Australia's health 2008 conference Panel members

How are we going? How do we know?

Monday 23 June 2008, Welcome Dinner, National Convention Centre, 27-31 Constitution Avenue, Canberra

Tuesday 24 June 2008, Conference, National Convention Centre, 27-31 Constitution Avenue, Canberra

Panel members

Nadia Docrat
Functioning and Disability Unit, AIHW  

Nadia is a senior analyst and project manager at the AIHW in the Alcohol and Other Drugs team. She is currently working on enhancing the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set. She has also worked at the Department of Health and Ageing in the Drug Strategy Branch and as an alcohol and other drug worker. She has Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Psychology degrees and is currently completing a Masters in Public Health with a special focus on alcohol and other drugs.

Nadia is passionate about social justice, evidence - informed practice and challenging the status quo. She is currently a member of the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Women and the ACT Mental Health Consumer and Carer Caucus, and is a registered foster carer.

Shane Lenson
Nurse Practitioner

Shane Lenson is a Registered Nurse and Authorised Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department of Calvary Health Care ACT. He also has postgraduate qualifications in public health. Shane holds interests in workforce issues relating to the nursing profession. These include the attraction and retention of nurses; the omnipresent challenge of traditions versus technologies; and the formulation of accessible training pathways and programs for working nurses and former nurses wishing to return to the profession.

Shane is also the Royal College of Nursing, Australia representative on the Australian Resuscitation Council.

Claire Seiffert
Medical student

Claire Seiffert is a physiotherapist and final year medical student at The Australian National University. In 2007 and early 2008, Claire spent 11 weeks in Katherine and Oenpelli in the Northern Territory experiencing first hand the Aboriginal culture and the health issues faced by remote Indigenous Australians. She was also the 2007 Chair of the National Rural Health Network (now known as the National Rural Health Students' Network).

Claire is passionate about the health of rural and remote Australians, having grown up in Mildura, Victoria and experienced the inequities of healthcare and plans to work in rural and remote areas upon graduation.

Kiarna Adams
Doctor

Dr Kiarna Adams studied Medicine at the University of Western Australia in Perth. She is a current member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA). In her final year of medicine she was the Student Representative on the AIDA Board of Directors.

In 2002 Dr Adams was a member of the federal governments Youth Roundtable. As part of her contribution to the Roundtable she worked with the Department of Education, Science and Training to produce a booklet entitled "No Shame Job", which was produced to encourage other young Indigenous people into careers in health.

Dr Adams is currently working in Palliative care but will soon commence a diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

She was born and bred in Darwin but currently lives and works in Townsville.