Adj. Prof. Alanna Geary
It has been a while since I have sent a Friday communications message to my colleagues, and I apologise for that. Like many of you the week gets away from me and before I know it it’s Friday and I have missed the deadline. However, this week I think it is imperative that I write to you and I hope to back this message up with at least one before the end of the year.
In 2022 Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in Australia celebrate Nurse Practitioner Week from 12-18 December 2022. This year’s theme is Nurse Practitioners, the essential difference in healthcare and aims to celebrate and educate Australian communities on what makes a nurse practitioner different, and why this is essential to the future of healthcare in Australia.
It gives me a great deal of pleasure to thank all our Nurse Practitioners for the care they provide to the patients and their families who attend for care in Metro North. These highly educated, nursing professionals are very so very well regarded and most valued in MN and on behalf of your colleagues I say well done. During these times of great need and in the provision of care to the communities we serve you have risen to the challenge and enabled so many people to be cared for in a complex system in what is slowly becoming a more common and valued model of care.
Local NP week celebrations are planned across our facilities for Wednesday 14th December, so if you’re interested in finding out more about Nurse Practitioners and how they make an essential difference in healthcare, or if you’re interested in becoming a Nurse Practitioner yourself, have a chat to one of our fantastic Nurse Practitioners or visit the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners website for more information www.acnp.org.au/np-week
I’m also pleased to announce that following a recent expression of interest, and in collaboration with two of our university partners (University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology), 20 Commonwealth supported scholarships have been offered to Metro North nursing staff to commence their Nurse Practitioner studies in 2023. Applications were received from all Directorates from a variety of clinical settings including Palliative Care, Emergency Medicine, Vascular and Wound Care, Mental Health and Aged Care to name a few. I am so excited to that during the next few years we will have significantly increased numbers of Masters-prepared Nurse Practitioners in a variety of generalist and specialist roles to take on the challenges that health will throw to us in coming years.
Ask a nurse practitioner how they make a difference during Nurse Practitioners Week!
Alanna Geary
Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer