First Nations nursing and midwifery leaders gather in Gimuy (Cairns)
More than 120 First Nations nurses, midwives and students from across Queensland gathered at James Cook University’s Cairns campus this week for a major forum celebrating leadership, culture and connection to Country.
Queensland Health’s 2026 Our Ways First Nations Nurse, Midwife and Student Forum was held on Thursday, May 7,at JCU’s state-of-the-art Yeinie Building in Cairns (Gimuy), on the lands of the Yidinji Peoples.
Held under the cultural authority of local First Nations peoples, the forum brought together established and emerging First Nations voices in nursing and midwifery for a full day of connection, learning and collective strengthening.
JCU Professor of Nursing and Midwifery Roianne West said the gathering reflected a shared commitment to advancing First Nations leadership in healthcare while honouring the knowledge systems that have sustained communities for generations.
“We came together on Gimuy in a shared space of connection, learning and strengthening,” Professor West said.
“This was an opportunity to listen, to yarn, and to walk alongside one another in ways that honour our cultures, our knowledge systems and our responsibilities to our peoples.”
Grounded in a yarning approach, the forum was guided by principles of relational accountability, respect, reciprocity and collective wellbeing.
The day was designed as a space that centres First Nations voices, strengthens connection to Country and recognises the leadership, cultural knowledge and lived experience First Nations nurses and midwives bring to healthcare across Queensland.
Professor West said gatherings such as Our Ways reinforced the understanding that leadership in nursing and midwifery is deeply connected to community, culture and collective care.
“When First Nations nurses and midwives come together in spaces like this, it strengthens not only our professions, but our communities,” she said.
“It reminds us that leadership is not only about roles or titles — it is also about responsibility, connection and carrying knowledge forward.”
For JCU, the forum also reflects the University’s longstanding role in supporting a culturally strong health workforce across northern Queensland.
“I am so excited that we got to host this very important Queensland Health gathering, for the first time outside of Southeast Qld,” JCU Head of Nursing and Midwifery Professor Helen Petsky said.
“Our school is committed to building up and supporting our First Nations nurses and midwives.”
The program included a Welcome Yarning Gathering, an intergenerational fireside yarn, Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country, leadership conversations featuring prominent First Nations health voices, and collective yarning circles alongside on-Country cultural practice.
Another key feature of the day was the showcasing of grassroots innovation and the Tjurtu First Nations Nursing and Midwifery Leadership Program, highlighting community-led approaches that are helping shape the future of the profession.
“We know some of the most important ideas in health are emerging from community, from lived experience and from Country,” Professor West said.
“This forum created space to recognise that leadership, to learn from one another, and to keep building a stronger future for First Nations nursing and midwifery.”