Dedication to her chosen career of nursing has seen Coonabarabran's Garima Nepal take out one of the health industry's top awards at the 11th annual NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards held in Sydney last week.

In a great year for Ms Nepal, she was awarded the Pauline Webster-Cox Award for New to Practice in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) earlier this year before progressing to being a state finalist in the New to Practice Nurse/Midwife of the Year Award.

 For the first time since 2019, the awards were held as a live ceremony at Parliament House with Health Minister Ryan Park extending congratulations to the 29 winners and finalists.

“The professional achievements, compassion and dedication on display were nothing short of remarkable,” Mr Park said.

Ms Nepal's journey to becoming a nurse in the Western Plains has been unique. Originally dreaming about being a doctor as a child in Nepal, eventually she was inspired by her brother to pursue nursing instead and moved to Australia in 2018 to achieve her goal.

Ms Nepal undertook her training at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney and when offered the chance to move to Coonabarabran, she and her partner "jumped at the chance".

"(I) enjoy the country lifestyle, and being able to travel around seeing the countryside," Ms Nepal said. "(I also) enjoy relaxing with a good book."

 After her local win, Ms Nepal was described as demonstrating excellence in care provision and leadership.

According to the NSW Health website, Ms Nepal has attained a high-level skill set allowing her to manage complex situations with minimal support or guidance, works well within both the nursing and multidisciplinary team and her opinion and observations of patient’s achievements are valued within both teams.

"Ms Nepal commenced a pathway of learning to allow early transition to undertake Triage and ED work and seeks every opportunity to assist her co-workers and learn new skills," the website continued. "She actively engages with all patients from time of arrival to time of discharge. She is engaged in auditing against National standards and is providing support to the 2024 cohort of Graduate nurses"

The Western NSW Local Health District said Ms Nepal's exemplary performance, dedication to ongoing learning, and ability to collaborate effectively with various teams highlight her exceptional care provision and leadership skills.

Adrian Fahy, WNSWLHD Director of Quality, Clinical Safety and Nursing also commented on Ms Nepal's skills.

"From the moment patients arrive at Coonabarabran Health Service until their discharge, Garima actively engages with them and ensures their needs are met, also tirelessly advocating for their safety. Her performance, dedication to ongoing learning and ability to collaborate effectively highlight the exceptional care she provides and her leadership skills," he said.