Celebrating Nursing Excellence
The Inaugural Professional Achievement Ceremony for Prince of Wales Hospital (POWH) for Nurses was held on Tuesday 8 April, in recognition of the remarkable accomplishments of the POWH nursing team in 2024.
The event highlighted a wide range of professional and personal achievements, including:
- 58 nurses completing postgraduate qualifications
- 9 nurses published in journals and book chapters
- 16 nurses presented at conferences locally and globally
- 23 nurses attained Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) status
- 3 nurses completed the Clinical Streams Program
- An additional 32 nurses completed POWH and/or SESLHD development programs in Emerging Nurse Unit Manager (NUM), Leadership, Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM), or Applied Quality & Science
- 13 nurses attained their Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
- 2 nurses attended the International Practice Development School.
“Through these opportunities our nurses are continuing to influence patient and staff outcomes, and the delivery of safe person-centred care to our community” says Karen Tuqiri, Director of Nursing, POWH.
Significant personal milestones included:
- Wayne Varndell (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Emergency Department) earned a PhD and was named on University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Chancellor’s List.
- Salina Zafeiriou (Clinical Nurse Specialist, Community Health) receiving the Healing Heart Consumer Award at the 2024 NSW Health Excellence in Nursing & Midwifery Awards.
- Karlee Mueller (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Clinical Nurse Care) named Rising Star at the 2024 SESLHD CORE Awards.
- Pooja Bhusal (Clinical Nurse Consultant) winning the UNSW Prince of Wales Clinical School Award.
The spirit of the motivation for professional excellence was reflected on by one attendee: "Professional development will increase your confidence and competence, leading to greater job satisfaction and a sense that you’re making a meaningful difference for your patients”.
This inspiring event stands as a testament to the POWH nurses’ dedication and pursuit of excellence and will become an annual event to acknowledge the professional achievements of POWH nurses.
Published 29 April 2025
