Kim has worked in the Mental Health sector for over 30 years. During this time, she has worked in private practice, emergency, community, child and adolescent, adult psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. She has also presented at numerous national and international conferences. Kim has extensive knowledge and experience working with adults, children and adolescents in acute mental health settings within Emergency departments and other acute settings in the community. Kim has been part of developing numerous models of care to further enhance the assessment and treatment of the mental health population within emergency departments. Some of these have been a MH rapid response model which after extensive evaluation was able to reduce the instances of code black (aggression) by 22% as well as adding the implementation of a rotation of psychiatric registrars from QLD health through a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, the reduction of seclusion in emergency departments and the role out of MH nurse navigators for frequent MH presentations to the ED.
Kim currently works within the emergency department in assessing and managing acute mental health at Gold Coast University Hospital and alongside police and the ambulance service as one of their MH co responders, undertaking emergency assessments with both services in the community, with the aim of ED avoidance or assistance to facilitate transfer and assessment by the mental health team in the ED to enhance the patients journey and decrease the length of stay and help facilitate a seamless process towards admission if required.
Kim also works as a Neurodevelopmental Specialist nurse within a neuroscience clinic with high functioning patients who have ADHD and ASD. She has extensive knowledge of the co-existence of distressing cognitive, psychological and physical problems in individuals with ADHD and ASD. Kim has been proactive working alongside the Director of the clinic providing joint education session around ADHD and ASD and they have developed training modules together, in particular for GP’s .
Kim works from a family, systematic and patient centered approach and understands the importance of incorporating these individuals in the assessment, care and treatment. Kim brings expertise, research focus and passion to all her roles.