Dr. May El Haddad is an accomplished academic and researcher with a primary focus on advancing health professional education, workforce development, and leadership within the healthcare and education sectors. In 2016, she completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong, Australia, where her research examined the perspectives of practice and education sectors regarding graduate registered nurse practice readiness in the Australian context.
With an expansive international career spanning over thirty-five years, Dr. El Haddad has held various roles in clinical nursing, management, education, and research. For a decade, she served as a Nurse Educator at the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, a large regional healthcare provider in Queensland. In this capacity, she oversaw pivotal programs, including preceptorship development, undergraduate nursing clinical placement, and graduate registered nurse transition. Her leadership was instrumental in increasing clinical placement capacity, fortifying support for graduate nurses, and fostering a culture of continuous learning within the health service.
Furthermore, as a Nurse Researcher, Dr. El Haddad collaborated with Monash University and spearheaded two significant research projects at the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service. These projects aimed to reduce administrative burdens and enhance clinical leadership capacity among nurse/midwife unit managers.
Dr. El Haddad is interested in building collaborations and partnerships to advance the fields of health professional education, workforce development, and leadership within healthcare and education. If you seek more information or have inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Professional Memberships
- The Australian College of Nursing (MACN)
- Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA)
Professional Social Media
- Research Gate
- Open Researcher Contributor ID (ORCID)
- Scopus ID: 15051475400
Research grants
| Grant/Project Name | Investigators | Funding Body | A$ value | Year/s | Focus (of Research Grant) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development, implementation and evaluation of a dedicated education unit across two aged care settings in the Sunshine Coast region | Barnes, M., Andersen, P., El Haddad, M., Oakley, M., Murray, D., Hirst, K., Collins, F. & Wallis, M. | Qld Clinical Education and Training Council | $24,514 | 2015 | |
| Developing and piloting a nursing and midwifery clinical skills learning framework to enhance student learning across industry and academic learning spaces | Henderson, A, Barnes, M., Rowe, J., El Haddad, M., McMillan, J., Hirst, K. & Slade, C. | CSALT, University of the Sunshine Coast | $9,659 | 2015 | Learning and Teaching Grant |
| Consumer- and Student-Led Co-Design for Interprofessional Education of Healthy Ageing in Regional/Asynchronous Contexts. | Tulloch, K., El Haddad, M., Dodd, N., Davies, S., Shakhovskoy, R., & Bogossian, F. | University of the Sunshine Coast | $10,000 | 2023 | Learning and Teaching Grant |
| Digital health workforce readiness. | Dermody, D., Wadsworth, D., El Haddad, M., Martin, A., Prichard, R., Benson, T. | University of the Sunshine Coast | $28,740 | 2023-2024 | Launch Grant |
| Evaluating the implementation of the SNMP moderation process in the nursing undergraduate programs. | Lin, F., Prichard, R., Peet, J., El Haddad, M., & Chen, L. | University of the Sunshine Coast | $3,195 | 2022-2023 | Learning and Teaching Grant |
Current Research Projects
Tulloch, K., El Haddad, M., Dodd, N., Davies, S., Shakhovskoy, R., & Bogossian, F. (2023). Consumer- and student-led co-design for interprofessional education of healthy ageing in regional/asynchronous Contexts. University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Summers, A., Clark, K-A., Prichard, R., El Haddad, M., Oprescu, F., & Lee, J. (2023-2024). Exploring nursing students’ use of Generative AI tools in assessment writing and engaging with course content. University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Prichard, R., Lin, F., Peet, J., El Haddad, M., Chen, L., Veltmeyer, G. (2023). Evaluating the implementation of a moderation process in a large nursing undergraduate program. University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Dermody, D., Wadsworth, D., Martin, A., El Haddad, M., Prichard, R., Benson, T. (2023-2024). Digital health workforce readiness. University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Hanson, J., El Haddad, M., Hooper, S. (2023-2006). Evaluating speaking up about safety behaviors in professional practice settings following exposure to integrated patient safety learning in the UniSc nursing, midwifery and paramedic curriculum. University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Early Research Projects
Moss, C., El Haddad, M., Cardwell, R. & Duncan, R. (2022-2024). Impacts of past relational encounters with leaders on nurse academics' leadership, team and teaching practices: A qualitative descriptive study. La Trobe University & the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
El Haddad, M., Moss, C., Thompson, L. & Faithfull-Byrne, A. (2018 - 2019). Impacts and outcomes from education and coaching interventions on clinical leadership of nurse unit managers/midwife unit managers: A multi-method study. Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Queensland, Australia.
El Haddad, M., Moss, C., Wilkinson, G., Faithfull-Byrne, A. & Thompson, L. (2017-2018). Building clinical leadership capacity and reducing administrative burden for nurse/midwife unit managers. Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Queensland, Australia.
Barnes, M., Andersen, P., El Haddad, M., Oakley, M., Murray, D., Hirst, K., Collins, F. & Wallis, M. (2015). Development, implementation, and evaluation of a dedicated education unit across two aged care settings in the Sunshine Coast region. Queensland Clinical Education and Training Council Grant, Australia.
Henderson, A., Barnes, M., Rowe, J., El Haddad, M., McMillan, J., Hirst, K. & Slade, C. (2015). Developing and piloting a nursing and midwifery clinical skills learning framework to enhance student learning across industry and academic learning spaces project. University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Research areas
- Health Professional Education
- Health Workforce and Development
- Clinical Leadership in Healthcare
- Interprofessional Education
- Undergraduate Student Feedback Literacy
- Graduate Nurse Practice Readiness and Transition into Professional Practice
- Undergraduate Nursing Clinical Placement and Supervision Models
- Practice Development in Nursing and Healthcare
Teaching areas
- HLT103 Professional Health Communication
- NUR131 Research Foundations for Health Practice
- HLT701 Qualitative Research: Approaches and Practice
- NUR708 Learning and Teaching in the Practice Environment
- HLT703 Special Project: Evaluating Practice Knowledge
- HLT704 Special Project: Translating Knowledge into Practice
- El Haddad, M., Cardwell, R., Duncan, R., & Moss, C. (Tentatively Accepted). Discovering key factors that have influenced the motivations and practices of nursing academics. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, Focus section: Education Publication due January/March 2024.
- Silsby, K. & El Haddad, M. (Tentatively Accepted). Support for nurses transitioning from clinical to academic roles. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, Focus section: Education Publication due January/March 2024.
- El Haddad, M., Faithfull-Byrne, A., Thompson, L., Wilkinson, G. & Moss, C. (2022). Nurse unit managers’ work and impacts on clinical leadership: A cross-sectional study. Collegian, 29(5), 635-644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2022.02.004
- Duff, B., El Haddad, M. & Gooche, R. (2020). Evaluation of nurses’ experiences of a post education program promoting recognition and response to patient deterioration: Phase 2, clinical coach support in practice. Nurse Education in Practice, 46, 102835, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102835
- El Haddad, M., Wilkinson, G., Thompson, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A. & Moss, C. (2019). Perceptions of the impacts of introducing administrative support for nurse unit managers: A qualitative evaluation. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(8), 1700-1711. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12860
- El Haddad, M., Moxham, L. & Broadbent, M. (2017). Graduate nurse practice readiness: A conceptual understanding of an old age debate. Collegian, 24(4), 391-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2016.08.004
- El Haddad, M., Moxham, L. & Broadbent, M. (2013). Graduate registered nurse practice readiness in the Australian context: An issue worthy of discussion. Collegian, 20(4), 233-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2012.09.003
- El Haddad, M. (2006). Nursing in the United Arab Emirates: an historical background. International Nursing Review, 53, 284-289. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2006.00497.x