Debra Jackson
PhD, AO, RN, SFHEA, FACN
Debra Jackson, PhD, AO, RN, SFHEA, FACN, embarked on her nursing career at only 16 years old when she completed hospital-based training in New Zealand. She spent the next several years working in a range of settings—acute care, community care, elder care, and sexual health—before deciding to purse a degree in nursing. Not only did Debra receive that degree, but she went on to receive a PhD, which led her to where she is today.
At the University of Sydney Australia, Debra works with students, research activities, academic governance, and editorial work. She also coordinates the nursing honors program to which she notes that any day she spends with these students is a good one. She also leads the Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) and is often one of the first to read some of nursing’s most cutting-edge research.
In 2015, Debra was the first nurse to be appointed to a Principal Fellowship of the NIHR-funded Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. While this achievement was an honor, it was more to Debra than just another award.
“For me this was very meaningful because it was recognition that nursing research could make a difference to how we conceptualize and deliver nursing services to improve and support people and their families, in health, sickness, injury, disability, recovery, and end-of-life care,” she said.
While Debra herself has researched a variety of topics throughout her nursing career, her research into pressure injury has impacted her the most.
“One of the very surprising things I have learned about pressure injury,” Debra said, “is that far from being a simple physiological issue as I had always been taught to understand pressure injury, there are many other factors at play.”
Some of these factors include social justice issues, including the issue that people of color experience more high stage pressure injuries than others, body shaming and blaming, and the persistent pain that is poorly recognized and treated.
These shocking findings are important in helping nurses understand pressure injuries and the implications of these injuries that may have not been previously taught in nursing school.
“We need to do so much better in reducing and eradicating human suffering associated with pressure injury,” Debra said.
Though every stage of her career has had very rewarding elements, including her research, Debra says that her current position is special.
“One of the most rewarding things is working with students, sharing in the joy and excitement of their learning and discovery, and knowing that these are the students who will lead nursing into the future,” Debra said.
When working with doctoral students at the University of Sydney Australia, Debra knows that she’s witnessing a generation of new knowledge, and she’s helping them move onto the next stage in their life. She finds it a privilege to be a part of their intellectual and personal growth journey.
Debra Jackson, PhD, AO, RN, SFHEA, FACN, was inducted into Sigma’s International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame for her research contributions. She has been a Sigma member for almost 25 years. Debra was also awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to medical education in the field of nursing practice and research as an academic and author. She is a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). In 2020 she was named as Australia's leading nurse researcher by The Australian newspaper in their list of Australia's Top 250 Researchers, based on highest number of citations from papers published in the last five years in the 20 top journals in the field.