Thank you, country nurses
Numbering over 4000, nurses make up around a third of the entire WA Country Health Service (WACHS) workforce.
But what they bring to the health service – and to the country communities they care for – cannot be quantified in numbers alone.
International Nurses Day acknowledges the extraordinary contributions of nurses to WACHS and to the health and wellbeing of country communities.
The outstanding level of care delivered by the WACHS nursing workforce was well-represented on the weekend, with Clinical Nurse Specialist Nicky Duncan awarded for Excellence in Rural and Remote Nursing in the WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards
Clinical Midwife Consultant Melanie Woodhams also took out the Excellence in Midwifery award.
Right across the State, clinicians like Nicky and Melanie are delivering care in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, multipurpose services, community health and remote clinics, mental health, aged care, and Aboriginal health services.
Country nurses are innovative and adaptable, often deeply embedded in their local communities, and are routinely called upon to balance clinical care with unique cultural, social, and geographical complexities.
This year’s IND theme – “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives” – acknowledges that the impact of nursing care is greatest when nurses are empowered. Through a growing suite of initiatives, WACHS is working to empower nurses now, and into the future.
WA Country Health Service are committed to providing strong, structured postgraduate support to enable nurses and midwives to develop specialist skills while remaining embedded in rural and remote practice. This support is designed to grow capability locally, improve retention, and support expanded scopes of practice across country WA.
WA Country Health Service has had great success in the take-up of funded and co‑funded postgraduate pathways in priority specialty areas, delivered in partnership with WA universities that combine formal study, paid employment, and clinical facilitation in regional settings.
This includes Graduate Certificates in Critical Care Nursing (Emergency and Intensive Care) and Acute Care Nursing, as well as a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Perioperative Nursing.
Elsewhere, WACHS has had success with practical clinical skills development with programs including one which saw the first cohort of anaesthetic nurses from Broome, Karratha, Geraldton, Busselton, Kalgoorlie and Narrogin recently complete their training.
The future of country healthcare relies on WACHS' ability to deliver sustained pathways for support, development and empowerment for nurses and midwives, providing opportunities for them to grow and to thrive both professionally and personally.
And with a record number – more than 250 – newly qualified nurses and midwives joining WACHS this year, the organisation is well placed to carry through on the promise of a brighter future for healthcare delivery in country communities.