Page 1405 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
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Today I pay tribute to the nurses and midwives who have been recognised through the 2020 nursing and midwifery excellence awards which were announced in May. Christopher Harris at the University of Canberra Hospital was recognised as the ACT’s nurse of the year. Christopher is a clinical nurse consultant at UCH and was nominated for modelling exemplary professional behaviour and providing consistent leadership, as well as meeting all his clinical goals and supporting staff to develop and pursue their professional education. Tellingly, Christopher said that he would share the award with his whole team because they all work incredibly hard together to get patient outcomes and, importantly, to provide amazing staff culture. Chris’s assessment of the ward he leads was reflected in the recent culture survey in which it received the highest rating.
Midwife of the year was awarded to Kathy Coonan at Calvary Public Hospital, Bruce. Kathy began her midwifery career in Canberra in 1983 and has dedicated her career to providing babies, mothers and their families with the best care, particularly in challenging times. Kathy was part of the team that established the newborn and parent support service at Canberra Hospital in the mid-1990s, and that program continues to allow premature babies to be discharged earlier, with skilled neonatal clinicians caring for the family in their home.
Team of the year went to Britt Shephard and Shannon Narracott in the ED at Canberra Hospital for their compassion and for advocating for the vulnerable patients that they interact with. Britt and Shannon also organised the 2019 Suicide Prevention Ball that raised more than $41,000 for the Black Dog Institute—a great achievement and contribution to awareness raising, as well as fundraising.
Nikki Johnston OAM at Clare Holland House was recognised for excellence in quality improvement and research. Nikki leads the effective integration of evidence-based knowledge into practice through palliative care needs rounds, which integrates specialist palliative care to support staff to provide the best care possible. Nikki is recognised as being at the forefront of nationally and internationally acclaimed groundbreaking research to improve end-of-life care for older Australians living in residential aged care. Nikki is also a member of the Clinical Leadership Forum and a strong voice for nurses and nurse practitioners.
Heather Needham received the excellence in leadership award for leadership in improving patient care at Canberra Health Services. The excellence in management award went to Mercy Lukose at Canberra Health Services for her contribution to building a positive and powerful team spirit to ensure the provision of person-centred care. Rachel Bilton-Simek, who works at Clare Holland House, was recognised for excellence in education practice, for her caring and professional nature, and for assisting others to develop plans to engage in further education. Finally, the excellence in clinical practice award went to the ward 11A nursing team at Canberra Hospital for delivering compassionate and patient-centred care and for treating each patient with respect, professionalism and kindness.
These are great examples of the care and compassion, the innovation and professionalism and the commitment to patient-centred care experienced in our health
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