He has worked as an educator and researcher in care of people at the end of life. John was responsible for the development of the postgraduate Chronic Disease Management and Palliative Care suite of courses at the University of Queensland School of Nursing and Midwifery. He is a co-author of the Framework of Competency Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Nursing Practice. John is the immediate past President of Palliative Care Nurses Australia Inc., the peak body for nurses in Australia caring for people at the end of life. He was the inaugural Director of the Calvary Centre for Palliative Care Research in Canberra with the Australian Catholic University. John currently works as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Research Excellence in End of Life Care at Queensland University of Technology.