Gilgandra nurse honoured with inaugural award
GILGANDRA Multipurpose Service Registered Nurse Stacey Denny has been announced as the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) inaugural Pauline Webster-cox Award for Graduate Registered Nurse of the Year.
The award was in named in honour of Nurse Educator Pauline Webster-cox, and was established to recognise newly-graduated registered nurses from the preceding year who participated in the Gradstart transition to professional practice program.
Those considered for the award must also embody the Living Well Together Values.
WNSWLHD Executive Director of Quality, Clinical Safety and Nursing Adrian Fahy congratulated Ms Denny for winning the award which was announced on International Day of the Nurse on May 12.
“Stacey is an outstanding registered nurse. She has become a key member of the team at Gilgandra Multipurpose Service (MPS) and excelled in her Gradstart program to the point she was fasttracked into a number of other training programs,” Mr Fahy said.
“She is a true patient advocate and shows incredible empathy and care with every patient interaction she has. Her warmth and attitude not only helps to build relationships and trust with her patients but also with her team, and she is highly-respected by both.
“The skills, leadership and communication Stacey demonstrates are all far beyond what we would usually expect from a graduate registered nurse, and that is testament to both her talent but also her commitment and drive to continue developing.
“Stacey has become a wonderful mentor for this year’s graduate nurses at Gilgandra. The entire team at the MPS cannot speak highly enough of her, and the care she provides is regularly highlighted in feedback provided by patients and residents as well.
“It is clear Stacey is an incredible asset to Gilgandra MPS, WNSWLHD and NSW Health, she has an incredibly bright future and is very deserving of the inaugural Pauline Webster-cox Award.”
Mr Fahy congratulated all of the award’s nominees for their dedication, commitment and performance after entering the workforce during such a challenging period.
“The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges we had not seen before as a network and our nurses, all of them, were at the forefront of that. They have done an incredible job,” Mr Fahy said.
“For our graduate nurses, joining the district’s workforce during such a demanding period is a challenge none of us should underestimate, but the experience they will gain from it will be invaluable as they move forward through their careers.”
The award was established to recognise Ms Webster-cox’s dedication to graduate nurses during her time as a Nurse Educator at Dubbo.
Now retired, she remains passionate about supporting and nurturing graduate nurses through skills development and also their social and emotional transition into the workforce.