Clinical Council

Lisa worked as a research scientist, while completing her degree, and completed her honours year at the Cliver Berghofer Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Lisa developed her passion for rural medicine through scholarships, the AMA and John Flynn Scholarship Program, which she is passionate about.

Lisa completed her internship and residency at Toowoomba, with some short stints at St George and Kingaroy.

Lisa is a practice owner and full-time GP at http://gordonvalefamilymedical.com.au/ since 2019. She is also the mother of two young children and the grateful wife of a supportive, beautiful husband, David.

Her interests include preventative health and GP medical education.

To maintain her wellbeing, Lisa enjoys swimming, cooking, and volunteering for advocacy roles in General Practice.

Lisa is the treasurer of GPME Inc, an elected Queensland Council member for the RACGP and on the AMAQ Council of GPs.

Currently Melanie is working for Ngak Min Health and My Weight Loss Clinic.

Over her nursing career she has worked with young people, First Nations Australians, Homeless clients, and culturally diverse populations.

She is a board member of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners and works to highlight the role that Nurse Practitioners can have in Primary Health Care.

Melanie grew up in Country Victoria and has a love of working with rural and remote communities and believes that relationships are key to being able to provide health care.

Caroline first started work as a scientist in private pathology and worked nights to study a Bachelor of Health Science – Nutrition.

Her first Public Health Nutrition position was with Qld Health in outback Qld, Charleville, where she went on to study a Masters of Public Health.

Finishing in 2012 as a Public Health Nutritionist in Mackay, Caroline moved to Melbourne to work with Medicare Locals to then return to Brisbane in 2014 to work as a Health System Planner with the Department of Health.

Moving back to Mackay in late 2021 to start as the General Practice Liaison Officer.

Julie has worked in Podiatry since 1991 and achieved endorsement to prescribe prescription medicines in 2020.

Julie has worked in both private and public Podiatry and has a special interest in Diabetic Foot Ulcer treatments and is currently enrolled in a Master of Philosophy at JCU. J

ulie also holds a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a Grad Cert in Podiatric Therapeutics.

Julie has worked in many multidisciplinary settings in various roles and champions collaborative approaches to healthcare. Julie is married and has 2 adult children.

Karalyn has recently been appointed as a Professional Development Pharmacist at the Australasian College of Pharmacy.

Karalyn has a strong interest in immunisation and provision of injectables in community pharmacy, pain management, asthma and COPD, aged care, wound care, travel medicine , chronic disease programs and the health of aboriginal, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander people. Karalyn is credentialed in Mental Health First aid and she provides immunisation services as a community pharmacist.

Qualifications: B Pharm FPS AACPA MACP, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Accredited Consultant Pharmacist.

Since graduating from the University of Queensland in 2015, Eamon has worked in a variety of settings as a physiotherapist.

His clinical experience includes acute hospital work including intensive care and coronary care units as well as community and outpatient physiotherapy. Eamon developed a passion for working in men’s health and after relocating back to Mackay in 2023, he now spends most of his clinical time assisting men in the area as they recover from prostate cancer treatment and its side effects.

Eamon has enjoyed experience providing clinical education support for studying physiotherapists and working in management roles including managing a large team of hospital physiotherapists. His role at Active Physiotherapy Mackay allows him to support and treat his patients as well as manage the highly skilled allied health and administration teams he works with.

Outside of work, Eamon loves watching Rugby League and supporting the North Queensland Cowboys, the Mackay Cutters, and in the local Mackay competition the West Tigers – where he played his junior football. He enjoys spending time with his young family, and is looking forward to providing input to NQPHN in his role on the Clinical Council and assisting to shape the health service of the region where he grew up.

Tania worked across a range of specialities in the early days of her career. After being a general nurse for 20 years, Tania discovered a passion for MHAOD and has been a committed advocate ever since. For more than 11 years, Tania has worked for public health in the AOD sector, now established as a clinical senior in the field.

Additionally, in 2019, Tania founded her nurse-led practice in Mackay, Queensland – Kelly Health: Mental Health & Addiction Solutions. In 2019-2020, Tania researched and wrote a book “Keep Calm and Treat Addiction: Your 12-step guide to client recovery”. This book outlines the current evidence-based principles of alcohol and drug addiction treatment and interventions and aims to demystify addiction treatment and equip others working in health and social services to feel confident in working with their current client base who are struggling with addiction.

When she’s not working in Mackay, Tania is spending time with her husband and three adult children (and a new granddaughter) plus her fur baby Chili the Border Collie who is an aspiring therapy dog (and already providing oodles of loving therapy to Tania and to everyone she meets).

He is a Yued Noongar man from the small community of Dandaragan in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia and grew up in the country before heading to the city to pursue a cricket scholarship. Jason’s Aboriginal heritage offers him a unique insight into the health system and how First Nations communities interact with it.

During his time in the Kimberley he was Lead Clinical Advisor for E-Health at the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services until 2014 and worked closely with the sector to develop clinical pathways and new tools for the MMEx system and governance documentation and support for remote clinics in their use of the new cloud-based clinical record. During this time Jason worked clinically along the Dampier Peninsula communities of Beagle Bay, Adyaloon (One Arm Point) and Djrandjin in addition to holding the Lead Clinician Position for Headspace Kimberley.

Jason is a member and previous Director on the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association. Since 2015 he has held an Indigenous Clinician position with the North Queensland Primary Health Network Clinical Council and stood on the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Clinical Council from 2016 to 2018 representing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. During this time he was a part of the key stakeholder working group for the scoping of the iRiver project for Queensland health remote electronic health record system rollout.

This has led Jason to fiercely advocate for improved systems of care and equitable access to electronic health solutions for First Nations communities.

Jason now lives in Cairns with his three children and wife and makes the beautiful commute to Yarrabah each day where he holds the Director of Clinical Services position at Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service, an ACCHO serving some 3500 people. His passions include Indigenous Health and Primary Care along with jiujitsu, digital art and gaming.

Shane has managed community pharmacies in North Queensland for 7 years and currently works at James Cook University coordinating two pharmacy practice subjects.

For the last 5 years, Shane has been a Pharmaceutical Society of Australia QLD branch committee member and is the current QLD Branch President.

Shane has sat on numerous committees and groups for both QLD health and within the community. Shane has also obtained a Master of Business administration and has recently completed postgraduate research looking to improve and benefit our communities through primary health care.

He is the Executive Director of the Physio Plus Group which provides multidisciplinary allied health services in private practices, private hospitals, disability, aged care, industry and elite sport in two Australian states.

He is also the President of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, previous Clinical Lead for the Australian Digital Health Agency, Member WorkCover Queensland Medical Allied Health Panel, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University’s College of Healthcare Sciences.

He has previously sat on the Board of the Mackay Hospital and Health Service and currently sits on the Council of the National Rural Health Alliance.

He is Practice Principal and Director at North Shore General Practice and has established the North Shore Men’s Health Clinic in Townsville. Along with being a strong advocate in Men’s Health, Dr Stelmaschuk’s experience extends to child and adolescent mental health, aged care, refugee health, indigenous health and he is heavily involved in GP training.

Born in Canada, Dr Stelmaschuk has lived in North Queensland since a young child. He completed medical school with the first cohort of medical students at James Cook University in 2005, before spending his junior hospital years at the Townsville Hospital (now Townsville University Hospital). After a short hiatus travelling through South America, Dr Stelmaschuk began GP training through Tropical Medical Training in 2009, finishing his fellowship with RACGP in 2011.

Dr Stelmaschuk was a project lead in developing a sustainable model for Primary Care in RACFs in Townsville. He has also previously held Board roles on Northern Australia Primary Health Limited and NQPHN.