Flinders’ cancer care man on why research matters.

“Having the GP share the care with the oncologist means the cancer doctors can do what they’re best at, which is treat the cancer and the GP can treat those other things. It’s a person-centred approach that is focusing on the needs of the patient.”

“No one has actually done the implementation piece at the organisational level. Communication between GPs and oncologists is very poor.”

Prof Chan and his team of 12 researchers are now rolling out a shared care model for breast and prostate cancer survivors in various states across the country.

Shared follow-up care between a cancer patient’s specialist and their GP is expected to increase efficiency and quality of care as well as provide greater cost effectiveness for the health system.

Originally from Queensland, Prof Chan came to Flinders from the QUT’s School of Nursing where he held a joint position as Chair in Cancer Nursing at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Five researchers from his team will also make the move to South Australia.

Prof Chan says his move to the CFI, Australia’s first research institute dedicated to self-care and caring solutions, was driven by a desire to make a real and lasting impact to how we care for others and ourselves.

“If people ask me why I stay in academia or why I came to join the CFI, my first answer to them is that I want to have a higher level of impact. That’s what gets me out of the bed in the morning,” he says.

“I want to be in an organisation that is ambitious, fights for equity, has an optimal state it’s heading towards and is brave about it.

“There is an opportunity for us to fight for resources in health and care, fight for improvement and fight for attention for people to come and join our agenda.”

Throughout his 15-year research career, Prof Chan has published more than 160 peer-reviewed articles and two book chapters as well as attract over $24.6 million in research funding as a Chief Investigator.

Born in Hong Kong, he came to Australia at the age of 17 to study nursing. His inspiration for choosing nursing was a rather frivolous one.

With more seriousness he explains his passion to pursue a career in care was realised when he started working in aged care facilities as a student nurse.

The experience was not what he expected as he became aware of the suboptimal care being provided to distressed patients in a system constantly under pressure.

“I witnessed all of that, but because of it I was really determined to make a difference,” Prof Chan says.

“After graduating I worked as an oncology nurse and then in palliative care where I could see through the lens of patient-centred care and what it should look like.

“Rather than just keeping people alive, my time in palliative care taught me the importance of quality of life. So, I stayed in nursing and eventually went into research.”

Prof Chan takes the CFI reigns from Foundational Director Professor Alison Kitson, who is also the Vice Present and Executive Dean of Flinders University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Prof Kitson describes her colleague as a “transformational leader who will set the path towards excellence in all we do in CFI”.

Launched two years ago, the CFI has since garnered the support of more than 220 members who have been awarded over $10 million in funding revenue in 2021 alone for research activity through to 2025 in some cases.

Prof Chan’s work joins a suite of research initiative under way in health and care at Flinders University.

There are several areas of strengths within the CFI where researchers receive significant NHMRC/MRFF funding, as well as large government contracts.

Many CFI researchers hold recognised expertise in aged care, some of them presenting as expert witnesses at the Royal Commission into aged care providing commentary and advice on how we must deliver care.