A nurse who started a charity from a granny flat in her parent’s backyard to reduce hospital waste has taken out one of the Australian nursing profession’s most prestigious honours.
Brisbane’s Claire Lane MACN was today named the 2022 winner of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers, a national award recognising nurses whose leadership has led to innovative solutions addressing key challenges facing our health and aged care systems.
Claire received the award for her work with Save our Supplies, a for-purpose organisation that collects excess clean usable medical supplies from hospitals.
Working with Rotary, they redirect the supplies to areas of need, including developing nations, war-torn areas like Ukraine and Flood impact regions of Australia.
The announcement was made at the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) National Nursing Forum in Darwin by Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney.
ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN congratulated Claire on becoming the fourth nurse – and third successive from Queensland – to win the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers.
“Claire is an exceptional woman and nurse who has used her leadership, expertise and passion for social impact – characteristics our profession prides itself on – to make the world and future a better place,” Adjunct Professor Ward said.
“She not only created an innovative solution to address one of the biggest challenges facing our healthcare systems, but has gone above and beyond to use it to improve the health of people across the world.
“She exemplifies the mission of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers, showcasing to Australians the leading role nurses’ skills and expertise play in shaping the lives of those we care for.
Assistant Minister Ged Kearney noted the honour she felt as a nurse to announce the recipient of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers. She also reflected on “how proud she was to have been a nurse” and that she wanted “every single nurse to be proud of what you do every day for all Australians”.
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Values in Workplace Culture
Professor Sabe Sabesan, is the Clinical Dean of the Townsville Regional Medical Training network incorporating the Townsville Hospital and Health Services and the Townsville Clinical School of the James Cook University and the director of the department of Medical oncology at the Townsville Cancer Centre, Townsville Hospital.
The Professor recently wrote, “Workforce wellness and engagement have become buzzwords in healthcare settings since there is an intimate relationship between staff wellbeing and performance of the healthcare system. Wellness initiatives such as wellness champions and wellness committees have been set up in response to emerging workforce mental health issues. These are largely reactive rather than being proactive in addressing or preventing the root cause of mental health issues.”
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Rapid trend shift in radiology technology and accessibility
Dr Mansoor Parker obtained his medical degree from the University of Tasmania. He then completed his specialist radiology training at Nepean Hospital, Sydney with subspecialty interests in Interventional Radiology and Pain Management, Musculoskeletal, Cardiac and Abdominal Imaging. Dr Parker is a qualified specialist since 2005 and is a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the exclusive Australasian Musculoskeletal Imaging Group (AMSIG) as well as the Interventional Radiology Society of Australasia (IRSA).
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The desire for primary care nurses to do more, be recognised and valued for the work they do
Denise Lyons is a highly experienced nurse with over 40 years in the profession, including more than 25 years dedicated to primary care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in the United States in 1985 and, in 2012, became an endorsed Nurse Practitioner in Australia. Currently, she serves as a primary care Nurse Practitioner in General Practice in Newcastle, where she is committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care that improves the health and wellbeing of her community.
