Professor Debra Nestel was awarded the highest Queen’s Birthday Honour of anyone in the region on Monday.
Professor Nestel was made a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for her service to medical education through simulated teaching methods.
“Being honoured in this way is humbling, especially because it legitimises simulation as a meaningful approach to contemporary health professions educational practice,” she said.
“It’s an acknowledgement of the achievements of the wider healthcare simulation community. I happen to be the lucky one to receive the award.”
The Barwon Heads resident has had a decorated career that has taken her to London and Hong Kong as well as Melbourne.
Medical simulation is the modern day methodology for training healthcare professionals through the use of advanced educational technology.
Professor Nestel likens it in some ways to pilot training.
“If you think about pilots learning to fly they can do pretty much all of their training in a simulator,” she said.
Professor Nestel’s list of awards and recognitions is long.
She was awarded Simulation Australasia’s Ray Page Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and is a life member of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and the Association of Standardised Patient Educators. She is the editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal’s simulation and technology-enhanced learning section.
Put simply, Professor Nestel is responsible for generations of surgeons being better trained in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong.
Outside of work, Professor Nestel enjoys walking her two whippets in and around Barwon Heads.
“I walk a lot and do a bit of gardening,” she said.
“I love it here.”
