Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards

The Northern Territory Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding efforts of nurses and midwives who are exemplars in their profession, and who make a difference to the health and wellbeing of Territorians on a daily basis.

There are 12 awards to recognise excellence in client care, education, research, professional leadership, individuals and commitment to the nursing and midwifery profession in the Territory.

You can find out more about the awards on the Northern Territory Nursing and Midwifery Excellent Awards website.

2023 recipients

The 19th Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards Gala Dinner was held on Saturday 13 May in Darwin to announce the 2023 winners.

Nicole Baylis, Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing, Katherine Hospital

As the first ever RUSoNM in Katherine Hospital, Nicole has shown a high level of enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. Nicole demonstrated safe and responsive care, raising concerns with nursing staff and working within her scope of practice.

Bringing a positive attitude to work each day, her knack for communication and proactively working collaboratively with the wider team, Nicole was able to easily build rapport with patients & staff alike.

Nicole was well utilised during the early days, providing support to nurses on shift and stepping in where needed. She ensures the core principles of good care and endeavours to maintain a high level of safety for all in the workplace.

Nicole’s proactive attitude led to her capable work across multiple areas, something that only a handful of nurses achieve.

Holly Engelhardt, Remote Outreach Practice Nurse, Public and Primary Health Care, Central Australia region

Holly has been adventurous in taking a remote outreach N2 position in Primary Health in Central Australia as an early career nurse.

Holly has embraced every opportunity to further her scope and professional development including commencing post graduate studies and multiple modules and workshops.  These have been undertaken with genuine energy and passion to improve the way she can deliver services to remote health clients.

Holly is especially gifted in ensuring the Aboriginal Health Practitioners and local workers are utilised as the key stakeholders and cultural knowledge brokers on her visits to remote.  She engages with all the members of the team and works in a culturally safe and humble manner.

Holly is the first to volunteer for a challenge while always ensuring the safest care is delivered.  She has thoroughly embraced the life of remote nursing – above what is expected of an early career nurse.

Teresa Raines, Clinical Educator, Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation

In a nursing career spanning over 50 years, Teresa has demonstrated sustained leadership in education with the potential to transform generations of health professionals to provide evidence based and gold standard health care.

Teresa’s work choices shows dedication to career advancement across health professions and innovation in health care practice, while sharing her expertise with passion and humility.

Teresa continues to role model her commitment to quality teaching and learning to support safe, responsive and kind health care for services in the Northern Territory from urban to remote and in acute and primary health care settings, for all health professions.

Teresa’s contribution goes beyond ‘just doing the job’, extending to a lifelong commitment to learning, and role modelling to provide exemplary educational support and commitment that builds confidence and autonomy in the future generation to provide safe clinical practice.

Justine Williams, Cardiology Research Coordinator and Cardiac Quality Nurse, and Chair of the Cardiac Research Committee, Cardiac Care Unit, Royal Darwin Hospital

Justine has done an exceptional and sustainable job with very significant results leading to advancing patient outcomes for cardiac patients.

Justine is an active member and investigator in multiple key projects working to improve cardiac patient outcomes, currently including but not limited to:

  • Heart Yarning – Expanding Aboriginal Language Video Resources for Cardiac Patients,
  • An audit of the willingness of Royal Darwin Hospital patients with Heart Failure to participate in a Heart Failure in the Home Program, and
  • Coordinating the Northern Territory Top End Coronary Database

As the Chair of the Division of Medicine Research Committee, Justine provides exceptional leadership, encouraging and leading multidisciplinary staff to take up and present research programs.

Justine has also been an active contributor developing a more streamlined process of approval of research Division of Medicine Research Committee, Cardiac Care Unit, Royal Darwin Hospital.

Caroline Phillips, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Memory Service Aged Care Unit, Population and Primary Health, Top End region

Caroline demonstrated a career long commitment to aged care, taking regular opportunities to continue her professional development beyond the scope of her roles.

Caroline is instrumental in improving care for patients suffering from dementia across the NT by promoting healthy living programs to reduce the risk of dementia and early memory loss services within her day-to-day contact with dementia clients and their families.

Caroline promotes the services of Dementia Support Australia and Dementia Australia in carer support and education for both paid and unpaid family carers ensuring a psychosocial and medical model of care is combined for maximum benefit for the person living with dementia and their carer’s.

She meets monthly with these groups for networking and provides aged care clinical nursing guidance at these meetings for community groups that often do not have access to her high level of geriatric and dementia care nursing skills.

Caroline is a leader in her field, influencing ongoing quality improvement in the provision of Aged care in the wider NT community.

Priscilla Moore, District Manager, Prison Health and Watch House, Top End Region, NT Health

Priscilla is highly regarded amongst her peers and is an outstanding role model for her team and the nursing students who receive placement at Prison Health.

Priscilla demonstrates inclusive, innovative, courageous and influential leadership. Priscilla has proven to be an outstanding leader by the high rate of staff retention, reputable workplace culture and continued requests from others to join the team.

Priscilla is proud supporter of our Aboriginal workforce, from Aboriginal Health Trainees, Aboriginal Health Practitioners, nurses and senior leaders. Priscilla promotes self-leadership and leads colleagues to improve a client’s experience of the health care system. She aims to influence change in the way staff view risk and are trained by experienced staff who have experience working with risk across different workplaces.

Alysha Maceachern, Remote Area Nurse, Gunbalanya Health Centre, Top End region

Alysha advocates for her patients and service delivery, and spends an exceptional amount of time engaging and partnering with her patients in their homes and the local clinic. She goes above and beyond the already demanding role, organising medications and follow up and upcoming appointments for the population in which she provides care.

She partners with key stakeholders within her community to ensure best outcomes. She professional and has shown her leadership qualities by acting in positions when required.

Alysha who is currently studying a Masters of Public Health whilst working full time also co-ordinates weekly medical outreach services to 3 remote homelands in the stone country.

DonateLife NT, NT Health

DonateLife NT collaborates territory-wide across all aspects of the health sector, achieving diverse stakeholder and community engagement awareness for our unique NT contexts, in particular Indigenous, rural & remote communities.

Using a holistic model of care, acknowledging and adapting individual patient and family needs to ensure the provision compassionate, considerate and respectful end of life care, irrespective of the donation outcome.

DonateLife NT developed indigenous led, culturally appropriate patient, family and community education packages and resources to share NT stories and improve understanding for both recipients and organ donors.

The team displays exemplary dedication to facilitate and ensure access for all eligible Territorians to organ donation services, despite the many geographic, logistical and specialist clinical challenges encountered in the NT context.

They frequently engage outside business hours with the broader community during special events, festivals and forums to socialise organ donation conversations, provide education and raise awareness, and sensitively, respectfully celebrate recipient or donor family’s contributions.

Reetha Girishkumar, Registered Midwife, Jabiru Ward, Darwin Private Hospital

Reetha provides extremely compassionate and empathetic care to all her patients. Showing a genuine interest and care into wellbeing of clients, not only taking routine observations but regularly coming back to check in with holistic wellbeing.

Reetha goes and above and beyond and takes time to get to know extended family members of clients, especially their children. Remembering their names and taking time to chat and laugh with clients and their children.

In the words of the client ‘Reetha always went the extra mile for me. My children say she was the “kindest nurse ever” and looked forward to coming back to see her’

Caroline Phillips, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Memory Service Aged Care Unit – Population and Primary Health – Top End Region

Caroline is a registered nurse with over 40 years of service in the NT, predominately in the aged care sector. She has held leadership roles in aged care in both government and non-government services.

Throughout her career Caroline has demonstrated a strong commitment to safety and quality in residential aged care to ensure frail, vulnerable older people have access to high quality culturally appropriate care.

Since 2008 Caroline has been instrumental in growing dementia services across the Top End, establishing memory clinics at Casuarina Plaza and Palmerston, and setting up regular outreach memory clinics to Katherine and Gove.

In 2011 Caroline facilitated the first Geriatric specialist service to Lajamanu and the service has grown from there, utilising telehealth where the service can. Caroline represents the NT on national programs, including the National Dementia Framework, and actively participates in dementia/aged care networks and forums across Darwin.

Esther McAdam, Registered Nurse, Inpatient Services - Top End Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services, NT Health

Esther demonstrates energy, enthusiasm and passion for creating a safe, responsive and kind therapeutic environment to assist people on their recovery journey.

Esther is a key driver of the establishment of a therapeutic garden that has led to connections to land and country, provided an opportunity for all clients, with quiet spaces for them to rest, heal and offering the opportunity for getting back to nature. Clients have spoken of how much they appreciate these spaces, the opportunities for learning and telling stories of how they have gone onto start their own gardens, resulting in changes to their diets.

Patients always ask about Esther when they are admitted. They see her as a pivotal component for their recovery. Esther is very pro-active in providing comprehensive education to all students, early career nurses and general nurses in the art of mental health nursing (biopsychosocial) and Esther sees this as an important aspect of her work particularly given the changing face of nursing education.

Esther is the person that is there to listen, to support, to provide psychosocial education, to offer an array of activities in a meaningful program. She provides alternatives and options for people to fill their time dependent on their readiness to engage and is a stable pillar for people in at times a chaotic ward environment.

Helen Nenke, Midwife / Child Birth Educator Women, Pandanus – Childbirth Education & Perinatal Support - Anglicare NT

Helen has worked with the Pandanus program providing childbirth and early parenting education to young mothers under 25 years and their partners for the last 8 years. She gives up her time to ensure young mothers across the Top End receive childbirth and early parenting education in a non-bias safe place, equipping young mothers with skills and confidence to be the best mother to their child.

Helen has a non-judgemental approach, and has enabled access to this education for thousands of pregnant women who would likely not have had access otherwise. This is in addition to continuing to work in her nominal position as a Maternal Child Health Nurse and also shifts as a midwife. Helen is a clear example of someone who has committed herself above and beyond to meet a need in the top end with no financial or personal gain. Helen is well known and loved by many families.

Thank you!

Thank you to those who took the time to nominate colleagues and peers, and also to our valued award sponsors.

  • Australia Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Northern Territory
  • Charles Darwin University
  • Flinders University
  • National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre
  • CRANAplus
  • Darwin Private Hospital
  • Fox Education & Consultancy
  • HESTA
  • Australian College of Midwives
  • CFS Gear
  • COTA Northern Territory
  • Nurse & Midwife Support
  • University of Tasmania

NT Health is incredibly proud of the achievements of all nominees, finalists and award recipients and looks forward to celebrating the excellent work of our nurses and midwives in future years.

Congratulations to all recipients and thank you for your tireless work to improve the health and wellbeing of Territorians.

*Position titles reflect the finalists role at the time of nomination

Contact

For all enquiries, email nursing and midwifery in the Northern Territory at nursingmidwifery.doh@nt.gov.au or by calling 1800 000 648.


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