Annual Professional Development Day
Monday October 13th, 2025
Newman Siena Centre 

Dr Jacinta Thorne is a physiotherapist with over 25 years’ experience in musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapy, including working with athletes at East Fremantle Football Club, Perth Orioles netball team and the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). She recently completed a PhD at Curtin University, with a focus on mild traumatic brain injury, also known as concussion. In particular, she is interested in the relationship between exercise intolerance and cardiovascular changes following concussion, thought to be related to autonomic nervous system dysfunction. As a post-doctoral researcher at Curtin University, she is involved in a range of projects exploring factors that may influence recovery following concussion, in both adults and children.

Hannah Tall

Hannah is an experienced Paediatric Nurse with over 25 years of dedicated service in child health, originally trained in the United Kingdom. She brings specialist expertise in Paediatric Oncology, Haematology, Complex Health Conditions, and Disability, with a strong focus on supporting children and their families through challenging healthcare journeys.

Hannah holds a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse qualification in School Nursing and spent a decade advancing child wellbeing within UK educational settings. Her work in school health was marked by a commitment to holistic care and advocacy for children's physical and emotional well-being.

After relocating to Australia, Hannah expanded her clinical scope through her role in Hospital in the Home Paediatrics, where she delivered acute and complex care in community-based environments. This experience further enriched her understanding of child and family-centred care and innovative healthcare delivery models.

Currently, Hannah works as a lecturer in paediatric nursing at Edith Cowan University (ECU), where she shares her extensive knowledge and passion for paediatric care with future generations of nurses. Her teaching is informed by deep clinical experience and a lifelong dedication to improving outcomes for children and young people.

Shannon is the WA Clinical Educator for The Periods, Pain, and Endometriosis (PPEP Talk®) Program, an initiative of the Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia (PPFA). The PPEP Talk® Program, currently offered free to schools in Western Australia, provides engaging and medically accurate information on pain management, particularly benefiting students with severe period and pelvic pain. The program emphasises early intervention, supporting students, families, and schools to manage pain effectively and reduce its impact on education and daily life.

With 12 years’ experience as a Primary School Teacher, 5 years as a Registered Nurse and a small business facilitating yoga for children and teens, Shannon has worked across a wide range of health and education specialties. These include orthopaedics and plastics, eating disorders and other mental health conditions, neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disabilities and learning disabilities. She brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep passion for empowering young people through education to her role.’

In my 17 years of Registered Nursing, my career has taken me from the Kimberley to the Goldfields, the Wheatbelt and finally settling back into the Perth metro area. 

My background includes working within large metro hospitals, very small country nursing posts, country emergency departments, school nursing and primary care. These roles lead me to pursue my great interest in caring for children and adolescents. I completed my Graduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Health in 2022, which coincided with the move back to the Perth metro. My varied previous roles give me a broad and holistic view of health and nursing.  

I started with Respiratory Care WA in 2023 after living and working rurally for over 10 years. The team at RCWA strive for excellence in every aspect of care delivery. It is an honour to work with such a wonderful group of highly motivated individuals. My passion for delivering high quality, evidenced based care, as well as the positive feedback we receive from our patients and their families is what drives me. 

Melisa Young is a lecturer at Curtin University, where she coordinates the Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Health Specialisation. She’s a paediatric nurse by background, with around 15 years of clinical experience across Australia and overseas, including stints in Perth, Kalgoorlie, Canberra, Sydney, London, and Canada.

Mel has also spent the past 15 years in academic teaching, and is passionate about helping future nurses feel confident working with children and families. Her recent work has focused on understanding the lived experience of “school can't”, when children are unable to attend school despite wanting to, and how health professionals can better support them.

Dr Alexandra Balzarelli is from Perth, studied at UWA, then worked in Africa and the Middle East before specialising in Aboriginal and Rural General Practice. Experiences include working in the Curtin and Woomera Detention Centres, and the Bandyup and Wandoo prisons.

Time in Broome included working at BRAMS, including in many regional town and community clinics, as well as KAMSC as an Associate Professor for the Rural Clinical School of UWA teaching medical students and helping to set up the new Headspace clinic.

Dr Alex worked at Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service then became the visiting GP for Clontarf Aboriginal College. She also continues private GP and rural locums for Wyndham Hospital in the Kimberley.

Dr Alex lectured for the Centre for Aboriginal and Dental Health at UWA for several years, where she acknowledges her colleagues, Aboriginal doctors and academics, as enhancing her knowledge through continued learning and sharing.