Fiona Orr

Fiona Orr is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Nursing & Midwifery, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle Campus. She is also an International Student Advisor and actively contributes to nursing education and mental health research. Her academic background includes a PhD, MLitt, and BHSc in Nursing, and she is a registered nurse (RN).

Her research and teaching focus on mental health nursing, empathy development, recovery-oriented practices, and simulation-based education. She champions the inclusion of experts by lived experience in curriculum design, particularly in mental health and substance use education.

Her recent scholarly work centers on co-produced learning, virtual simulations, empathy training (including the Virtual Empathy Museum), and interventions for students and clinicians working with people experiencing voice-hearing or functional neurological disorder. Her publications span high-impact journals in nursing, mental health, and education.

She has received multiple national teaching awards, including two Australian Awards for University Teaching Citations, recognizing her innovative and impactful contributions to student learning. Additional honors include UTS Teaching Awards and Best Poster recognition at international conferences.

• Australian Award University Teaching Citation (2022)
• VCs Learning and Teaching Citation (2021), UTS
• Health Dean’s Academic Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (2019), UTS
• Best Conference Poster (2019), International Clinical Skills Conference
• Australian Award Universities Teaching Citation (2015)

Fiona Orr has co-supervised two PhD students and an Honours student to completion and is currently supervising a PhD candidate. She has secured institutional and national recognition for her teaching innovations, particularly those involving simulation and consumer collaboration. She is a Board Director and Governance Committee member of TheMHS (Mental Health Services Learning Network), demonstrating leadership beyond the university.

She is involved in interdisciplinary research linking horticulture therapy, biophilic design, and mental well-being, as seen in her work on rooftop gardening programs. Her work bridges clinical practice, education, and policy, with a strong commitment to improving mental health care through empathetic, evidence-based, and co-designed approaches.