The contributions of three NSW nurses and two midwives have been celebrated as part of the King’s Birthday 2023 Honours List.
Joanne Gray, Nicky Leap, Rose-Marie Radley, Elizabeth Grist and Natalie Shiel joined 1,192 other Australians in receiving the Order of Australia and other awards during King’s Birthday celebrations.
Joanne Gray was received as a member of the Order of Australia “for significant service to education, and to the midwifery profession.” Gray is the current Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education and Students, at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), as well as the President of the Australian College of Midwives. Gray has served as the Head of the Graduate School of Health and the Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at UTS. Gray currently sits on the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council as a director, as well as having been a Health Practitioner Member of the NSW Branch of the Nursing and Midwifery Board. Gray has co-authored a number of books advancing midwifery knowledge, including the Illustrated Dictionary of Midwifery and Midwifery Essentials.
Dr Nicky Leap was also received as a Member of the Order of Australia “for significant service to midwifery as a clinician and educator.” Leap is an Adjunct Professor of Midwifery at UTS, and was involved in the development of the university’s Bachelor of Midwifery program. She was also the International Francine Gooris Chair of Midwifery at University College Arteveldehoge School in Belgium. Like Gray, Leap has co-authored a number of books and journal articles advancing midwifery knowledge. Leap has served in the Midwifery Practice Committee of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, and was the Association’s Midwife of the Year in 2006.
Rose-Marie Radley was received as a member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for significant service to community health, and to the nursing profession.” She had been a former Director of Nursing at the Sydney Adventist Hospital, as well as having been the Lead Nursing Officer at Open Heart International’s first visitation program to the Solomon Islands.
Elizabeth Grist was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her “service to community health, and to nursing and midwifery”. The registered nurse had been the Executive Director of Clinical Services Nursing and Midwifery for Hunter New England Local Health District since 2015. Prior to this, she had served in a number of nursing roles across the Hunter District, as well as having been a Cojoint Lecturer at the University of Newcastle.
Natalie Shiel was also awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for “for service to nursing.” Shiel is the Director of Nursing, COVID-19 Vaccination and Screening Program, for the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD). She had also held nursing manager roles at SLHD, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Concord Repatriation General Hospital.
Governor-General David Hurley congratulated the Order of Australia award recipients, noting their “substantial contributions and [their] significant impact at the local, national or international level”.
“Learning about the wide-ranging service of recipients, which spans almost every field of endeavour imaginable, is uplifting and makes me enormously optimistic for our country. Collectively they speak to who we are now and who we can be in the future,” the Governor-General said.
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in [the] Honours List… They are all inspiring and their service is valued by us all.”