Megan-Jane Johnstone

Megan-Jane Johnstone (AO) is Australia’s foremost nursing ethics scholar. She is renowned internationally for her scholarly works in the areas of nursing and health care ethics, with a particular focus on patients’ rights, cross-cultural ethics, health and human rights, mental health ethics, professional conduct, patient safety ethics, end-of-life ethics, and more recently pandemic ethics and the ethics of peace activism by nurses. In March 2017 Megan-Jane retired from her academic position as Professor of Nursing, Deakin University, Melbourne, and continues to writes as an independent scholar.

Megan-Jane Johnstone AO is the author of several books including Bioethics: a nursing perspective, first published in 1989 and released as an 8th revised edition in 2023, and invited curating editor of Nursing Ethics, a three volume Sage major reference publication. Other books by Johnstone include: Nursing and the injustices of the law; Ethics in nursing practice: a guide to ethical decision making (Co-Authored with Sara T Fry); Alzheimer's disease, media representations and the politics of euthanasia: constructing risk and selling death in an ageing society; Effective writing for health professionals: a pocket guide to getting published first published in 2004 and released in 2023 as a second revised edition, and Contributing Editor of The Politics of euthanasia: a nursing response. In 2019, Johnstone was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia "(for) distinguished service to medical education in the field of nursing and health care ethics, to patients' rights, and to professional standards."

Education From 1974 to 1977, Johnstone trained as a nurse at Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, NZ, and went on to study Philosophy and Literature at University of Waikato from 1980 to 1984. There she received the Prior Society Prize in Philosophy, awarded to third year students demonstrating outstanding ability in the subject of philosophy. From 1985-1986 she completed a Master of Arts preliminary in Philosophy at Monash University. From 1990 to 1992 Johnstone was at La Trobe University where she completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Legal Studies). now RMIT University. From 1998 to 2008 she served as Professor in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at RMIT University,

Awards 1984: Recipient of the Waikato University Prior Society Prize in Philosophy, awarded to third year students demonstrating outstanding ability in the subject of philosophy.

Honours

2019: Officer of the Order of Australia "for distinguished service to medical education in the field of nursing and health care ethics, to patients' rights, and to professional standards".