2018.
How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?
Earlier years were spent actively involved in sport, later transitioning to ocean-based activities, particularly diving. Outside of work, interests include reading, instrumental and classical music, photography and travel, with a strong preference for rural environments that provide a sense of calm and grounding. Faith plays a central role in her life, and with formal studies now complete, international travel has re-emerged as a future goal.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
The most rewarding aspect of teaching is seeing students experience moments of insight, when they recognise the value of law and ethics in shaping both their professional identity and patient-centred practice. These moments often emerge through class discussions, reflective assessments and Q&A sessions, which are a particular highlight of the role.
Are there any achievements we can highlight?
Dr Carlisle is a two-time graduate of Flinders University, holding degrees in Psychology/Sociology and Theology. Her studies were recognised with multiple commendations and prizes, culminating in the award of the Flinders University Medal in 2009.
She later completed law studies at the University of Adelaide and legal practice through the Law Society of South Australia, receiving prizes in Mediation, the Gray Scholarship, and invitations to present her research to senior legal practitioners and members of the judiciary.
Most recently, she was awarded the 2025 University of Adelaide Bonython Prize, recognising the PhD candidate who produced the best original thesis on a legal subject. Her research identified a legislative gap within South Australia’s legal framework and proposed practical legal reforms currently under review by the SA Department for Health. These findings have since been embedded into her teaching, strengthening student understanding of legal and ethical patient-centred care, particularly in the areas of impaired decision-making and restrictive practices.
Despite these achievements, Dr Carlisle describes the greatest reward as the impact of her teaching on students, reflected in unsolicited feedback highlighting sustained engagement, enjoyment and the lasting influence of legal and ethical education throughout the MD program.