NURSES and midwives have been celebrated for their service to the Canberra community at the 2021 Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards held last night (May 6).

Kirsty Cummin, a team leader at the Weston Creek Walk In Centre, was named Nurse of the Year for her strong communication and listening skills.

After the outbreak of COVID-19 Kirsty extended her duties to the respiratory assessment clinic to assist with covid testing. She has also delivered care to those in hotel quarantine and oversaw staff delivering in the middle-hotel.

Jessica Boutzos was named Midwife of the Year for her parent-focused, caring and collaborative work in maternity services at the Calvary Public Hospital in Bruce.

This year, in collaboration with a nurse practitioner from the emergency department, Jessica developed an early pregnancy loss support package to assist staff – initially intended for the emergency department it became applicable to all areas of the hospital.

Team of the Year went to Ward 11B, an aged care ward as part of Canberra Health Services, for communicating with patients and family members compassionately and understanding how confronting and stressful a hospital admission can be.

The team is dedicated to providing their patients positive end-of-life care.

Other award-winners included:

• Nicole Slater who won the award for Excellence in Management Practice for her work in the emergency department at Canberra Health Services;
• Wendy Beckingham who won the Excellence in Leadership Practice award for her work in infection prevention and control at Canberra Health Services;
• Nicole Shiels was awarded Excellence in Clinical Practice for her work in the Tuggeranong Community Nursing Team at Canberra Health Services; 
• Stephanie Parry was recognised for Quality Improvement or Research Practice in justice health at Canberra Health Services; 
• And Jodie Murray was awarded for Excellence in Educational Practice for her work in learning and development at Calvary Bruce Private Hospital.