Stephanie Buckton

Stephanie completed her nursing training and post-graduate gastroenterology degree at the Universities of: Leeds, Sheffield and Central London (UK). She completed her Nurse Practitoner training gaining a Masters of Nursing Practice at the University of Queensland.

She developed a specific interest in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and was one of the first IBD nurse consultants in the UK. She moved to Australia in 2004 and was again Australia’s first gastroenterology nurse practitioner. She is highly regarded by health practitioners and patients as an outstanding expert in her field.

Stephanie has a regional, national and international profile as a key stakeholder in the development of IBD services. As an advisor to the Crohn’s and Colitis Association Australia (CCA), she presented on behalf of CCA and IBD patients to the federal government at parliament house in Canberra to raise the profile and attract funding to improve IBD services across Australia. She contributed to the IBD National Standards and has been involved in the development of the IBD National Action Plan for Australia.

She has presented and published extensively and played a leading role in the development of the post-graduate gastroenterology nursing course at the University of Queensland where she worked as a course facilitator and lecturer until 2014. She is a Director for the Gastroenterology Nursing College of Australia (GENCA) and the current Chair of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Nurses Group of Australia and has taken a leading role in raising the profile of IBD nursing across Australia.

Stephanie is passionate about IBD and continues to play a pivotal role in increasing awareness, enhancing management and improving funding of this chronic condition. As a nurse practitioner, Stephanie provides a front line service for people with inflammatory bowel disease which includes nurse-led clinics, a telephone helpline, nurse initiated prescribing, clinical trials involvement and pre-procedure assessment for patients with complex health problems.