Researcher Highlights
Enriching the student experience

Through teaching and research, Victoria Pitt outworks her passion for supporting tertiary nursing students from enrolment to the workforce.

During her 15-year career as a registered nurse, Victoria always made time to listen and understand her patients’ experiences. It was part of what made her shine in the role, and what eventually led her down a new path with the University of Newcastle, where she supports and researches the tertiary journey of nursing students.

“I think every student should be given the opportunity to succeed.

To me, student success is not just about passing grades. It also requires satisfaction with the experience of learning and completing the degree with the ability to move into full-time work if desired.”

In the role of program convenor across multiple programs, Victoria is focused on enhancing student engagement and retention, and seeing every student reach their full potential. To do this, she works closely with nursing students to hear and understand their challenges, then builds robust teaching strategies that helps them thrive.

“We have a great nursing program at the University. My job is to make sure that it continues to engage students, keeping them interested, so they can retain information more easily.”

Internationally, the field of nursing is experiencing a significant workforce shortage driven by escalating healthcare needs and ageing populations. This puts nursing students in high demand, with great job prospects, but also presents a challenge for the industry.

“To help our students succeed, and to ensure we are meeting the rising demand for high-quality nurses worldwide, we need to understand the factors that influence academic performance and collaborate across the University to provide the right support structures.”

Evidence-based teaching

Along with providing valuable educational support, Victoria’s academic role involves supervising PhD candidates and researching the student experience. Key research insights are then used to inform and strengthen the program’s teaching practices and structures.

“Like my teaching role, my research area is predominantly focused around student retention and success.

“As factors impeding student success are identified, I strive to integrate new strategies into the Bachelor of Nursing program to improve students’ progression and experiences.”

Victoria first began researching the student experience for her PhD, which she completed with the University of Newcastle in 2014. Her study looked at what influenced students’ performance and progress through the program—such as students’ critical thinking skills and class attendance—and what forms of support were beneficial.

“Our study showed that structured support services were imperative for first-year students, especially those experiencing course failure or returning from study leave.”

Victoria is currently involved in the early stages of a collaborative project with Hunter New England Health and the University of South Australia to explore the use of virtual patients for student learning. The patient-centred online program would give students the chance to think critically about pain assessment in complex scenarios.

“It’s important that we continue to create research-informed nursing pre-registration programs that address the changing learning environment, the evolving learning needs of students, and future practice requirements of registered nurses.”

Victoria is a strong advocate of lifelong learning, not only for her students, but also her herself. With years of postgraduate studies under her belt, she also recently participated in the University’s ThinkWell Early and Mid-Career Women’s Development Program, facilitated through the Faculty of Health and Medicine's Gender Equity Committee. The program provided an opportunity for Victoria strengthen her research strategies alongside like-minded research peers at the University.

“Education is not just about keeping abreast of current evidence-based practice—it’s also about the enjoyment of gaining new knowledge!

“Connecting with women who had a variety of research focuses opened my eyes to current movements in health research.”