Academic gives inaugural oration at Nursing Awards

Associate Director of Sciences and head of USQ Fraser Coast Nursing Associate Professor Trudy Yugonvich gave the oration at the Inaugural Regional International Nurses' Day celebrations and  Nursing Awards presentation on Friday night. (May 8)

Assoc Prof Yugonvich spoke about changes to nursing and the challenges ahead.

'Today nurses are prepared at Bachelor level in partnership with health care provides to facilitate a new generation of nurses who are able to articulate their safe practice accountability,' she said.

'History is never a valid excuse for perpetuating anything.

'There would be very few people in Australia who have never come in contact with a nurse...we act as advocates for the disenfranchised, the powerless and the marginalised but at the same time as Shepherd suggests, we fail to act as advocates for ourselves. Isn't it interesting that given that we are leaders and innovators we do this? 

'We must remember the bigger picture of changed expectations of the profession, the community, the legislators, the higher levels of accountability to the profession as well as the public.'

She said the face of nursing had changed, with the future in a new generation of hands.

'Even within the educational context nurse education is changing, models of delivery are becoming more flexible to suit learner need using hand held devices, podcasting and online learning,' Assoc Prof Yugonvich said.

'Health care is the most complicated business that you can imagine. We need to be judged as suggested by author of ‘Allow yourself to be surprised' Kerfoot suggests on our ability to welcome surprise and astonishment, to help ourselves, organizations [and professions] to grow and learn from the unexpected. This leaves the final question for our consideration as a profession on this International Nurses' Day celebration event; what do we imagine for our nursing in the future?'

Media Contact:  Katrina Corcoran, USQ Media, +61 7 4194 3167