Australia’s best nurses and midwives have been nationally recognised, with 12 finalists announced in the 2018 HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards.
Held annually, the sector’s most prestigious awards recognise graduates, individuals and teams for their professionalism, innovation and care across a range of health settings.
HESTA CEO, Debby Blakey, said this year’s finalists were selected for their outstanding initiative in developing innovative services and processes that elevate levels of care and improve the patient experience.
“This year’s finalists have shown an inspiring level of dedication to improving the standards of care provided to their patients. They have identified gaps in service provision and come up with solutions to meet these needs, resulting in outstanding improvements in clinical practice and patient care,” Blakey said.
“Through the Awards we’re proud to be able to recognise this year’s finalists, their commitment to care and outstanding work has a profound impact on the lives of the individuals they care for and the communities they operate in.”
The 2018 finalists are:
Nurse or Midwife of the Year:
Matthew Ball
Southern Adelaide Local Health Network
Oaklands Park, SA
Matthew introduced ‘The Maastricht Approach’ to caring for psychosis patients to his workplace, transforming the way people who hear voices and have psychotic experiences are diagnosed and treated.
Katherine McQuillan
Bathurst Health Service
Bathurst, NSW
With a vision to make a real difference to the lives of people living with liver disease, Katherine worked tirelessly to improve the availability of hepatitis C services to disadvantaged people living across regional NSW.
Gail Yarran
Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation
East Perth, WA
Overcoming hardship and discrimination, Gail has dedicated her life to improving and advocating for better delivery of health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Western Australia.
Deanna Ward
Cairns Private Hospital
Cairns, QLD
Believing there was a better way to support women on their journey to motherhood, Deanna developed the national ‘Know Your Midwife’ (KYM) program, which offers mums-to-be holistic care with their midwife and obstetrician throughout their pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatally.
Outstanding Graduate
Glynnis Carvalho
John Flynn Private Hospital
Tugun, QLD
During her graduate year rotation on the oncology ward, Glynnis demonstrated outstanding leadership and advanced nursing skills in her delivery of care, and chemotherapy education to cancer patients.
Rachelle Chikan
Peninsula Private Hospital
Frankston, VIC
Proving herself as a role model amongst her fellow graduates, Rachelle demonstrated capabilities beyond that of a graduate, consistently upholding the highest levels of professionalism and standards of care when treating patients and working with team members.
Samantha Johnson
Hollywood Private Hospital
Nedlands, WA
In her first year as an enrolled nurse, Samantha demonstrated advanced leadership skills, passion and initiative when caring for patients with mental health conditions.
Veronique (Roni) Murphy
Alfred Health
Melbourne, VIC
With the aim of enhancing the patient experience at The Alfred, Roni developed a process to facilitate the record keeping of patient likes, dislikes and interests, enabling easy communication of a patients’ preferences between team members.
Team Excellence
Midwives @ Sydney and Beyond
Sydney, NSW
Supporting women wherever they choose to give birth, the team of private midwives at Midwives @ Sydney and Beyond were granted the first hospital admitting rights in NSW, after they advocated to continue caring for their clients who may require, or choose to give birth in hospital.
St Vincent’s Private Midwifery
Fitzroy, VIC
Recognising that women often feel overwhelmed in the weeks after they’ve given birth, Michelle and Judelle from St Vincent’s Private Midwifery developed the Postnatal Parenting Education program which supports women as they adjust to parenthood.
Stomal Therapy Team
Bolton Clarke
Bentleigh, VIC
Focused on solutions that elevate the patient experience, the Stomal Therapy Team developed an Australian-first stoma care information resource, designed to help patients manage their stoma after undergoing surgery (A stoma is created during surgery as an opening into the body to allow body waste to come out eg. urine or faeces).
The Kombi Clinic
Hepatitis Queensland
Bowen Hills, QLD
On a mission to provide better access to treatment for people living with liver disease, The Kombi Clinic provides mobile testing, treatment, referrals and information to vulnerable people across Queensland living with hepatitis C.
Proud Awards sponsor ME – the bank for you, provides the $30,000 prize pool, to be divided among the winners in the three award categories — Nurse or Midwife of the Year, Outstanding Graduate and Team Excellence.
Each winner will receive $10,000 in a ME Everyday Transaction account to use for further education or team development.
Winners will be announced at the 2018 HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards dinner in Melbourne on Thursday 10th May.