Academic appointment to improve NT health outcomes

Charles Darwin University and the NT Health Department have joined forces in the appointment of a highly credentialled primary health care academic to a newly minted strategic leadership role in Alice Springs.

Professor of Primary Health Care Sue Kruske will work across both institutions to ensure the education, research, policy and practice activities meet the needs of Territorians.

“My primary focus will be to become an effective bridge between these two flagship Territory institutions so that the education and research outputs of CDU meet the industry needs of NT Health,” Professor Kruske said.

“The aim is to influence, implement and showcase innovation in models of care, workforce preparation and support and to promote and support the Aboriginal workforce and community.”

NT Health Chief Nurse and Midwife, Adjunct Professor Sue Hawes, welcomed Professor Kruske back to the Territory and its dynamic healthcare environment.

“I look forward to working with Professor Kruske, who has demonstrated an outstanding capacity as a leader, and who is already known and respected by many in the NT due to her long-term relationship with the NT,” Professor Hawes said.

Professor Kruske’s association with the NT extends back more than 25 years.

“I worked as a remote area nurse in the Territory during the 1990s, as an outreach child health nurse in the early 2000s and as a research partner in 2010-13 while at CDU,” Professor Kruske said.

She has industry experience in government and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations and is an endorsed midwife authorised to prescribe scheduled medicines and order diagnostic tests. She is also a qualified child health nurse with a strong interest in cross cultural parenting and trauma informed practice.

Professor Kruske has worked in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tanzania and Indonesia. Her work on Aboriginal parenting and with Aboriginal families has broad relevance to the health and education sector.