April 8, 2019

National awards honour nursing academics’ achievements

UOW School of Nursing staff recognised.

The high regard in which the University of Wollongong is held in the field of primary health care nursing has been acknowledged with the announcement of two national awards for UOW School of Nursing staff members on Friday evening, 5 April 2019.

Primary health care nurses regard the participation of people as a group or individually in planning and implementing their health care as a human right and duty.

None more so than the two award-winning staff members from UOW’s School of Nursing – Ms Kaara Calma and Dr Susan McInnes. The awards were presented in Adelaide at the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association conference.

“Being the recipient of one of these prestigious awards is a tremendous accolade for any nursing school but to be afforded two awards is quite exceptional,” according to Professor of Primary Health Care Nursing in the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, Professor Elizabeth Halcomb.

Ms Calma is a PhD candidate and Casual Lecturer who has been awarded the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association New Graduate Nurse of the Year for 2019.

This award recognises a graduated nurse who has recently entered primary health care (a maximum of three years since registration commencement).

Her nomination was made on the basis of her Bachelor of Nursing Honours work, a qualitative study of Australian grey nomads living with chronic conditions while travelling, her PhD project and engagement to enhance the profile of Primary Health Care nursing at UOW. Ms Calma’s PhD project is examining third year nursing students’ perceptions of general practice as a career option and their preparedness to work in this setting.

Dr Susan McInnes, a Lecturer in the School of Nursing is a finalist for the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association Nurse of the Year award.

She was nominated for her strong research in the field of primary health care and the extensive work she has put in to develop the primary health care curriculum at UOW. Although only gaining her PhD in 2017, she has published more than 16 papers and been a member of teams awarded a range of competitive grants.

The award criteria were similar for both recipients in that they had to demonstrate leadership and excellence in the field of primary health care nursing; inspire other nurses and primary health care professionals; provide a voice and advocate on behalf of nurses; provide a voice and advocate on behalf of their local community; and contribute to improve outcomes for patients and/or communities.