Wendy focuses her research on nurses' contribution to patient safety. Recently, this work has been in relation to patient engagement, pressure injury prevention and surgical wounds. Her work in these areas has involved testing complex healthcare interventions. Wendy has been very active in the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN), and was awarded honorary life membership as a fellow of the College for her contribution. In 2021 Wendy was awarded her second NHMRC CRE entitled Wiser Wound Care. Wendy has over $11 million in research grants, over 350 peer reviewed publications, 13 book chapters and one edited book in its fourth edition. She has supervised 22 PhD students, 1 Master of Philosophy, 20 Masters and 3 Honours students to completion. In July, 2015 Wendy was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International's (STTI International Nursing Honour Society) International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame and in 2017 was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurses.