15 May 2008

Samantha Gibson from St John of God Hospital in WA was named Australian Nurse of the Year. Prof Claire Rickard from Griffith University in Queensland took out the Innovation in Nursing Award and Melbourne’s Kelly Leiper won Graduate Nurse of the Year in the HESTA Australian Nursing Awards.

The awards recognise Australia’s most skilled, innovative and dedicated nursing professionals and are judged by leading nurse educators, academics and nursing associations including the Royal College of Nursing and the Australian Nursing Federation.

Cancer nurse Samantha Gibson won for her outstanding care of a young mother from rural WA who was flown to Perth in an emergency. As the sick woman’s partner and toddler made the two day journey to Perth by car, Samantha helped the patient face a shock diagnosis of terminal cancer.

Samantha not only supported the patient through treatment to prolong her life, she also secured free accommodation for the family in Perth, access to free childcare and relief funding for the family’s basic needs.

Because of her illness, Samantha realised her patient met the rules for the early release of her superannuation which the patient then used to buy a house close to her mother. She also liaised with Centrelink to secure the patient government assistance.

“Patients don’t know what they don’t know. We find ways of not letting them fall through gaps in the system. Eighty per cent of what I do is advocacy,” Samantha said.

“For them the system is often overwhelming and impossible and that’s why, in every single case, we can make a difference.”

Samantha received $10,000 in travel and education grants, which will assist in her plan to become a Nurse Practitioner and develop a thesis on resources available to people with cancer.

Samantha remains in touch with her patient, who has been able to move home and continues to receive treatment.

The winner of the Innovation in Nursing category, Prof Claire Rickard from Griffith University in Queensland, won for her work to reduce patient blood loss linked to testing procedures.

Nurses routinely take blood for testing from hospital patients’ intravenous drips to minimise needle punctures. The first blood withdrawn cannot be used because it may be contaminated but discarding too much blood can lead to anaemia and unnecessary blood transfusions.

“No-one knows exactly how much blood needs to be discarded before the ‘real’ blood test will give an accurate reading. Patients who need multiple blood tests, like intensive care patients, can lose so much blood they become anaemic,” Claire said.

“Especially at a time of illness, the blood is vital and we should not waste a drop.”

Previous attempts to calculate the optimum amount of discarded blood applied only to particular equipment used by individual hospitals. Claire has developed a formula for calculating the discarded blood that works across all equipment, and all medical institutions. It reduces the volume of wasted blood and gives patients accurate test results.

Claire’s $10,000 prize will be used to develop and test her formula on wider groups of patients.  She plans to have her work published in a nursing journal and hopes to see international application of the formula.

Graduate Nurse of the Year, Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Kelly Leiper, won for her dedication to aged care. She has led procedural change to reduce patient infection and trauma related to catheter use. She was also acknowledged for her work with an elderly patient whose tracheostomydislodg ed. Kelly held the patient’s airways open during an ambulance transfer.

Kelly is now planning postgraduate studies in gerontology, which will be assisted with her $5,000 prize comprising travel and education grants.

The awards were organised by health and community services industry super fund HESTA, with prizes funded through Members Equity Bank.

HESTA CEO Anne-Marie Corboy said the fund was proud to support such an outstanding awards program.

“Every Australian has been touched, in some way, by the dedication and professionalism of nurses,” Ms Corboy said.

“The HESTA Australian Nursing Awards are a chance to acknowledge three stars of the profession, and to say thank you to all those women and men in nursing whose care transforms our lives.”

The winners were announced at a gala dinner at Crown tonight.

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