Gillian Kruss

Biography

Monash Health is Victoria’s largest public health service. We are proud to provide healthcare to one quarter of Melbourne’s population, across the entire life-span from newborn and children, to adults, the elderly, their families and carers. We improve the health of our community through: Prevention and early intervention Community-based treatment and rehabilitation Highly specialised surgical and medical diagnosis, treatment and monitoring services Hospital and community-based mental health services Comprehensive sub-acute, aged care and palliative care programs Research, education and teaching the next generation of healthcare professionals Regional and state-wide specialist services More than 16,000 staff work at over 40 care locations across south eastern Melbourne, including Monash Medical Centre, Monash Children’s Hospital, Moorabbin Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, Casey Hospital, Kingston Centre, Cranbourne Centre, and an extensive network of rehabilitation, aged care, community health and mental health facilities.

Research Interest

Gill is currently working at Monash Health as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in breast oncology specialising in the supportive care of those with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Gill has been nursing for over twenty five years, a majority of which have been in various tertiary and community based oncology and palliative health-care settings. She has completed her Bachelor of Nursing, two post graduate diplomas (Gerontology and Oncology/Palliative Care Nursing) and more recently a Masters of NP course at Deakin University in 2016. She is a member of Cancer Nurses Society Australia (CNSA); the Australian New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group (ANZBCTG); the Victorian Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Collaborative (VPCNPC), the Victorian Oncology Nurse Practitioner Community of Practice (VONPCoP) and the CNSA’s Cancer Nurse Specialist Practice Network (CNPSPN), with Committee roles in the latter two collaborative groups. Since the identification of a supportive care gap for MBC patients in the southern Melbourne region in 2013, Gill helped develop a model of care and clinical pathway for a MBC nursing role, adapting this model to establish a uniquely specialised NP role at Monash Health. She has since been a passionate advocate for promoting this model to other Australian nurses regionally and at national cancer conferences. Having been invited to review various Australian MBC patient and nursing educational resources, Gill is committed to helping those with MBC make informed choices about their treatment options and improving their health outcomes and quality of life. She is currently in the planning stages of developing a preceptorship program at Monash Health for Australian nurses to learn what is involved in managing and co-ordinating the care for those with MBC using a patient-centred and multidisciplinary care approach.