Dr Kate Davis is a Research Fellow at the Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, (RBRC) and was the inaugural nursing PHD Candidate at  the RBRC, UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia.
The Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre is a partnership between the University of South Australia and the Rosemary Bryant Foundation, which aims to strengthen the nursing & midwifery workforce across the health system through the support and development of evidence-based healthcare, fostering partnerships and building research capacity. The RBRC has developed a comprehensive research program focused on advancing the discipline of nursing & midwifery and patient care related to population and public health, workforce reform, safety and quality, clinical practice, patient outcomes, and integration into education. Its objective is to enhance innovative partnerships for healthcare research, to inform strategies for: 1) Extending the capacity and capabilities of nurses and midwives to build a resilient, sustainable and collaborative workforce, 2) health system planning, evaluation and resourcing, 3) clinical care outcomes, and 4) translation of evidence into practice.
Kate is a registered nurse with nursing leadership experience in the public, private and NFP health/education sectors. Kate’s qualifications include B Nsg (post-grad), M Clin Sci, and PhD. Kate completed her PhD studies in mid-2021, with her PhD question focusing on the development and implementation of a nurse-led care coordination clinic (for people with multimorbidity). This research enabled her to acquire experience and skills in research protocol development, research methods, pragmatic research implementation in the clinical setting, building relationships in the clinical setting, and research analysis. Kate also has skills in models of care development and delivery, clinical change, and the management of people with multimorbidity.
In 2021 Kate was a researcher in a collaboratively designed study entitled ‘Telehealth transition care for people with multimorbidity: A feasibility study’ (between UniSA, Adelaide University and CALHN).
Outcomes of the above research led to Kate being part of a successful team (led by Professor Sepehr Shakib) awarded a 2023 CRIPS grant for a research project entitled ‘Addressing safety, quality, and cost of care through a telehealth outpatient transitional care model: the TTOMMI trial’. The study recently completed at CALHN. Kate will be presenting outcomes from the research at the 2025 International Council of Nurses Conference in Finland. She is now seeking to codesign and adapt this model or implement culturally safe and appropriate strategies to improve the quality-of-life outcomes for people with chronic and complex disease, within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.
In 2022 Kate led a  project to revise the multiple SA Health Transition to Professional Practice Programs (TPPP) for registered and enrolled nurses and midwives. This project delivered the first jurisdiction wide (SA Health) TPPP curriculum in Australia and sets the scene for nationally consistent elements within nursing and midwifery TPPPs. Kate presented a paper on the project and program findings with the SA Health, Office of the Chief Nurse and Midwife, at the International Council of Nurses Congress in Montreal, 2023.
Kate’s research interests and experience are rapidly developing in the areas of:
o   Telehealth delivery of healthcare, nursing roles related to care coordination, care navigation, advanced practice roles and roles that support nurse-led services (also within a multidisciplinary model)
o   transition, nurse-led and multidisciplinary models of healthcare delivery
o   The social and cultural determinants of health care
o   Consumer engagement in healthcare
o   Research co-design methodology
o   Workplace and organisational culture
As an experienced education lead, Kate is also currently Program Manager of the UniSA/RBRC Professional Certificate; The ‘Outstanding Workforce Leaders (OWL) Research Program' and the  Deadly OWL Program. Both are the first Professional Certificates in Research skills and methods to be offered to nurses and midwives, with specific, culturally safe considerations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives, in Australia.