John Haberecht, 2019

John (centre)  with Dr Geeta Joshi (right) and colleague

Ahmedabad, Gujurat, February, 2019

I have a nursing background and have worked in palliative care for over 25 years. Clinical experience in the community was with St Vincent’s Home Care, and Cittamani and Karuna Hospice Services. I also worked with Metro South Palliative Care’s consultation liaison teams at Princess Alexandra and Mater Hospitals.

I currently work as Director of Learning & Development for Queensland Health’s Centre for Palliative Care Research & Education (CPCRE). That role involves overseeing as well as helping develop and deliver education CPCRE provides around the state. I am responsible for PEPA Queensland, which also delivers education to health professionals, as well as providing observational placements for health professionals with specialist palliative care teams.

I have held executive positions with Palliative Care Nurses Australia, and Palliative Care Queensland, peak body for palliative care in the state, where I am currently President. While an academic at Australian Catholic University, I co-wrote and taught a Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care. With a CPCRE colleague, I wrote an online Continuing Professional Education palliative care module for Queensland University of Technology, for which I am the course coordinator. That unit runs online once a year; I am responsible for the academic aspect of the unit – maintaining the unit website, interacting with students online, and marking their assignments.

My motivation for volunteering for Project Hamrahi is that I have always felt it important to give back to others in whatever ways possible. With my experience and expertise in palliative care, and my education skills, it’s important I share that with others who may be interested. Finally, I have a lifelong commitment to social justice and equal rights, which includes helping promote access to palliative care and pain and other symptom management wherever that access is not readily available.