To secure the future of Australia’s nursing workforce, the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has today announced a Foundation dedicated to educating and supporting nurses working in our health and aged care systems.
“The ACN Foundation will be significant in driving the nursing profession to deliver better patient-centred care for the health and wellbeing of our communities,” said ACN Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN.
“Nurses work all day, every day, everywhere. This investment into the future of our profession will directly impact our ability to improve health, promote gender equality and support economic growth, as reported by the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health Triple Impact Report.”
The commitments of the ACN Foundation also corresponds with the launch of the ACN Institute of Leadership, in which ACN is driving initiatives to raise the profile of nursing as the lead organisation in Australia of the global Nursing Now campaign.
“The purpose of the ACN Foundation is to ensure that nurses in Australia will have access to opportunities and experiences which will keep us at the cutting-edge of developments in health service delivery,” ACN President Professor Christine Duffield FACN announced.
“ACN has provided initial seed funding of $5 million to establish the Foundation, with grants soon to be announced to support the first Policy Fellowships in nursing in Australia and four $5000 scholarships to go towards our Jon Baines study tours to South Africa next year.”