The Royal Children's Hospital Simulation Team
Laura Box
Simulation Lead
GradDipAdvClinNurs (PICU), MANP
Laura works at The Royal Children’s Hospital as the Simulation Lead. Her current responsibilities include leading the strategic development, implementation and evaluation of simulation-based education programs across the organisation, supporting multidisciplinary learning, systems improvement and patient safety initiatives.
Prior to this role, Laura was the Resuscitation Clinical Nurse Educator, coordinating Basic Life Support, and Advanced Paediatric Life Support education across the hospital. She has extensive clinical experience within Paediatric Intensive Care, where she has worked in a variety of roles including Clinical Support Nurse, PIPER Retrieval Nurse, ECMO Specialist and Associate Nurse Unit Manager.
Laura is passionate about simulation-based education, resuscitation training, faculty development and debriefing for learning and systems improvement. She remains clinically connected through occasional shifts in PICU and teaches for the Melbourne University Paediatric Intensive Care postgraduate program.
Laura holds a Bachelor of Nursing, a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Nursing (PICU) and a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice.
Telephone: 9345 4173
Email: Laura.Box@rch.org.au
Matthew Stockton
Simulation Technician
Matthew is a Simulation Technician at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, a role he has held since 2021. He brings over a decade of experience working in perioperative and clinical simulation environments, with a strong background in anaesthesia and operating theatre support.
Prior to moving into simulation, Matthew worked as an Anaesthetic Technologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital from 2010 to 2021. Before this, he was an Operating Department Practitioner at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, UK, from 2008 to 2010. His career spans both the UK and Australia, providing him with a broad perspective on clinical practice, teamwork, and patient safety.
Matthew is passionate about supporting education and training through realistic simulation technologies, drawing on his extensive clinical experience to help healthcare teams learn, adapt, and perform at their best.
Outside of work, Matthew is a keen swimmer and a long-suffering Leeds United supporter.
Telephone: 9345 7884
Felicity McCarthy
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
GradDipAdvClinNurs (PICU), MANP
Felicity works at the Royal Children’s Hospital as a Simulation Clinical Nurse Consultant. Felicity's current responsibilities include the development, implementation and support of simulation training programs.
Prior to this role she was a member of the Paediatric Intensive Care Education Team and held the Simulation Education portfolio, developing and facilitating multidisciplinary high acuity simulation activities. Felicity also completed the RCH Simulation Education Fellowship and contributed to the suite of communication courses with the addition of the Conflict Resolution workshop. She has worked clinically in PICU for many years and in many leadership roles such as Retrieval nurse, ECMO Specialist and in Education, developing and mentoring staff.
Felicity has a Bachelor of Nursing, a Graduate Diploma In Advanced Clinical Nursing (PICU), a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Research).
Telephone: 9345 6756
Email: Felicity.McCarthy@rch.org.au
Jo McKittrick
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
Clinical Nurse Consultant ECMO (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit)
DiplApplSc (Nursing), GradDipAdvClinNurs (PICU), MANP (Research)
Jo works at the Royal Children’s Hospital as a Simulation Educator Simulation Clinical Nurse Consultant as well as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Jo’s responsibilities include the development, implementation and support of simulation training programs, simulation trainer training, as well as provision of clinical specialist nursing care to children and their families in the PICU.
Over the last 25 years Jo has worked in clinical and nursing educational roles at the RCH, as well as clinical roles at Monash Medical Centre (Clayton Campus), Princess Margaret Hospital (Perth, WA) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children (London, UK). Most recently (2018), Jo has acted as a Clinical Nurse Consultant (Extra Corporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO) program co-ordinator.
Jo has a Diploma of Applied Science (Nursing), a Graduate Diploma In Advanced Clinical Nursing (PICU), a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Research).
Telephone: 9345 6756
Email: Jo.McKittrick@rch.org.au
Janine Evans
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
DiplApplSc (Nursing),BNSc, GradDipAdvClinNurs (PICU), MEducation, MPH
Janine works at the Royal Children’s Hospital as a Simulation Clinical Nurse Consultant. Janine’s responsibilities include the development, implementation and support of simulation programs (deteriorating patient, communication and systems integration), and supporting the development of staff with simulation skills.
Janine previously worked in Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at RCH for over 25 years in a variety of roles including Clinical Nurse Educator and Clinical Nurse Consultant (with a focus on quality improvement). Janine has also worked in PICU at Monash Children’s Hospital, with several international NGO’s specialising in Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Médecins Sans Frontières in a variety of countries as nurse manager or trainer for neonatal and paediatric care.
Janine has a Diploma of Applied Science (Nursing), Bachelor of nursing science, Graduate Diploma In Advanced Clinical Nursing (PICU), Master of Education, and Master of Public Health.
Email: Janine.Evans@rch.org.au
Lauren Jorgensen
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
Lauren works at the Royal Children’s Hospital as a Simulation Clinical Nurse Consultant. Lauren's responsibilities include the development, implementation and support of simulation training programs.
Telephone: 9345 6756
Email: Lauren.Jorgensen@rch.org.au
Melissa Heywood
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
Telephone: 9345 6730
Email: Melissa.Heywood@rch.org.au
Jenny Hough
Clinical Nurse Consultant -Simulation
Telephone: 9345 4951
Email: Jenny.Hough@rch.org.au
ASCOM Numbers
Simulation Educator - 57882
If you would like to contact the Simulation Team please email simulation@rch.org.au