Faculty news
Faculty news
International Policy and Research Roundtable | Research Week | NICS Fellowship winner | First Cancer Nursing Chair for NSW Faculty newsletter archives
Recent Faculty news
Access, Influence and Innovation: 1st International Policy and Research Roundtable
In September 2009, the University of Sydney played host to world leading academics and policymakers in nursing at the inaugural Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Nursing and Midwifery International Policy and Research Roundtable.
The event was aimed at sparking a global discussion of the role of nurses and midwives in health policy and to establish a new research paradigm in the field.
According to Professor Jill White, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, “Now is a particularly exciting time for the nursing and midwifery professions, both in Australia and internationally. There is an opening in the landscape for change and a moment in history to influence the future of health care.”
Government commitments to health care changes in Australia, the Prime Minister’s Commission into the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England and significant health care reform in Canada and the USA presented an opportune time for world leading nurses and policy makers to meet.
"The University of Sydney has a most important social mandate as the oldest university and one of the most prestigious education institutions in Australia to influence policy internationally and locally and be a socially responsible member of the region."
The four day roundtable (1–4 September 2009) brought together academic leaders in nursing with government chief nurses and policymakers from Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada to discuss and share their perspectives on health policy and research.
“In many countries, despite nursing being up to 80 percent of the workforces, nurses to do not get a say at the policy level. This means they are missing a substantial contribution. The roundtable is a unique opportunity for us to share best practice internationally and help shape the future of health care,” said Professor White.
Research Week welcomes international leaders in nursing education
The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery welcomed two visiting professors as guests during the annual Faculty Research Student Seminar Week.
Professor Donna Diers, the Annie W Goodrich – Emeritus Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing, and Dr Cheryle Moss – Associate Professor of Nursing, Research and Practice Development at Monash University participated in the week’s program, highlighting the international nature of nursing research. Both professors gave keynote lectures and led masterclasses, providing opportunities for the students to debate and explore theoretical and methodological issues in research.
Academic feedback on the quality of student presentations was very positive, as was student feedback about the event.
“It was a very valuable and helpful week … I think the change in the Faculty’s research culture is tangible.”
During Research Student Seminar Week, the Faculty’s research students, from Bachelor of Nursing (Hons) to Doctor of Philosophy, had the opportunity to present their research to their colleagues and academic staff. The range of research opportunities for students in many aspects of nursing and its practice was evidenced by the diversity of topics presented during this stimulating week, from mental health, cancer and survivorship, palliative care, aged care, acute care, chronic disease, clinical leadership and more.
Associate Clinical Professor wins prestigious NICS Fellowship
Improving the quality of life for women with gynaecological cancers is the goal of Dr Mary Ryan, who has just received a NICS-CA NCGC Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and funding partner, Cancer Australia's (CA) National Centre for Gynaecological Cancers (NCGC).
Dr Ryan, an Associate Clinical Professor at the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery is a clinical nurse consultant at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney. She will use her NICSCA NCGC Fellowship to undertake a two-year implementation project to make formal assessment of nutrition and physical condition routine for women with gynaecological cancers.
Dr Ryan explains:
"Weight loss and loss of physical condition are known consequences of gynaecological cancers which can delay treatment delivery and recovery, but assessment of these conditions is not routinely undertaken. If health care providers and women with these cancers can proactively manage nutrition and physical condition, there is good evidence that they will require less time in hospital following surgery and have less wound infections."
NHMRC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Warwick Anderson has welcomed this opportunity. "We congratulate Dr Ryan on her NICS-CA NCGC Fellowship. Her project clearly demonstrates how the use of evidence in practice can have a significant impact on the quality of life for women with gynaecological cancers."
Dr Ryan will join five other health professionals from Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales as 2009 NICS Fellows.
First Cancer Nursing Chair for NSW
The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Sydney congratulates Professor Kate White on her appointment as Professor of Cancer Nursing, the State’s first Academic Chair in Cancer Nursing established by the Cancer Institute of NSW. This new exciting position recognises the central role of specialist cancer nurses in the delivery of quality cancer services.
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