Gilgandra Graduate Registered Nurse Stacey Denny has been announced as the winner of the Western NSW Local Health District's (WNSWLHD) Pauline Webster-Cox Award for the Graduate Registered Nurse of the Year.

Ms Denny is the first-ever winner of the award, which is named in honour of now-retired Dubbo Nurse Educator Pauline Webster-Cox. WNSWLHD announced the winner yesterday (Thursday 12 May) to line up with International Day of the Nurse.

According to WNSWLHD, the award was established to recognise newly-graduated registered nurses (RNs) from the preceding year who participated in the GradStart transition to professional practice program and embody the Living Well Together Values.

WNSWLHD Executive Director of Quality, Clinical Safety and Nursing Adrian Fahy said Ms Denny was an "outstanding" RN and a key member of the team at the Gilgandra Multipurpose Service (MPS).

"(Stacey) excelled in her GradStart program to the point she was fast-tracked 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."

Mr Fahy said Ms Denny had also demonstrated leadership and communication skills far beyond what they would typically expect from a graduate RN while remaining committed to continue developing in her career.

“Stacey has become a wonderful mentor for this year’s graduate nurses at Gilgandra," he said.

"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.”

Ms Denny was chosen from 22 nominees located across the WNSWLHD, including Enica Rauker from Coonamble MPS and Loren Stoker from Lightning Ridge MPS.

Mr Fahy said all the award finalists were deserving of commendation for their dedication, commitment and performance to the industry 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,” he 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."

Also announced on Thursday was the Team of the Year Award, which went to the ​virtual COVID Care in the Community Nursing & Remote in Home Monitoring Team formed in August 2021.

The team included 13 different nursing disciplines working together to provide support and care in response to the outbreak of COVID across the WNSWLHD, including Western Plains communities, caring for more than 9,000 COVID positive patients during this time.

“Patients enrolled in the CCiC were spread out across the entire District, many of them were vulnerable people with complex health or social care needs, or people in the very rural and remote areas of our communities,” Mr Fahy said.

“The CCiC and Remote In-Home Monitoring Team is a wonderful example of collaboration. While there are far too many nurses to name individually, we must thank every single person and team who stepped up to support and play a role in this program."

Meanwhile, WNSWLHD's Nurse of the Year was announced today (Friday 13 May) to be Blayney MPS nurse Christine Bright. Ms Bright also has a tie to the Western Plains, having grown up on a remote station between Louth and Cobar.

ABOVE: Former Western Plains resident Christine Bright (right) won the WNSWLHD Nurse of the Year Award. She is pictured with fellow Blayney nurse Jess Richards a finalist in the Pauline Webster-Cox Graduate Registered Nurse of the Year Award. Image courtesy of WNSWLHD.

All winners of the WNSWLHD Awards will now be automatically entered in the NSW Health 2022 Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards.

Nominations for these awards opened yesterday and winners are expected to be announced at an official ceremony later in the year.