Anna Phillips

Research Interests

Assessment, development and evaluation of curriculum Clinical Education Health sciences Pedagogy Physiotherapy Virtual Reality and Related Simulation

Teaching Strengths

Student engagement
Simulation based learning
Physiotherapy practice

Dr Anna Phillips

Senior Lecturer

School of Allied Health and Human Performance

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Welcome to my home page!
I'm a course co-ordinator for Acute Care (REHB 3007) and am teaching across first, second and third year in the Graduate Entry Masters (GEM)  and Undergraduate Physiotherapy programs (UG) and am coordinator for the 4th year UG physiotherapy program.
In addition to teaching and course coordination, I am involved in research and supervision of research students undertaking projects for their honours and PhD programs and work clinically as a Senior Physiotherapist in ICU at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
With a career spanning more than 27 years, my focus is supporting and promoting excellence in clinical education and physiotherapy practice. Since completing my PhD in 2015, I have worked at UniSA as a lecturer and clinical educator while continuing research into improving the quality of reporting of research in education and clinical education experiences for students and supporting students readiness for clinical placement and ultimately work readiness for physiotherapy practice.

Anna has current collaborations include projects with Sydney University investigating student readiness for clinical placement, Flinders Medical Centre investigating how to faciliate early mobilisation for inpatients, Curtin University developing and implementing an iPad based clinical skills assessment tool and the University of Sydney in the development and validation of a multidisciplinary assessment tool in clinical simulation.

Anna has published a reporting guideline to assist in the complete and transparent reporting for research in evidence-based practice educational interventions (GREET). Following a published study protocol, the development process for the GREET is included as an exemplar on the EQUATOR network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) an international  database for reporting guidelines,  http://www.equator-network.org/toolkits/developers. The GREET reporting guideline is also available in Japanese.

With a current project funded by a University of South Australia Teaching and Learning Unit Grant ($20000) our project team are developing resources to support novice health professionals in the role of clinical education. 

Date Position Institution name
2018 - ongoing Senior Physiotherapist Royal Adelaide Hospital
2011 - ongoing Senior Lecturer University of South Australia

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2024 Teaching Award Allied Health and Human Performance Innovation Award University of South Australia Australia -
2022 Recognition Commendation for sustained excellence in teaching 2022, 2023 University of South Australia Australia -
2004 Award University Medal University of South Australia Australia -

Date Institution name Country Title
2012 - 2015 University of South Australia Australia PhD
1997 - 1997 University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Health Science (Hons) (Physiotherapy)
1993 - 1996 University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Physiotherapy

Date Title Institution Country
2011 Doctor of Philosophy - Health Sciences University of South Australia Australia

Year Citation
2025 Baldwin, C., Lynch, E., Munn, Z., Bail, K., Dolan, B., Dunstan, D., . . . Lewis, L. K. (2025). Incorporating “moving more and sitting less” into daily activities of hospitalised older medical patients: a stakeholder-directed systematic review with meta-analysis of complex interventions. Disability and Rehabilitation, 23 pages.
DOI
2025 Edwards, E., Phillips, A., McEvoy, M., & Johnston, K. (2025). Characteristics and outcomes of communities of practice in allied health educators: rapid review. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 39(3), 510-518.
DOI
2024 Yeoh, S. A., Kumar, S., Phillips, A., & Li, L. S. K. (2024). Unveiling the Exodus: A scoping review of attrition in allied health. Plos One, 19(9 September), 23 pages.
DOI Scopus13 WoS13 Europe PMC5
2024 Yeoh, S. A., Webb, S., Phillips, A., Li, L. S. K., & Kumar, S. (2024). Psychosocial interventions for ovarian cancer survivors: a systematic review. Psycho-Oncology, 33(1), 1-14.
DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC6
2023 Judd, B., Brentnall, J., Scanlan, J. N., Thomson, K., Blackstock, F., Mandrusiak, A., . . . McAllister, S. (2023). Evaluating allied health students’ readiness for placement learning. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus13 WoS8 Europe PMC7
2022 Gallasch, D., Conlon-Leard, A., Hardy, M., Phillips, A., Van Kessel, G., & Stiller, K. (2022). Variable levels of stress and anxiety reported by physiotherapy students during clinical placements: a cohort study. Physiotherapy United Kingdom, 114, 38-46.
DOI Scopus13 WoS14 Europe PMC10
2022 Virgara, R., Phillips, A., Lewis, L. K., Richardson, M., & Maher, C. A. (2022). Physical activity and screen time in outside school hours care services across Australia: current versus best practice. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 8 pages.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC4
2021 Baldwin, C. E., Phillips, A. C., Edney, S. M., & Lewis, L. K. (2021). Core Domains for Research on Hospital Inactivity in Acutely Ill Older Adults: A Delphi Consensus Study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 102(4), 664-674.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2021 Virgara, R., Phillips, A., Lewis, L., Richardson, M., & Maher, C. (2021). Development of Australian physical activity and screen time guidelines for outside school hours care: an international Delphi study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1), 14 pages.
DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC13
2021 Virgara, R., Phillips, A., Lewis, L. K., Baldock, K., Wolfenden, L., Ferguson, T., . . . Maher, C. (2021). Interventions in outside-school hours childcare settings for promoting physical activity amongst schoolchildren aged 4 to 12 years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021(9), 1-70.
DOI Scopus7 WoS10 Europe PMC13
2020 Lucas, S., Kumar, S., Leach, M. J., & Phillips, A. C. (2020). Complementary and alternative medicine use in Australian children with acute respiratory tract infection - a cross-sectional survey of parents. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 39(101171), 1-8.
DOI Scopus8 WoS9 Europe PMC6
2020 Virgara, R., Lewis, L., Phillips, A., Richardson, M., & Maher, C. (2020). A scoping review of physical activity and screen time guidelines for use in Outside School Hours Care. BMC Pediatrics, 20(1), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC5
2020 Baldwin, C. E., Phillips, A. C., Edney, S. M., & Lewis, L. K. (2020). Recommendations for older adults' physical activity and sedentary behaviour during hospitalisation for an acute medical illness: An international Delphi study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1), 17 pages.
DOI Scopus49 WoS48 Europe PMC37
2019 Phillips, A. C., Mackintosh, S. F., Gibbs, C., Ng, L., & Fryer, C. E. (2019). A comparison of electronic and paper-based clinical skills assessment: Systematic review. Medical Teacher, 41(10), 1151-1159.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC2
2019 Lucas, S., Leach, M. J., Kumar, S., & Phillips, A. C. (2019). Complementary and alternative medicine practitioner's management of acute respiratory tract infections in children - a qualitative descriptive study. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 12, 947-962.
DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC3
2019 Lucas, S., Kumar, S., Leach, M., & Phillips, A. (2019). Parent use of complementary medicine remedies and services for the management of respiratory tract infection in children: a qualitative study. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 2019, 749-766.
DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC7
2019 Virgara, R., Maher, C., Lewis, L. K., Phillips, A., Wolfenden, L., Okely, A., . . . Baldock, K. (2019). Interventions in outside-school hours childcare settings for promoting physical activity amongst schoolchildren aged 4 to 12 years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019(7, article no. CD013380), 1-18.
DOI Scopus9
2018 McDonnell, M. N., Rischbieth, B., Schammer, T. T., Seaforth, C., Shaw, A. J., & Phillips, A. C. (2018). Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT)-BIG to improve motor function in people with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation, 32(5), 607-618.
DOI Scopus48 WoS49 Europe PMC33
2017 Baldwin, C., van Kessel, G., Phillips, A., & Johnston, K. (2017). Accelerometry shows inpatients with acute medical or surgical conditions spend little time upright and are highly sedentary: Systematic review. Physical Therapy, 97(11), 1044-1065.
DOI Scopus73 WoS76 Europe PMC59
2017 Johnston, K. N., Potter, A. J., & Phillips, A. C. (2017). Minimal important difference and responsiveness of 2-minute walk test performance in people with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. International Journal of Copd, 12, 2849-2857.
DOI Scopus19 WoS14 Europe PMC13
2017 Johnston, K. N., Potter, A. J., & Phillips, A. (2017). Measurement Properties of Short Lower Extremity Functional Exercise Tests in People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Review. Physical Therapy, 97(9), 926-943.
DOI Scopus21 WoS20 Europe PMC14
2017 Phillips, A. C., Mackintosh, S. F., Bell, A., & Johnston, K. N. (2017). Developing physiotherapy student safety skills in readiness for clinical placement using standardised patients compared with peer-role play: A pilot non-randomised controlled trial. BMC Medical Education, 17(1), 10 pages.
DOI Scopus30 WoS24 Europe PMC16
2017 Williams, M. T., Effing, T. W., Paquet, C., Gibbs, C. A., Lewthwaite, H., Katrina Li, L. S., . . . Johnston, K. N. (2017). Counseling for health behavior change in people with COPD: Systematic review. International Journal of Copd, 12, 2165-2178.
DOI Scopus21 WoS19 Europe PMC20
2016 Phillips, A. C., Lewis, L. K., McEvoy, M. P., Galipeau, J., Glasziou, P., Moher, D., . . . Williams, M. T. (2016). Development and validation of the guideline for reporting evidence-based practice educational interventions and teaching (GREET). BMC Medical Education, 16(1), 10 pages.
DOI Scopus208 WoS210 Europe PMC161
2014 Phillips, A. C., Lewis, L. K., McEvoy, M. P., Galipeau, J., Glasziou, P., Hammick, M., . . . Williams, M. T. (2014). A Delphi survey to determine how educational interventions for evidence-based practice should be reported: Stage 2 of the development of a reporting guideline. BMC Medical Education, 14(1), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus46 WoS39 Europe PMC29
2014 Phillips, A. C., Lewis, L. K., McEvoy, M. P., Galipeau, J., Glasziou, P., Hammick, M., . . . Williams, M. T. (2014). A systematic review of how studies describe educational interventions for evidence-based practice: Stage 1 of the development of a reporting guideline. BMC Medical Education, 14(1), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus37 WoS19 Europe PMC28
2014 Williams, M. T., Lewis, L. K., McKeough, Z., Holland, A. E., Lee, A., McNamara, R., . . . Effing, T. (2014). Reporting of exercise attendance rates for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review.. Respirology Carlton Vic, 19(1), 30-37.
DOI Scopus36 WoS30 Europe PMC28
2013 Phillips, A. C., Lewis, L. K., McEvoy, M. P., Galipeau, J., Glasziou, P., Hammick, M., . . . Williams, M. T. (2013). Protocol for development of the guideline for reporting evidence based practice educational interventions and teaching (GREET) statement. BMC Medical Education, 13(1), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus28 WoS28 Europe PMC25
2006 Phillips, A. C., Stiller, K., & Williams, M. T. (2006). Medical Record Documentation: The Quality of Physiotherapy Entries. Internet journal of allied health sciences and practice, 4(3), 17 pages.
WoS15
2004 Stiller, K., Phillips, A. C., & Lambert, P. (2004). The safety of mobilisation and its effect on haemodynamic and respiratory status of intensive care patients. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 20(3), 175-185.
DOI Scopus106
2004 Stiller, K., Lynch, E., Phillips, A. C., & Lambert, P. (2004). Clinical education of physiotherapy students in Australia: Perceptions of current models. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 50(4), 243-247.
DOI Scopus32 WoS30 Europe PMC19
2003 Stiller, K., & Phillips, A. (2003). Safety aspects of mobilising acutely ill inpatients. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 19(4), 239-257.
DOI Scopus72

Courses I teach

  • REHB 2042 Physiotherapy Studies 201 (2025)
  • REHB 3007 Acute Care (2025)
  • REHB 2042 Physiotherapy Studies 201 (2024)
  • REHB 3007 Acute Care (2024)
  • REHB 4035 Health Promotion in Physiotherapy B (2024)
  • REHB 5131 Acute Care Skills in Physiotherapy (2024)
  • REHB 6011 Clinical Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy GE (2024)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2021 Co-Supervisor - - Master Full Time Mrs Emma Alix Edwards

Date Role Board name Institution name Country
2023 - ongoing Member Australian Society for Simulation in Health Care Australian Society for Simulation in Health Care Australia
2022 - ongoing Advisory Board Member Allied Health & Human Performance Academic Unit University of South Australia Australia

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2023 - ongoing Member Clinical Education Managers Australian and New Zealand Australian and New Zealand Clinical Educator Managers Australia

Date Role Membership Country
2019 - ongoing Member Specialist Cardiorespiratory Group, APA -
2018 - ongoing Member Specialist Educator Group, APA -
1999 - ongoing Member Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) -

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2020 - ongoing Associate Editor BMC Medical Education University of South Australia Australia

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