Ms Marlen Orsina

Marlén Orsina is a perioperative Registered Nurse with over ten years of clinical experience and a strong foundation in nursing education. Registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) since 2010, she currently works as a Lecturer and Course Coordinator at the University of Newcastle, Australia. In this role, she teaches and mentors undergraduate nursing students through simulation-based learning, supports research activities, and contributes to academic administration.

She holds a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Education) from the University of Technology Sydney and a Postgraduate Certificate in Perioperative Nursing. Her clinical career includes work across several Sydney hospitals, including Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Westmead Hospital, Nepean, and Norwest Private. Marlén’s training spans a broad range of surgical specialties, such as orthopaedics, neurosurgery, plastics, vascular, colorectal, and burns. Her experience includes anaesthetic and recovery nursing, instrument and circulating roles, and floor coordination.

In addition to her clinical work, Marlén has supported student development as a clinical facilitator, helping learners apply theory in practice and gain confidence in the clinical environment. She remains actively involved in professional communities, serving on the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) education committee and maintaining memberships with ACORN and the Operating Theatre Association (OTA).

With over five years in academia, Marlén has held teaching and course coordination roles at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Sydney, where she contributed to curriculum design, developed blended learning content, and led interprofessional education initiatives.

Currently undertaking a PhD, her research focuses on improving access to operating theatre nursing education in undergraduate programs. She is particularly interested in the use of technologies like Virtual Reality to create immersive and supportive training environments that help students build confidence and clinical competence.

Marlén is also involved in research projects that explore innovation in nursing education, including the use of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence to improve learning outcomes and support teaching practices.