Dr Lisa Chen
Senior lecturer, MACN Cardiac Stream Lead, BoN Honours Course Director, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University
Project title: Same-day discharge following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): A nurse-coordinated implementation study.
Dr Lisa Chen is a recipient of a Monash Partners Strategic Translation and Research (STAR) Clinician Fellowship. The program invests in emerging and mid-career clinical academics to support their career pathway development and train the next generation of researchers. Monash Partners spoke to Lisa upon accepting this Fellowship.
What is your career background and research history?
I am a cardiac nurse and mid-career researcher, currently a senior lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Monash University.
My research journey began with my PhD (2019), evaluating the implementation of same day discharge following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This work highlighted the ‘know do gap’ in cardiovascular nursing and the opportunity for same day discharge to improve patient experience and hospital efficiency. I then conducted a statewide study of same day discharge across six public Queensland hospitals and identified a same day discharge rate of just 6.5%. In collaboration with clinicians and lived experience experts, I co-designed a same day discharge clinical pathway, which was endorsed by the Queensland Cardiac Clinical Network as the state guide.
Since relocating to Monash University in November 2024, I have expanded this program through partnerships, such as the National Cardiac Registry and Safer Care Victoria. I led a statewide survey of current practices in Victoria and published a Current Insights Paper, examining whether same day discharge should become the norm in Australia.
How did you become interested in focusing on same-day discharge?
My interest in same-day discharge following elective PCI arose from both clinical nursing experience and observations of healthcare system challenges. While caring for patients undergoing elective PCI, I saw that many recovered quickly and could be discharged safely on the same day, yet overnight stays remained routine, which contributed to bed block.
Evidence increasingly showed that same-day discharge is safe, effective, and acceptable for selected patients, but uptake remained inconsistent across health services. This evidence-practice gap sparked my interest in understanding implementation barriers and the role nurses can play in driving practice change.
Tell us about your research study. What issue will it aim to address?
My STAR Fellowship project, Same-day discharge following elective percutaneous coronary intervention: a nurse-coordinated implementation study, addresses the persistent gap between evidence and practice in cardiovascular care.
Strong evidence supports same-day discharge after elective PCI for appropriately selected patients, with benefits including high patient satisfaction, improved bed capacity, and reduced healthcare costs. However, uptake remains inconsistent across health services due to organisational, professional and system-level barriers.
Working with healthcare providers, patients and health services, the project will identify barriers and facilitators to implementation and support sustainable practice change.
What are you hoping to achieve with your research?
I aim to improve access to evidence-based cardiovascular care while supporting more efficient use of healthcare resources. Specifically, I seek to develop and evaluate implementation strategies that enable safe, sustainable adoption of same-day discharge pathways following elective PCI. Ultimately, my program of research aims to improve patient experiences, enhance health system capacity, reduce unnecessary hospital utilisation and provide a scalable model for adoption nationally and internationally.
Why did you apply for a Monash Partners STAR Clinician Fellowship?
The Fellowship aligns closely with my goal of accelerating evidence translation and improving healthcare outcomes. It provides an opportunity to build advanced implementation science expertise for my current project while learning from experts to strengthen my future research program.
Why is support for emerging and mid-career clinical academics crucial?
Emerging and mid-career clinical academics play a key role in bridging research and healthcare delivery. They are well positioned to identify clinical problems, generate evidence and work with health services to implement solutions. However, this career stage often brings increasing research, leadership and teaching demands. Targeted support helps researchers strengthen leadership skills, secure future funding and maximise research impact.
What is the significance of receiving the Star Clinician Fellowship for your career and research?
Receiving the STAR Fellowship is a significant career milestone. The Fellowship will support skill development, foster new collaborations and enhance my capacity to lead translational research. It will also help position me as a leader in implementation research focused on cardiovascular care and nurse-led innovation.
What are your future aspirations for your research/career?
My long-term goal is to become an internationally recognised leader in implementation science and cardiovascular health services research. I aim to lead research that develops, implements and scales evidence-based models of cardiovascular care to improve patient outcomes and health system performance. Ultimately, I hope my work will influence policy and practice and contribute to more effective, equitable and sustainable healthcare systems.
