Karen Whitfield

Associate Professor Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence Email: karen.whitfield@uq.edu.au Dr Karen Whitfield is an Associate Professor within the School of Pharmacy and is the Program Lead for the Master of Clinical Pharmacy. https://future-students.uq.edu.au/study/programs/master-clinical-pharmacy-5718 Karen was awarded the Research Excellence Award for Research Support - Metro North Health Service in 2020 and the Australian Clinical Pharmacist awarded by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia in 2017 Karen has worked at a number of different hospital including Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Infirmary, North Staffordshire Hospital Trust (Surgical and Paediatric Directorate Pharmacist), The Townsville Hospital. Most recently she has worked at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (from 2015-2021) holding several positions including, Team Leader Women's and Newborns and Assistant Director Cancer Care Services. She has also held a number of teaching positions including, Sr Lecturer James Cooke University, Teacher Practitioner with Medicines Services Queensland and lecturer with the University of Queensland. Her specialist interests include Women's Health and Neonatology She completed a Diploma in Hospital Pharmacy (1991), Masters in Clinical Pharmacy (1996) and completed her PhD at Aston University in 2002 under the supervision of Dr John Marriott and Dr Keith Wilson at the Birmingham Children's Hospital UK, investigating sedatives in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. Karen has presented work Nationally and Internationally at several Seminars and Conferences including, Life Long Learning for Pharmacists Conference (Dublin 2020, Croatia 2016), FIP webinar series 'Hearing from our Hero's' (2020), Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium (2019), MM2018 SHPA Conference Brisbane (2018), Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Conference UK (2015), Society of Obstetric Medicine Australia and New Zealand (Melbourne 2015). Medication optimisation in neonates; Medication use in pregnancy and breast feeding; Research into the impact of resilience training and development; The impact of a specialist pharmacist in Women's and Newborns Health including the ambulatory care setting; Altered pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic handling of medications in premature and term neonates; Essential micronutrient levels in blood and human milk, including trace elements and vitamins; Altered pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic handling of medications in pregnancy; The impact of Resilience training and development in students and health care professionals

[2026] Economic impact of multidisciplinary pre‐operative diabetes care versus usual care in adults undergoing elective non‐cardiac surgery in Australia: a trial‐based analysis. Yu, Abby, Whitfield, Karen, Hale, Andrew, D'Emden, Michael, Donovan, Peter and Snoswell, Centaine (2026). Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 28 (10) dom.71139, 9367-9376. doi: 10.1111/dom.71139 [2025] The positive impact of a multidisciplinary preoperative diabetes clinic on improving glycaemic management in adults undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. Yu, Abby, Whitfield, Karen, Hale, Andrew, Ballard, Emma and d'Emden, Michael (2025). Diabetic Medicine, 42 (12) e70131, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/dme.70131 [2024] Impact of preoperative haemoglobin A1c levels on postoperative outcomes in adults undergoing major noncardiac