Nursing Trailblazers

About the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers

The only award of its kind in Australia, the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers (Trailblazers Award) recognises nurse leaders and innovators who lead the way to transform our health and aged care systems by impacting costs, improving quality of care and enhancing consumer satisfaction. The award acknowledges nurse-led innovations and models of care which significantly improve health outcomes for the Australian community through evidence-based processes.

Founded in 2019, the Trailblazers Award is administered by the Australian College of Nursing (ACN). The award is designed to acknowledge that nursing has the solutions to many of the problems that plague the Australian health and aged care systems. This prestigious award is bestowed upon an innovative and outstanding nurse who has demonstrated leadership to bring new thinking to a wide range of health care challenges.

2024 Trailblazer finalists

Stephanie Dowden

Stephanie Dowden

2024 Finalist
Marion Eckert

Professor Marion Eckert MACN

2024 Finalist
Lorna Moxham

Professor Lorna Moxham FACN

2024 Finalist
Nina Sivertsen

Dr Nina Sivertsen MACN

2024 Finalist

The winner will be announced at the National Nursing Forum in Cairns from 14 to 16 August 2024. We encourage you to attend the event, in person or virtually, and celebrate the achievements of the nurse leaders this year.

Selection criteria

ACN will facilitate the nomination and selection process in line with the following selection criteria:

  • Significant contribution to the nursing profession and better health outcomes of Australian community
  • Innovative work of nurses and the holistic and integrated philosophy underlying nursing care
  • Demonstrated innovative intervention or excellent model of care that resolved a problem in the delivery of health care or an unmet health need of a population.

Nomination process

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Nomination

Nominees can self-nominate or be nominated by either their peers or health consumers.

Nominations for the 2024 Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers are now closed.

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Selection

The Trailblazer Award selection committee will review nominations and make their decision based on the selection criteria and information provided in the submission only. A list of finalists will be presented to the Health Minister, who will select the winner of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers.

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Announcement

The selected winner will be announced by the Health Minister at ACN’s National Nursing Forum. The winner will receive an award, a gift pack, be promoted on the ACN website and invited to speak at the annual ACN National Nursing Forum. They will also be profiled in ACN’s exclusive membership communications ‘ACN Now’ and ‘The Hive’.

Frequently asked questions

Any nurse who has made a significant impact through an innovative intervention or model of care in their field is eligible for nomination. Nominees should demonstrate excellence in nursing and a commitment to advancing the profession.

Yes, self-nominations are welcome and encouraged. It is an opportunity to showcase your contributions to nursing innovation.

Yes, if you nominate someone else for the award, they will be notified via email and asked to provide information to support their nomination.

ACN will facilitate the nomination and selection process in line with the following selection criteria:

  • Significant contribution to the nursing profession and better health outcomes of the Australian community
  • Innovative work of nurses and the holistic and integrated philosophy underlying nursing care
  • Demonstrated innovative intervention or excellent model of care that resolved a problem in the delivery of health care or an unmet health need of a population.

If you are an ACN member or have registered for an ACN event or CPD course, you can log in using your existing credentials. If you do not remember your password, you can reset it by clicking on ‘Forgot password?’. If you do not have an account yet, click on the ‘CREATE NOW’ button to set one up.

Nominee’s personal details:

  • Full name
  • Prefix (e.g. Ms or Adjunct Professor)
  • ACN Postnominals (e.g. MACN or FACN)
  • Contact number
  • Email address
  • Relationship to the nominator (only applicable if nominating someone else).

Details of the innovative intervention/model of care:

  • Name of the intervention or model of care the nominee has developed or is implementing.
  • State or Territory in which the intervention/model of care is based.
  • The nominee’s specific role in the intervention/model of care.
  • A detailed description of the intervention/model of care, including its goals and how these are achieved. (Max 4000 characters)
  • The target group(s) served by the intervention/model of care, their characteristics and the importance of providing them with the intervention/model of care. (Max. 200 words)
  • The challenges the intervention/model of care is addressing and how it is innovative compared to existing solutions. (Max 4000 characters)
  • An outline of how the intervention/model of care is innovative/excellent, unique to nursing and delivers a human service that is cost-effective, improves the quality of care, and enhances consumer satisfaction. (Max 4000 characters)
  • Relevant articles, publications or press coverage
  • Any awards, honours, or recognitions received for the intervention/model of care.
  • Public testimonies from participants.
  • Funding agencies (if applicable)
  • Two referee contact details

No, you are not required to provide all the information for the nomination. The nominee will be informed of their nomination via email and will be given the opportunity to provide the necessary details and respond to any required questions.

Download a copy of the nominations FAQs flyer here

Read more about our Trailblazers

Past Trailblazers

Lauren Barber

Lauren Barber MACN

2023 Winner
Caleb Ferguson

Professor Caleb Ferguson FACN

2023 Finalist
Tammy Harvey

Tammy Harvey

2023 Finalist
Toni Slotnes-O’Brien

Toni Slotnes-O’Brien MACN

2023 Finalist
Claire Lane

Claire Lane MACN

2022 Winner
Josephine Chow

Professor Josephine Chow MACN

2022 Finalist
Kate Holliday

Dr Kate Holliday MACN

2022 Finalist
Sonia Martin

Sonia Martin MACN

2021 Winner
Carey Blaik

Carey Blaik MACN

2021 Finalist
Julie Westaway

Julie Westaway MACN

2021 Finalist
Lisa Hellwege

Lisa Hellwege MACN

2021 Finalist
Shannon Wallis

Shannon Wallis MACN

2020 Winner
Matiu Bush MACN

Matiu Bush

2020 Finalist
Lorna Cook

Lorna Cook MACN

2020 Finalist
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Nikki Johnston OAM MACN

2019 Winner
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Professor Sandy Middleton FACN

2019 Finalist
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Professor Jeanine Young FACN

2019 Finalist
Linda Campbell MACN

Linda Campbell

2019 Finalist

Join the conversation on social media using #ACNTrailblazers