Australia’s top nurses were recognised for their achievements on Monday 8 May 2006 at the Australian Nursing Awards in Brisbane. The awards were held at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to mark the start of International Nurses Week. 

The Australian Nursing Awards for 2006 featured three award categories - the HESTA Professional Development scholarships, the National Care Awards, and the sanofi–aventis Student Achievement Awards.

The HESTA Professional Development major scholarship was won by Lindsey Donlan, the National Care Award by Rosanne Squire, while the sanofi–aventis Student Achievement Award was shared between the three finalists, Sharise (Jade) Larosa, Megan McLaughlin and Karen Wesley.

Initiated by HealthStaff Recruitment in 2002 to shine the spotlight on the high standards of commitment and patient care within the nursing sector, the Australian Nursing Awards recognise and reward excellence in nursing practice and encourage skill development and advancement in the profession.

John de Haard, Managing Director of HealthStaff Recruitment, said, “Nurses are the backbone of the Australian medical system. They work tirelessly to save lives and to provide physical, mental and emotional care to patients and the families of patients”.

“Australia is fortunate to have a highly skilled nursing workforce, over many areas of specialisation, providing support to the entire community. These awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of nurses, and the contribution they make to our community”.

The HESTA Professional Development Scholarships recognised three finalists, selected from hundreds of nominations. The winner of the 2006 award and $5,000 prize money, Lindsey Donlan, an emergency nurse from Portland, Victoria, plans to use her prize money to help her complete her Master of Advanced Nursing degree at Melbourne University.

The two other finalists in the HESA Professional Development Scholarships, Sonia Bisson, an oncology nurse from Port Macquarie, New South Wales and Angela Castle, an accredited Stomal Therapy nurse from Hobart, Tasmania, each received $2,500 in prize money.

The second award category, the National Care Award, rewarded excellence in nursing practice. Nominations were accepted from patients, the families and friends of patients and from the colleagues of nurses to recognise those nurses who give exceptional care to their patients.

National Care Award winner Rosanne Squire of McLeans Ridge, New South Wales, the Deputy Director of Nursing at the Lismore Base Hospital, received $1,500 in prize money. The other finalists in this category were Deanne Schofield of Bentleigh East, Victoria, Sandra McGuire of Endeavour Hills, Victoria and Monica O’Kane of Lilydale, Victoria, each receiving $500.

The third Australian Nursing Award category for 2006 was the sanofi–aventis Student Achievement Award. This category rewards achievement in the academic arena, as well as providing encouragement to student nurses to continue their commitment to their career in nursing.

The three finalists in the sanofi-aventis Student Achievement Award were nominated by their universities and each received a prize of $500. The three finalists in this category were Jade Larosa from the University of Tasmania, Karen Wesley from Monash University and Megan McLaughlin from Queensland University of Technology.

While the Australian Nursing Awards celebrated individual nursing achievements, they also presented a fantastic opportunity to pause for reflection on, and to raise national awareness of, the enormously important, often unsung, contribution that the nursing profession as a whole has made to the community.

National Care Award finalists

Sandra McGuire
Nursing Co-ordinator
Casey Hospital, VIC

Sandra is a member of the inspirational executive and senior management team of Casey Hospital. Her team would like to single her out for recognition, acknowledging that she is an exception role model, with the ability to care about others at a high level in both a caring and constructive way.

In particular, Sandra has facilitated the development of innovative bed management practices which has allowed the direct admission on known palliative care patients to medical beds without being treated in the emergency department first. This practice has promoted comfort of patients and their families, created consistent implementation of agreed goals of care and prevented the ordering of unnecessary and costly diagnostic tests.

She is a truly exceptional nurse in her clinical skills, her ability to develop processes, her compassion and integrity and her ability to unite staff towards a common goal.

Monica O’Kane
Volunteer Nurse
St Anthony’s Hospital, Uganda

Monica O’Kane is a Melbourne nurse working as a volunteer in the children’s ward at St Anthony’s Hospital in Tororo, Uganda. She has worked in Uganda sporadically for five years and is due to complete her placement and return to Melbourne in June this year.

Monica first went to Uganda in 1992 with the lay missionary organisation PALMS.  Monica loved Uganda and St Anthony’s so much that she stayed for 3 years, vowing to return, this time a further 2 years. She continues to work in appalling conditions determined to make a difference to the lives of the Ugandan people.

Monica spends much time educating health workers, nursing assistants, medical staff and patients and families about general health issues. Her job is extremely busy and stressful and often works up to 20 hours a day with no assistance and no one to replace her when she leaves the ward.

Monica is an exceptional nurse with a unique story. She deserves recognition for her achievements in nursing in these extremely adverse conditions.

Deanne Schofield
Nurse Unit Manager
Kingston Centre, Monash Hospital, VIC

Deanne is a Nurse Unit Manager for a Residential Aged Care Unit. She is adedicated, practical, energetic, confident, cheerful and a highly efficient professional. She is a hands on and a non nonsense manager, who is well respected and well liked, possessing a great sense of humour also. Deanne gives confidence to families in her ability to care for her residents. 

Deanne treats her patients with respect and dignity even when they are unable to do so themselves. Deanne brings vitality and humour to what would otherwise be a depressing experience for families faced with the ongoing responsibility of caring for their sick loved ones.

Deanne is a quiet achiever and always puts the best interests of those around her ahead of herself. It is this that makes her not only a great asset to all those who are under her care but also to the nursing community as a whole.

Rosanne Squire
Deputy Director of Nursing
Lismore Base Hospital, NSW

Rosanne Squire has been a nurse for 42 years and has worked at Lismore Base Hospital for 32 years. Rosanne is close to retirement and her patients and colleagues wanted to pay tribute to the true and endless service she has give them by nominating her for a National Care Award.

Rosanne has touched the lives of thousands of staff and patients over her long nursing career. In March this year, Rosanne was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from the North Coast Area Health Service and a 30 year long service badge.

Her expertise in staffing a busy and complex hospital as well as caring for each employee on a personal and professional level is unsurpassed. She is renowned for having a genuine concern for staff and their families/children, and her eye for detail, especially in regard to rostering, is legendary.

During her career she has nurtured a culture of ethical wealth directly attributable to her leadership. Her golden rules of patient and staff care, truth, respect, equity, trust and confidentiality have influenced high standards for generations of nurses.

HESTA Professional Development Scholarship Finalists

Sonia Bisson NSW

Sonia is the Cancer Nurse Co ordinator and Clinical Nurse Consultant at Port Macquarie Base Hospital. Her role is to facilitate the transition between the many varied cancer treatment and support services, including radiotherapy. She offers support and information to the person with cancer, their family, and acts as an advocate on their behalf within the multi-disciplinary cancer team. Because of her regional location, Sonia is seeking to gain a secondment at a metroplitan radiotherapy unit in order to gain practical experience in time for the opening of the new Integrated Cancer Service in Port Macquarie in May 2007. Both Sonia and her colleagues would benefit from the attainment of practical experience in radiation oncology with the delivery of in-service education, mentorship and policy and procedure developmental input for radiotherapy nursing practice.

Angela Castle TAS

Angela is a Registered Nurse currently working on the General Surgical Unit at Calvary Health Care in Tasmania. Three years of Surgical nursing has resulted in consolidation of knowledge to competently implement nursing care experience to the areas of general, colorectal, urology, cardiovascular and gynaecological components of nursing. She completed an accredited Stomal Therapy Nursing Course that was conducted by the Royal Adelaide Hospital in conjunction with the Royal Hobart Hospital. Angela has made a proposal to Calvary HealthCare’s Executive team to develop their own Stomal Therapy Department, with provisions of pre-admission clinics, out-patient services, while incorporating continence management and wound care management to promote best practice for patients. Angela is keen to promote the benefits of Stomal Therapy Nursing and expanding her role in the organization by undertaking further study in breast and wound care, thus complimenting her skills in the area of Stomal Therapy.

Lindsey Donlan NSW

Lindsey is a Nurse Unit Manager in the Emergency field currently employed at PortlandDistrict Health.  Her previous experience is as an emergency nurse practitioner in the UK.  The problem faced by many rural departments is the lack of medical cover particularly for minor treatments. Some patients are waiting not only hours but days for treatment by a local medical officer. By completing a Master of Advanced Nursing at the University of Melbourne, she will improve patient care in her rural district by being qualified to treat many minor injuries and illnesses without the long wait for patients to see a local GP. She will also hopefully encourage other nurses in rural areas to further their practice and support rural areas in the healthcare setting.

sanofi-aventis Student Achievement Award Finalists

Sharise (Jade) Larosa
University of Tasmania

Jade is nominated for her excellence in nursing studies at the University of Tasmania. She has always maintained a high level of enthusiasm and commitment to her degree. As an active participant in case-based curriculum, she encourages and supports other students whilst maintaining exceptional grades.  During her second year, Jade was a volunteer mentor to the first year students and ensured that they felt supported and settled into University life. In addition, Jade was the treasurer for RUSTICA, a student group promoting and supporting students in rural and remote areas, and promoting remote area health nursing. Jade has the potential to make a significant contribution to the nursing profession.

Megan McLaughlin
Queensland University of Technology

Megan is recommended for her commitment to her chosen field through her academic achievements as well as excellent clinical skills and knowledge. She is currently a QUT Peer Mentor in a program that matches advanced-level student mentors to commencing students. Megan has also been nominated for the 2006 School of Nursing Student Representative. Megan recently completed a clinical  placement in adult intensive care where she demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of anatomy and physiology, needs of the critically ill patient and the ability to work within a dynamic multidisciplinary team. Megan plans to continue her nursing studies by undertaking an Honours degree and working within the critical care environment upon completion.

Karen Wesley
Monash University (Vic)

Karen is currently undertaking her third year in the Bachelor of Midwifery course at Monash University. Karen is nominated for her outstanding results in study who has excelled in all aspects of the course since commencing. Feedback from hospital staff undertaking supervision of Karen while on clinical placement has included praise for her aptitude in clinical skills, and her attitude to women under her care and the professional midwifery role in general. Karen has the potential to be a future leader in the midwifery profession, and her aim is to undertake higher studies with a focus on research that will be of future benefit to the midwifery profession.

Judging Committee

The following Committee members generously donated their time and expertise to review all the nominations for the 2006 Australian Nursing Awards.

Dr Christina Bobrowski
Director, Professional Services & Projects, Royal College of Nursing Australia

Mary Chiarella
Professor of Clinical Practice Development and Policy Research, University of Technology, Sydney

Sally Goold
Chairperson, Congress of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Nurses
A Wiradjuri woman

Gerardine Kearney
Assistant Federal Secretary, Australian Nursing Federation

Meigan Lefebure
Chief Executive Officer, Aged Care Association of Victoria

Mary Montgomery
District Manager, Redcliffe-Caboolture Health Service District, Queensland Health

Nicole Pianta
Chief Nursing Officer, Healthscope Limited, Victoria