Australian College of Nursing

07/09/2026

Congratulations, ACN ACT Region Chair Dr Sujatha Shanmugasundaram, on this wonderful recognition of your work.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2026 ACT Women's Awards!!

Ashlee Berry, Excellence in Industry Award

Robyn Smith, Gender Equity and Social Change Award

Dr Sujatha Shanmugasundaram, Lifetime Achievement Award

Katherine Berney, Minister's Impact Award

As Dr Sujatha eloquently put it: "Leadership is not measured by the title that we hold, but how we inspire others and carry ourselves as women in a leadership position."

This year we saw an impressive lineup of finalists. These Awards are a chance to recognise local women and gender-diverse people leading meaningful, lasting change through leadership, innovation, advocacy and service.

Congratulations to all finalists and this year's ACT Women's Honour Roll inductees.

To read more about the ACT Women’s Awards and the Honour Roll, visit: https://www.act.gov.au/community/honours-and-awards/act-womens-awards-and-honour-roll

And thank you so much to the sponsors of this year's event Australian Institute of Company Directors, Women with Altitude, She Shapes History, Her Smile

[Image description: Photo taken on stage of the winners of the ACT Women's Awards. They wear formal wear and smile at camera]

06/09/2026

“Who do you think you are - you are just a nurse”. This was a message that Leigh received. A message that conveys the misunderstanding still present in today’s society of the role and scope of practice of nurses. Yet her story tells much more.

Today is National Read A book Day, and this month's book review is: 'Not Just a Nurse. A memoir and a promise kept' by author Leigh Black.

Rural and remote nursing, the challenges, the friendships made, the health discrepancies in Indigenous health and accessibility to resources. This book weaves together the story of a woman’s life as a nurse in environments many nurses would not dare to consider, facing racism, remoteness and lack of resources.

Rural and remote nurses like Leigh are not ‘just’ nurses. They are the backbone of the country and need to be celebrated. This book is a must-read for those wanting to understand a side of nursing that is not always celebrated, given the impact it has on people who would not survive without the contributions of rural and remote nurses.

Title: Not Just a Nurse. A memoir and a promise kept
Author: Leigh Black
Publisher: Hembury Books
Review by Sandra Dash MACN

Cath this review and more in The Hive. Become a member to gain access, contribute and join the community: https://members.acn.edu.au/JoinNow

04/09/2026

Apply now for The Journey of Vivian Bullwinkel Study Tour Scholarship 2027 – South East Asia.

History, nursing and culture intertwine throughout this significant journey to South East Asia, commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Bangka Island massacre and honouring the legacy of Vivian Bullwinkel and the Australian Army nurses who served with courage and sacrifice during the Second World War.

Head to the ACN Foundations website to learn more and apply now.
https://ow.ly/Ernb50ZHwHq

04/09/2026

This World Sexual Health Day, the Australian College of Nursing is asking every nurse to put syphilis on their radar.

Cases in Australia have more than doubled over the past decade, and in 2025 the outbreak was declared a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance, with rising congenital syphilis cases and infant deaths. Around half of people with syphilis have no symptoms at all – it’s found by testing.

Nurses are often a patient’s first and most trusted contact with the health system. Yet ASHM’s national survey of 819 healthcare workers found 54% don’t feel confident about when to test or refer for syphilis, and two-thirds wrongly believe it’s picked up in a urine test (screening requires a blood test).

Normalising sexual health conversations, offering routine testing to sexually active patients, and testing pregnant patients at least three times during pregnancy are small steps with real impact.

Hear more from Naomi Hoffman, a Sexual Health & HIV Clinical Nurse Consultant and Nurse Practitioner: https://lnkd.in/p/gYqXh_Tv

And you can find a wealth of resources here: https://ashm.org.au/learning-hubs/syphilis/

Resources and training for syphilis prevention and care. Access guidelines for screening, diagnosis and treatment of syphilis.

03/09/2026

Celebrate a beary special milestone with us
ACN’s CEO Kathryn Zeitz FACN is celebrating her second anniversary this month. In celebration we’re giving out ACN scrub teddy bears to all new members that join this September and current members that convert to an annual membership.
As a bonus, current members can login and update their details for the chance to win a bear as well.
Head to our website to sign up today acn.edu.au/membership

03/09/2026

The Australian College of Nursing strongly opposes any move to make ci******es cheaper or ni****ne easier to access.

To do so, would represent a harmful step backwards in Australia's world-leading fight against to***co-related disease.

Because Australia has lifted to***co prices and restricted access to vapes, the daily smoking rate is at a record low of 5.6%. Va**ng among 18- to 24-year-olds has dropped from 20.6% to 14%.

Nurses are in the respiratory wards and the oncology units. They are the ones providing palliative care. They are the ones who sit with families at the end.

Australia's more than 500,000 nurses don't want cheaper ci******es. They want tougher law enforcement against illicit retailers, effective policing, and proper implementation of existing laws. They want better delivery of smoking prevention and cessation programs.

There is no evidence cutting excise will stop illicit trade. ACN urges all parties to drop any plans to reduce excise immediately.

03/09/2026

A single 600ml bottle of Coca-Cola Classic or Solo Original Lemon contains 16 teaspoons of sugar – more than the World Health Organisation recommends an adult consume in an entire day.

New Food for Health Alliance research shows sugary drink companies are still loading their products with sugar, selling Australians more than 1.3 billion litres a year.

Every day, nurses see where that ends up: the diabetes clinics, the cardiac wards, the children admitted for tooth decay. This isn't about individual willpower – it's companies keeping Australians hooked on sugar, including through relentless discounting and marketing.

ACN has endorsed A sweet deal for health: a policy blueprint for an Australian tax on sugary drink companies.

02/09/2026

The Institute of Leadership offers innovative programs designed to develop leadership skills, foster professional growth, and drive positive change in the nursing profession.

Find a leadership program for you and start your journey today. Head to our website to explore upcoming courses. https://iol.acn.edu.au/

01/09/2026

Nearly 800 nurses across Australia told us the same thing: they’re proud of this profession and they want to stay. What they’re struggling with is building a career they own.

Our new report, Nursing Pathways: Making career paths clearer, found nurses describing career progression as “guesswork”. They also reported that while mentoring and supervision are responsibilities set out in the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Standards for Practice, more support is needed to develop those leadership skills.

Nursing Pathways complements reforms already under way, including the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, turning policy direction into guidance nurses can use now.

Among the recommendations: embed wellbeing as a core component of career development.

Find the Nursing Pathways report here:
https://ow.ly/xj2N50ZHEET

01/09/2026

A GP can see a patient living with a disability, provide clinical care and bill Medicare. If that same patient walks into a nurse-led clinic, the cost comes out of their NDIS plan instead.

ACN Fellow Melissa Freeman FACN runs a nurse-led clinic in Port Macquarie that delivered 23,193 episodes of care last year: wound care, catheter care, medication and chronic disease management. Much of it for people whose only other option may be an emergency department. Eighty-two per cent of her clinic’s NDIS billing draws on Core Supports, funding meant for support workers, therapy and equipment.

Writing in The Australian, Melissa argues funding should follow the care a patient needs, not the profession delivering it.

Her piece can be found here (paywalled): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/health/caring/medicare-flaw-locks-out-nurses-drains-ndis-for-basic-healthcare/news-story/96c87f83d8cc3deab3acb819e8a56d1f