Sydney Nursing School honours students at scholarships and prizes evening

Last week the University of Sydney Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery community gathered to award the 2019 scholarships. Merit award recipients from 2018 also attended with their friends and families.

Staff from the school were joined by donors, alumni, the nursing award recipients and their families to celebrate the achievements of outstanding students. This has become an important annual event on the Sydney Nursing School calendar, connecting current students with recent graduates.

In her introduction, Professor Donna Waters, Head of School and Dean of Sydney Nursing School, acknowledged the generosity of donors past and present, as well as shared some recent achievements of alumni and staff.

Professor Robyn Ward, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health addressed those in attendance and congratulated all scholarship and award recipients.  

Three scholarship holders (past and present) shared their stories and emphasized how the scholarships have supported and influenced their studies and research:

Grace Mawbey, Susan Wakil Scholarship (Undergraduate Rural/Regional) 2018

Grace joined the Sydney Nursing School community from Dubbo to start her Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies) in 2018. She was inspired to become a nurse after seeing her grandfather’s experience of living with muscular dystrophy. Seeing this, gave her insight into aged care, and the importance of promoting health ageing within a regional community.

Rebecca Needham, Trace Richey Scholarship

Rebecca’s career started in emergency nursing, however she found her passion and interest was in cancer nursing. Through this scholarship, Rebecca has been able to progress completion of a Master of Cancer and Haematology Nursing, allowing her to develop further skills and knowledge as a cancer nurse.

One of the roles of a cancer nurse is to care for patients before, during and after undergoing stem cell transplants. Rebecca highlighted the enjoyment she receives from her role as she helps people go through what can be a difficult time. Rebecca has recently been appointed as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and hopes to one day become a Nurse Practitioner to continue to improve the quality of life and support of cancer patients.

Margaret Murphy, PhD Candidate and Britton Craigie Scholarship

Margaret is employed as a Clinical Nurse Consultant at Westmead Hospital and has extensive clinical experience in emergency nursing. She has previously worked in a range of clinical environments including intensive care, mental health, education and change management.

Margaret has a strong commitment to translational research for emergency care and is currently completing her PhD on the impact of trauma team training on patient outcomes and trauma delivery. Margaret has found the scholarship to be invaluable in allowing her to progress with her study.