The Mid-Career Nurse Leadership Program challenges nurses who are passionate about advancing their career, while giving them the confidence to lead change in a rapidly reforming environment and make a difference to their community. Participants are developed and empowered through personal development, career coaching and learning sets. Graduates of the program will be equipped with the skills to lead health workplace cultures through innovation, redesign and change and have the ability to develop high performing teams that have a culture of success and achievement. For more information, including program objectives, outcomes and selection criteria please refer to the program flyer.
Apply now
Applications for the next program intakes, commencing on 24 February 2020 and 22 June 2020, are now open. Apply now for this exclusive opportunity or register your interest to receive more information as soon as it is released.
February 2020 program speakers
The Mid-Career Nurse Leadership Program provides participants with unparalleled access to high profile nurse leaders. The following speakers have been confirmed for the 24 February 2020 intake. June 2020 program speakers will be announced soon — stay tuned! To get an impression of the calibre of speakers the program attracts you can view the program’s past speakers.
Adjunct Professor Debra Thoms FACN (DLF)
Former Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer
» About me
RN RM BA MNA Grad Bioethics, Adv Dip Arts FCN FRCNA FACHSM (Hon)
Debra Thoms is the former Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, a role she commenced in August 2015. She was previously the inaugural chief executive officer of the Australian College of Nursing, a position she was appointed to in May 2012 following six years as the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer with NSW Health.
Debra holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Psychology, Master of Nursing Administration and Graduate Certificate in Bioethics. She also holds an Advanced Diploma of Arts (History/French) and a Governance and Risk Management qualification.
During her career Debra has gained broad management and clinical experience including as a clinician in remote and rural Australia, as CEO of a rural health service, general manager of the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney as well as Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer with the South Australian Department of Health.
In 2005 Debra was selected to attend the Johnson and Johnson Wharton Fellows Program at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Her contribution to nursing and health care has been recognised by an Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Technology, Sydney, where she also holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor.
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Dr Jennifer Bichel-Findlay FACN
Associate of the Faculty, Honorary, UTS
» About me
HScD, MN, MPH, GDipN, BAppSc, DipAppSc, CHIA, RN
Jen has been employed in the health service industry for 45 years in clinical, educative and managerial roles, and understands how technology and digitisation can influence patient outcomes and service delivery efficiency in the complex healthcare environment. Having worked on several local, state and national health informatics activities, she is not only committed to supporting data driven decision making at the local level but also major health reform through innovation and digital health initiatives at a state and national level.
Jen was the inaugural Director of Digital Health & Innovation at the UTS Faculty of Health, and has co-authored chapters addressing health informatics in nursing texts. She is currently the Secretary for Nursing Informatics Australia and the Health Informatics Society of Australia, and is a Fellow of both the Australasian College of Health Informatics and the Australian College of Nursing.
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Professor Christine Duffield FACN
Australian College of Nursing President and Professor of Nursing and Health Services Management, UTS & ECU
» About me
Professor Christine Duffield is an internationally acclaimed nursing workforce researcher and Australia’s leading voice on the impact of nursing workload and skill mix on patient outcomes and the quality of patient care. Christine joined the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Board in 2013 and is currently the President of ACN.
Christine is the Professor of Nursing and Health Services Management at Edith Cowan University and the University of Technology Sydney. Christine is a highly accomplished international researcher with significant experience in the health and education industries in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Christine is one of the top 10 most-cited Australian and New Zealand nursing and midwifery professors.
Christine focused on transforming the nursing sector over the course of her 40-year career. During this time, she has worked extensively with state and federal decision-makers as well as internationally, with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN), to drive change and innovation in health care delivery. As a result, she is highly regarded by practitioners as a researcher who understands the world in which they work and can translate results into practice and policy.
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Adjunct Professor Susanne Hawes FACN
Australian College of Nursing Board Director and Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, NT
» About me
MRNC, RN, BHlthSc, Grad Cert (Disability), EMBA
Greenbelt Six Sigma, CoachU Dip
Sue has worked in the health and welfare sector for over 35 years. As a senior clinician and health executive, she has extensive experience in strategic and operational management and a proven track record of leading large scale system quality improvements. Committed to the development of others, she regularly participates in coaching and mentoring, working with the Agency for Clinical Innovation, NSW Ministry and the Emerging Nurse Leader (ENL) program for the Australian College of Nursing (ACN).
Sue currently works in the Northern Territory, as the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery and has acted in the Chief Nursing and Midwifery role for over 9 months there. She is a Director on the ACN Board and holds adjunct appointments at Queensland University of Technology and Charles Darwin University. She is a Fellow of ACN and an Associate Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management.
Sue has worked for; Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CHQ HHS) establishing their quality improvement framework called iCARE; PWC as a Director on their national health consultancy team; and NSW Health where she led a state-wide transformational change program supporting nursing/midwifery unit managers called “take the lead”.
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Mark Kearin
FACN
Manager Member Organising Team, ANMF
» About me
Mark Kearin FACN is a Nurse Professional with over 25 years’ experience in senior nursing and heath executive roles in major health services in NSW and Queensland. Mark prides himself on his analytical, data mining, financial, workforce and project management skills which have enabled informed decision making for improved patient outcomes and effective service delivery model implementation.
Mark’s exceptional skills in workforce modelling, skills mix analysis and understanding of the industrial framework underpinning acute, aged care and primary and community health settings has advanced him as a sought after expert in the workplace, as well as lecturing in the tertiary sector. Mark has an innate understanding of using data to support decision making, financial management of health care with a focus on case-mix and activity based funding models.
Mark’s contribution to the nursing profession in Australia extends to his appointment as a Non-Executive Director on the Nurses and Midwives Health Insurance Board and a Council Member of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.
Mark has been a trailblazer in his areas of expertise throughout his career. He was the first Nursing Unit Manager in NSW to trial unit based budgeting and the first nurse within the heath service to have a dual role of a Nursing Director and Business Manager within a clinical stream across a number of facilities, paving the way for nurses in NSW to be respected as dual professionals.
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Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN
Australian College of Nursing Chief Executive Officer
» About me
ACN CEO, RN, M.Mgt, Dip.App.Sci (Nursing), Acute Care Cert., Wharton Fellow, MAICD
Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN is a renowned leader and a passionate CEO who has shaped the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) to become a prominent and influential professional organisation. As well as leading a strong and collective voice for the nursing profession to improve patient outcomes and the social determinants of health for all Australians, Kylie is also driven to improve gender equality and diversity as well as promoting the importance of women in leadership roles both nationally and internationally.
Kylie’s distinguished career spans almost three decades, and has seen her hold Executive positions in the largest health services in NSW and Victoria. Through her commitment to reform, transformational change and leadership development, she has been awarded honorary Professorships from Monash University, Deakin University, University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University and Federation University.
Kylie is the first nurse to be appointed by the Federal Minister as a Board Director of the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA). She is a Board Director of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Council (ANMAC), as well as serving Ministerial appointments to the Aged Services Industry Reform Committee (IRC) and the Health Translation Advisory Committee (HTAC) of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Dedicating her career and purpose to empowering others, Kylie has received widespread recognition and received multiple awards including the 2017 ACT Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award for Social Purpose and Enterprise and 2018 Western Sydney University Prestigious Alumni’s Award for Professional Excellence.
Kylie is an inspiring leader with a flair for inspiring others and promoting a socially responsible and progressive culture. A motivational executive, Kylie has led thousands with her holistic, innovative and transformational approach to leadership, focusing on building resilience and empowering people to meet organisational challenges.
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Dr Lynette Cusack
MACN
Chair Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
» About me
RN, midwife, PhD, MHA, BN, DN,MRCN Adelaide Nursing School, University of Adelaide
Dr Cusack is an Associate Professor in the Adelaide Nursing School. Her research focus is on the contemporary role of the nurse/midwife in a range of different contexts; evaluating models of practice, including impact on the health care system, interdisciplinary team and patients’/women’s experience. Lynette is a member of the International Collaboration on Occupational Resilience (ICOR) and has been involved in developing models of workplace resilience for nurses/midwives. Lynette provides practice based research support to nurses and midwives at a major metropolitan hospital in South Australia. Other teaching and research contributions include leadership and management, professional practice development and disaster response. Lynette previously worked in a range of community health settings, including home nursing, community health centres and in an executive role in drug and alcohol services. Lynette also has many years of experience in nursing and midwifery regulation.
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Flavia D’Ambrosio
Director – Workforce Culture and Leadership
» About me
Flavia is the Director of Workforce Culture and Leadership at Canberra Health Services and first joined the team in 2011. Flavia is a qualified and experienced trainer/adult educator, and consultant with over 30 years’ experience in the learning and organisational development fields. Flavia has worked in federal government, the community sector and as a consultant. She is passionate about improving workplace culture through developing leadership and management capabilities and engaging with staff.
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Nightingale Challenge scholarships
Nursing Now has launched the Nightingale Challenge which aims to have at least 20,000 young nurses and midwives, aged 35 or under, benefiting from leadership and development training in 2020, which marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale and has been officially declared as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization.
The Nightingale Challenge is calling on large employers of nurses globally to provide leadership and development training for 20 young nurses and midwives in 2020. This will give young nurses the skills they need to play an even more influential role in global health.
To find out more about the challenge download the Nightingale Challenge brochure or head to the Nursing Now website.
How to get involved
Organisations
We are inviting organisations to partner with us to fulfil the challenge requirements by offering subsidised registration rates for our Mid-Career Nurse Leadership Program ($4,000) and Nurse Executive Leadership Program ($7,000). Contact leadership@acn.edu.au for more information.
Young nurse leaders
As the lead organisation for Nursing Now in Australia, we are also proud to support the challenge by providing five $1,000 scholarships for the Mid-Career Nurse Leadership Program and five $1,500 scholarships for the Nurse Executive Leadership Program to eligible applicants aged 35 or under. To find out more contact leadership@acn.edu.au.