Recipients of practice nurse scholarships announced
24 July 2024
Two practice nurses, one from each local health district region, are the recipients of COORDINARE's scholarships to attend the APNA Festival of Nursing in July in Adelaide.
COORDINARE's CEO, Prudence Buist congratulated the two scholarship recipients, practice nurses Melanni Auld from Shellharbour City General Practice and Kate Green from Bombala Medical Centre.
Ms Buist said: “We are committed to supporting professional development in the primary health sector and equipping people to implement quality improvement patient care initiatives. “
“We know the cost of additional study can be significant, especially with travel and accommodation and believe this assistance will in turn benefit the patients and general practices represented.”
“In recognition of their valuable role, these scholarships are to assist two practice nurses to gain professional development without the stress of financial pressure.”
Melanni Auld, one of three practice nurses at Shellharbour City General Practice, has an intensive care background and has worked as a general practice nurse for three and a half years.
"I was so excited when I found out about the scholarship. I know there is a lot more that I want to learn and need to learn to help me to be a better primary health care nurse, especially to be able to pass that on to my patients,” she said.
“I'm interested in learning more about nurse-led clinics to understand how we could implement them here, plus I’m keen to improve our healthy heart checks as there are too many people developing cardiovascular disease,” said Melanni.
Scholarship recipient Kate Green, one of three practice nurses at Bombala Medical Centre applied to attend the conference to learn how her practice can better utilise nurses to fill the gap created by the doctor shortage in regional areas like Bombala.
“We are trying to get the best outcomes for our patients by extending our nurse scope of practice and many of the topics at this year’s conference are relevant to this issue. Our patients don’t want to drive an hour to Cooma to see a doctor, it will benefit them if our nurses can assist with more clinical tasks,” said Kate.
Kate assists her general practice with much of their quality improvement work such as accreditation, work health and safety as well as cold chain management. She is also an authorised nurse immuniser, is trained in incisions and assists with care plans and health assessments. She is passionate about rural health and the role of nurses, with many generations of her family sharing a vocation as nurses and midwives.
Kate adds: “My grandmother’s life work as a registered nurse and midwife based at the old Bega Hospital in the 1950s inspired me to become a nurse. I also have aunts who have worked at Cooma and Bombala Hospitals, great aunts who were instrumental in Bemboka Hospital in the 1900s and my great-great grandmother Maria Crawford was the local horseback midwife in the 1800s. According to local legend, Maria could ride her horse side saddle quicker than most men and sometimes payment for her birthing services was a fresh horse to ride home and produce from the farm.”
APNA’s Festival of Nursing provides valuable insights into the latest developments and changes in the nursing field via well-renowned speakers, interactive workshops, and engaging discussions. You can read more here.