Private Hospital Nurses Rewarded in $171,000 Scholarship Initiative
Release date: 12 October, 2007
$10,000 each for further education to improve knowledge and skills
Six nurses from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania have been awarded a 2007 MBF Foundation Nursing Scholarship as part of a three-year $171,000 initiative to give top flight private hospital nurses career-building education opportunities to further enhance knowledge, skills and standards of care.
The MBF Foundation will pay up to $10,000 in enrolment fees and travel and accommodation in Sydney as needed for each scholarship winner to undertake a specialist graduate certificates with the College of Nursing.
MBF Chief Medical Officer and chair of the MBF Foundation Steering Committee, Dr Christine Bennett, said the scholarship program provides valuable education opportunities that can help hospitals retain talented nurses in amidst a chronic shortage of health professionals.
"Nurses are the lifeblood of the hospital system, but they can miss out on furthering their nursing studies because of the costs associated with undertaking relevant extension courses," said Dr Bennett.
"The MBF Foundation program extends knowledge and skills, enhances career paths and gives communities access to higher qualified nurses who are able to share what they have learned with colleagues, in the process improving overall standards of care," she said.
Nurses to be awarded scholarships this year are:
Sue Munro, breast care and oncology nurse, Calvary Hospital and the Riverina Cancer Centre, Wagga Wagga
April Cary, general surgical clinical nurse, Calvary Hospital, Wagga Wagga
Sharon Emerson, acute surgical nurse, Albury Wodonga Private Hospital, Albury Wodonga
Jennifer Sutton, theatre nurse, Maitland Private Hospital, Maitland
Denise Baker, hospital coordinator, South Eastern Private Hospital, Noble Park, Melbourne
Kate Bretzke, endoscopy/day surgery nurse, Calvary Health Care Tasmania, Launceston
About The MBF Foundation
The MBF Foundation is a charitable institution set up by MBF to support and manage important health initiatives for the community using a portion of MBF Group's investment income each year. Projects undertaken encompass three key areas – wellness and obesity, supporting healthy ageing and keeping healthcare affordable.
