Natisha Sands

Dr. Natisha Sands is an Associate Professor at Deakin University's School of Nursing and Midwifery, with over 30 years of experience as a mental health nurse. Her research program investigates mental health triage clinical practice, service delivery models, emergency department mental health care, competency assessment, consumer perspectives, and risk assessment frameworks.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy from University of Ballarat
• Bachelor of Nursing from Deakin University

Her research focuses on improving mental health triage through evidence-based frameworks, clinical education programs, and competency assessment tools. She has led multi-year projects on triage service evaluation, violence prediction, and telehealth competency.

Recent publications demonstrate a focus on mental health triage optimization, crisis care perceptions, and cross-cultural mental health literacy, with methodological strengths in survey research, tool validation, and service evaluation.

Scientific Awards:

• Vice Chancellors Values Award (2014)
• Philippa Moore Publication Prize (2014)
• KB Smith Nursing Publication Award (2012)
• Vice Chancellors Knowledge Transfer Excellence Award (2009)
• Excellence in Health Research (2003)
• Publication Award, University of Ballarat (2002)
• Stan Alchin Presenters Award (2001)
• Australian Post Graduate Award (1999)

She has supervised Masters and PhD students while securing numerous grants including $23,905 for identifying clinical deterioration predictors and $50,000 for violence risk assessment guidelines. Her consultancy work has implemented triage competency tools internationally across Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.