Dr Melsina Makaza

Biography

Dr Melsina Makaza is a Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing within the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONM), at the University of Newcastle.  Dr Makaza is a highly experienced Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMHN) and an Early Career Researcher (ECR) who is invested in contributing to the development of a nursing workforce that can take care of their own mental health first, which can empower them to compassionately care for the needs of others.  In 2023, Dr. Makaza registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Agency (AHPRA) and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Board (ANMB) to embark on a new life in Australia.  

In 1995, Dr. Makaza commenced her nursing career in the United Kingdom (UK) where she registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) after completing her Undergraduate Pre-registration Mental Health Nurse Education with the following qualifications:  Diploma of Higher Education (Dip HE) in Mental Health Nursing and a Batchelor of Health Sciences with Honours (BSc) Degree in Mental Health Nursing.  

Dr Makaza began her Academic Career focusing on teaching, learning, assessment and research in 1998 as a Visiting Mental Health Nursing Lecturer with the Faculty of Health & Social Science at the University of Luton.  From 2005, she began working full time in higher education, initially as a Practice Educator then as a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing until 2023.  During this time, Dr Makaza gained extensive experience in clinical practice education; linking evidence based research theory to clinical practice; health leadership and management; service development and improvement; mental health curriculum development and delivery; as well as scholarship of teaching and learning in nurse education. 

Research Experience in the UK

In the late 1990’s, Dr Makaza was inspired to become a nurse researcher during her undergraduate mental health nursing programme when she was being educated by a lecturer, who is now the distinguished Professor Lesley Baillie, currently working with the London South Bank University.  Professor Lesley Baillie was and remains an outstanding student centred, inclusive and research focused educator, who demystified the research process in nursing and facilitated Dr. Makaza’s involvement in research about care of older people as a neophyte nurse. Initially under the supervision, guidance, support and mentorship of Professor Lesley Baillie and then with other nursing and midwifery academics; Dr Makaza developed her researcher identity by engaging in research related to mental health nursing within the context of care of older people, dementia awareness as well as suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

To further strengthen her researcher identity, Dr Makaza officially became a member of the Institute for Health Research (IHR) at the University of Bedfordshire in 2011 which led to the completion of her part-time PhD in 2021.  Dr. Makaza’s PhD Thesis is entitled: ‘Exploring mental health nurses’ experiences of a patient suicide in the community”. Dr. Makaza completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Chris Papadopoulos (Director of Studies) and Professor Gurch Randhawa (Professor of Diversity in Public Health & Director of the Institute for Health Research). 

Whilst working in the UK, Dr Makaza began to build a record of scholarly and professional achievement by being involved in a variety of unfunded and funded research projects.  For example, from 2011 to 2023, she engaged in national research collaborations with the Oxford Centre for Suicide Research and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK.  Dr. Makaza was a member of a Suicide Prevention Special Interest Group which was led by Emeritus Professor Keith Hawton (Director of the Oxford Centre for Suicide Research) in collaboration with Karen Lascelles (Nurse Consultant for Suicide Prevention); Dr Rachel Gibbons (Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, Group Analyst); Dr Anne Carbonnier (Consultant Psychiatrist); Dr Alison Croft (Consultant Clinical Psychologist);  Fiona Brand (Nurse Researcher in Suicide Prevention); Dr. Gerti Stegen (Consultant Psychiatrist) and Dr. Gislene Wolfart (Consultant Clinical Psychologist).   As a member of this Suicide Prevention Special Interest Group, Dr. Makaza contributed to the development of research outputs which have made an impact on psychiatrists and mental health professionals who have experienced a patient suicide.  Dr. Makaza is keen to continue engaging in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention research within the Australasian context.

Research Experience in New South Wales, Australia

Since September 2023, Dr. Makaza has been involved with the Continuity Aligned Dedicated Education Unit (CADEU) Project in New South Wales (NSW) as a member of the Project Team which was working in partnership with the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD).  The CADEU Project, led by Dr. Gary Crowfoot (Principal Investigator) is a multimethod convergent parallel service evaluation project featuring Five Streams of Inquiry deigned to help Final Year Student Nurses to transition into new graduate nurses.  Dr. Makaza was Project Lead for the Student Experience Stream which used qualitative research methodology to explore the student journey through Three Phases of the CADEU over a 12 month period. Dr. Makaza is currently leading CADEU 2.0, which is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the CADEU Project six months post qualifying.

Currently, Dr Makaza is actively involved in research that focuses on the following themes:  disaster preparedness for nurses on undergraduate programs; spirituality in mental health; domestic violence; supporting adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse; and exploring the potential use of digital technologies in the management of psychotropic medications.

Dr Makaza is an Affiliate with the Central Coast Research Institute (CCRI) within the Central Coast Clinical School.  She is a Participant in the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) Inaugural 2025 Research Internship Program for Nurses & Midwives as a Research Mentor. Dr. Makaza is currently serving as a Community Engagement and Liaison, Suicide Prevention Lead within the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Healthy Minds Executive within Hunter New England. Within this role, Dr Makaza engages in research leadership to support the design, management, and facilitation of ethically sensitive suicide postvention research as well as studies which focus on promoting mental health, wellbeing and recovery across the lifespan.

Dr Makaza’s current research interests include:

Clinical Research

• Perinatal Illness – Mental Health and Wellbeing in Midwifery.
• Physical Health and Wellbeing Across The Lifespan in Mental Health Practice.
• The Lived Experience of People who have experienced Trauma.
• Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and its Application to Mental Health Practice.
• Successful Ageing and the Mental Health of Older People.
• Promoting Excellence in Dementia Awareness, Education, Care & Research.
• Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention. 
• Recovery Oriented Approaches used with People Living with Mental Illness.
• Transcultural Mental Health in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Environments.
• The Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emerging Digital Technology on Mental Health Education, Research & Practice.
• The Use of Digital Psychosocial Interventions (D-PSI) with People Living with Mental Illness.
• Recovery Oriented Approaches used with People Living with Mental Illness Across the Lifespan.

Workforce Development Research:

• Developing the Future Nursing Workforce.
• Disaster Preparedness in Pre-Registration Nurse Education Curricula.
• Facilitating the transition of Final Year Undergraduate Student Nurses into their First Destination Role as a New Graduate in Australia.
• Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce.
• Exploring the Lived Experiences of Internationally Qualified Migrant Nurses Working in Culturally Diverse Environments.
• Suicide Loss Survivorship among Nurses, Midwives, Medics, Allied Health and Social Care Professionals.

Researcher Development:

• Qualitative Research Methodology
• Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) 
• PhD Supervision in Nursing as Pedagogy, Andragogy and Heutagogy.
• Application of Research Philosophy to Nursing Research:  From PhD and Beyond.
• Researching the Vulnerable by Designing and Facilitating Sensitive Research.
• Mentoring and Coaching Early Career Researchers, Academics and Clinical Nurse Educators.

Clinical Experience

As a clinician, Dr. Makaza has worked in both community settings and in-patient mental health services with children, young people, adults of working age and older adults in the UK.  Dr. Makaza has worked collaboratively with nursing students by supporting them to link evidence based research findings and theory to their clinical practice learning at Batchelor of Science and Master’s Degree (MSc) Level. Dr. Makaza’s clinical interests, which have subsequently influenced her teaching and research interests, include Mental Health Promotion, Psychoeducation, Promoting Excellence in Dementia Awareness, Education, Care & Research, Transcultural Mental Health, Service User or Consumer Involvement in Education and Practice, Perinatal illness – Mental Health in Midwifery, Working with people with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorders, Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI); Working with Adults Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse & Trauma, Psychosis; Destructive Parentification; Psychosocial Interventions especially Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention.  Dr. Makaza is also interested in clinical practice associated with Forensic Mental Health, Custodial Health; Medications Management and Psychological Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; Acceptance & Commitment Therapy;  and Anxiety Management.

Teaching, Leadership & Governance Experience

As a Lecturer, Dr. Makaza is passionate about promoting a high-quality, engaging and inclusive student experience. Dr. Makaza uses Creative Teaching & Learning Approaches to facilitate a meaningful student teaching and learning experience in Higher Education.  Her educational interests include promoting inclusivity, neurodiversity and gaining and sustaining learner interest, supporting students with Specific Learning Differences (SpLDs) such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia.  Dr. Makaza has over 27 years’ experience of facilitating teaching, learning and assessment in nurse education.  In June 2021, University of Gloucestershire Student Nurses nominated Dr. Makaza for a Student Led Staff Award for the “Most Innovative or Creative Teaching Style”.  Dr. Makaza won the £500 cash award in recognition for her contribution to the student experience.

With regards to Program leadership and Governance in the UK, Dr. Makaza became the Academic Course Lead (ACL) for the newly launched BSc Mental Health Nursing Course at the University of Gloucestershire in May 2019 until February 2023. As the ACL, her main responsibilities included providing academic leadership and governance of the course, ensuring close liaison with Module Leaders, Junior Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Coaches in Practice, the Academic Subject Lead and the Head of School. In that academic leadership and governance position, Dr. Makaza managed the academic content, the clinical skills development through simulation content of the programme, as well as the facilitation of the teaching, learning and assessment of modules during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.  Dr. Makaza was also the Chair of the Internal Module Board of Examiners where she was responsible for the presentation of assessments to Internal & External Module Board of Examiners for awards. 

As a lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Dr. Makaza has been teaching on postgraduate courses within the Master of Mental Health Nursing Program since July 2023.  She is currently the Course Co-Ordinator for Course NURS6070 Mental Health For Older People, with consistently high student satisfaction of 4.8/5.  In recognition of her outstanding performance, Dr. Makaza was awarded the School of Nursing & Midwifery Teaching Excellence Award – 2024.   

Dr. Makaza has served as the Year 2 Assistant Program Convenor on the Undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing Program within the School of Nursing and Midwifery from June 2023 to June 2024.  She then served as Deputy Program Convenor for the Master of Mental Health Nursing from June 2024 until April 2025.  Currently Dr. Makaza serves as Program Convenor for the Master of Mental Health Nursing Program with Custodial Health Specialisation.  Her expertise and interest in Custodial Health have been recognised nationally as she has been invited to sit on the Advisory Committee for the Acute Care Transition Support Program Review Project for Custodial Care which is facilitated by West Moreton Hospital and Health Service, Queensland Health.

Dr. Makaza is currently a Member of the University of Newcastle, College of Health & Well Being as well as the School of Nursing & Midwifery  Research Ethics Advisory Panel.  Dr. Makaza also co-supervises PhD students, and she currently has the capacity to take on additional PhD Candidates.