Jo Southern

Jo Southern is a Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Southern Queensland. She holds qualifications including a BHlthSc (CQU), LLB (JCU), GCertClinNurs (CQU), and MNurs (JCU). Her research focuses on healthcare workforce development, nursing education, and patient safety, with particular attention to early career nurse retention and clinical practice improvement. Southern has contributed to studies exploring nursing career trajectories, medication error prevention in clinical settings, and pressure injury prevention strategies among nursing students.

Her recent work includes a 2025 qualitative study examining drivers of nurse retention four years post-graduation and an integrative review of medication errors by nursing students. She has also investigated Australian nursing students' knowledge gaps in pressure injury prevention through a 2018 cross-sectional study. Southern actively publishes in nursing education and practice journals, addressing both systemic and clinical challenges in modern healthcare.