Showcase
2021
3 December 2021
As a child, JCU Nursing Student Zolita Cook spent many hours in hospital due to hereditary spherocytosis. Although her poor health was a source of struggle, the support and care that she received from nurses and doctors made all the difference to Zolita. Now, as a nursing student, she is seeking to make the same difference to her future patients.
3 December 2021
Adjusting to life Down Under is not easy for everyone, as Dr Ylona Chun Tie discovered while doing her PhD on international nurses who are working in Australia.
3 December 2021
Nurses have always played a vital role in our health systems. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of that role to our global societies. While the media heralds our nurses as heroes and angels for the work they have performed during the epidemic, JCU Academic Head of Nursing and Midwifery, Professor Caryn West, tells us why nurses are much more than we may think.
3 December 2021
Midwives play an incredibly important role in our societies, communities, and families. To our mothers and infants, the care and education that midwives bring is invaluable. JCU’s Head of Midwifery, Dr Marie McAuliffe, gives us insight into the difference that midwives make to the health of mothers and infants and how investing in the midwife can lead to healthier futures for our current and future generations.
1 December 2021
As graduation inches closer, third-year JCU nursing student Sharon Groves reflects on her study journey, the placements she has experienced, and her passion for rural, remote and regional women’s health.
18 November 2021
Having a life-threatening condition and being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is one of the most terrifying moments anyone can experience. But for second year nursing student Megan Lee, it proved to be a pivotal moment in which she decided to pursue a career in nursing.
2020
10 September 2020
JCU PhD candidate Relmah Harrington is one of the many women in health working to create a safer future for families in the Pacific. Relmah is an experienced nurse, midwife and educator researching how family planning services could save lives in the Solomon Islands.
13 July 2020
World Population Day on 11 July focuses attention on the importance and urgency of population issues, such as population growth, ageing, migration and urbanisation. The theme of this year’s World Population Day recognises that reproductive health and gender equality are essential in achieving sustainable development and a brighter future.
12 May 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic as a striking example, we, as a global society, have experienced for ourselves the vital role that nurses play in our world and in our lives. JCU Head of Nursing and Midwifery Professor Melanie Birks and Professor Caryn West give insight into why nurses are the backbone of every healthcare system in the world.
7 April 2020
It's been a long journey for Rwandan refugee Assumpta Akingeneye, who has made her dream career a reality after graduating from JCU with a Bachelor of Nursing Science.
Assumpta Akingeneye’s aspiration to become a nurse began when she was admitted to hospital at age five with a severe case of anaemia - a condition that develops when a lack of healthy red blood cells causes a reduced oxygen flow to the body’s organs.
2019
12 August 2019
The selfless work of female humanitarians will be celebrated and honoured on World Humanitarian Day 2019. These unsung heroes are the first to respond to crises and the last to leave, often risking their own lives to save others.
7 June 2019
Nurse, mother, teacher, midwife, PhD student — Sue Edwards has had many roles during her life. The self-confessed eternal student has taken the road less travelled to be where she is today, juggling family life with academia and coordinating the Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) program at James Cook University.
10 May 2019
Few people are fortunate enough to find what they are born to do. For JCU’s Dr Marie McAuliffe, supporting women before, during and after giving birth is her calling. Now she’s guiding future midwives to develop their skills and passion for the profession.
10 May 2019
No one is more invested than a mother when it comes to giving birth. However, changes in insurance could mean that mothers who want to give birth at home will have that option taken away. What will this mean for women and midwives?
10 May 2019
Going through cancer treatment is a harrowing process that is made even more difficult when you live in rural and remote Australia. The challenges patients and healthcare professionals face spurred JCU’s Dr Tracey Ahern to examine the role of breast care nurses — and in the process find a model that could help other cancer patients.
10 May 2019
A move to the bush has led Emily Hapgood to a new career, one she’s starting with an award already under her belt after graduating from JCU’s Bachelor of Nursing Science. Emily’s motivation to become a nurse came with her move to Mt Isa some 10 years ago.