Madeline Ford is a proud Bigambul and Darkinjung woman whose nursing and midwifery career has taken her from critical care and aeromedical retrieval to remote First Nations clinics – and now into academia, where she is channelling a lifetime of experience into shaping the future of rural and remote healthcare.
In her current role as Senior Academic Lead, Allied Health and Nursing at the Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health, Madeline leads with both clinical depth and cultural conviction, while also undertaking a PhD exploring how to strengthen First Nations workforce retention.
For Madeline, her career has been about getting better healthcare to the people who need it most. Improving access to healthcare in remote and First Nations communities is not just a professional pursuit – it is personal, purposeful, and lifelong.
“Growing up in rural Queensland, I saw firsthand what limited access to healthcare looked like. That experience never left me, and it is what drives my commitment to improving access for remote and First Nations communities, in everything I do.”