From direct patient care to shaping how the next generation of nurses train

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Bastas Academy of Health Leadership

Ashton Kline started on the wards at Royal Children’s Hospital and now leads clinical placements for Grampians Health — a path that eventually brought him back to the University of Melbourne, this time to develop as a leader rather than a clinician.

BAHL

Ashton Kline completed his Bachelor of Nursing Science at the University of Melbourne in 2008, and was motivated to go into nursing as his brother’s chronic kidney disease brought him into regular contact with the health system.

After graduating, he worked as a registered nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital, then across paediatric nursing and other clinical areas, before moving into education.

That move has taken him through clinical facilitation, lecturing, course coordination, professional practice and international education. He now leads the undergraduate clinical placement portfolio in the Nursing and Midwifery Education Unit at Grampians Health, and teaches at Federation University and Charles Darwin University.

Clinical education is only the beginning

As Ashton’s career developed, so did the scope of his influence.

His work now involves supporting students, educators and university partners while helping shape the clinical learning experiences of the emerging nursing workforce. He has also contributed to research and advocacy relating to family violence, health literacy and community engagement.

While his clinical skills provided the foundation for his work, he also found his job focused more on motivating a broader workforce, building partnerships, and creating systems. Ashton went looking for support with the shift, and it brought him back to the University of Melbourne — this time for a leadership course. He enrolled in Activating Your Health Leadership run by the Bastas Academy for Health Leadership, a joint initiative of the university’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and Melbourne Business School.

Learning to lead authentically

The faculty in Activating Your Health Leadership asks participants to look closely at how they lead, test their assumptions, and work out what leading “authentically” actually looks like in practice.

“The course challenged me to think differently about leadership, particularly the importance of reflection, vulnerability and questioning assumptions,” Ashton said.

"I’ve returned to my workplace with a broader perspective and renewed confidence to lead authentically."

- Ashton Kline

“I’ve returned to my workplace with a broader perspective and renewed confidence to lead authentically.”

Those skills matter directly in his clinical education role. Training nurses isn’t only a technical exercise — it also means building trust, reading different perspectives, and creating an environment where students and other educators can do their best work.

Making the course accessible

Ashton completed the course with the support of a Bastas Academy scholarship. The Bastas Academy, thanks to a gift by Dennis Bastas and DBG Health, is able to offer scholarships to reduce cost barriers to leadership training and thereby keep the course open to health professionals who might not otherwise have access to professional-development funding.

“The scholarship made this valuable development opportunity accessible, and I would strongly recommend the experience to other healthcare leaders,” Ashton said.

Scholarships like his are now available for many of the 2027 courses.