The ACN Foundation is proud to announce the launch of a PhD scholarship program in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU), Ausmed, and Monash Health, designed to advance nursing leadership in digital health and drive innovation in electronic health records.
The ACN Foundation scholarship will be named the Cynthea Wellings PhD Scholarship – Advancing nursing research and building Australia's digital health capabilities. The $90,000 top-up scholarship, to be delivered over three years, has been kindly supported by sponsorship from leading healthcare education provider Ausmed, demonstrating the industry's commitment to advancing nursing research and digital health capabilities.
Cynthea Wellings, pictured, founded Ausmed in 1987. From its beginnings as a small publishing house, Ausmed became a pioneer in digital education, and has grown into one of Australia's largest online libraries of clinical and care education. Cynthea was educated as a registered nurse at the Royal London Hospital, England and in 2014 was named one of Australia's '100 Women of Influence' by the Australian Financial Review.
ACN CEO, Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN, described Cynthea as a leading champion of nursing education, and an outstanding example of nursing leadership in digital transformations.
She said nurses must be key drivers of the effective implementation of digital health technologies to enhance patient safety, and promote the use of data to improve care quality and efficiency.
"Nursing leadership is integral to the success of digital health," Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.
"This new scholarship represents a significant investment in the future of nursing practice in Australia.
"By fully embracing digital health and informatics, we're ensuring that patients and the health system will benefit from nurses' expertise in healthcare innovation and deep understanding of the realities and needs of healthcare delivery."
Director of ACU's Graduate Research School, Ms Michelle Lopez, said the university's scholarship program brings together talented PhD candidates, experienced academics, and industry partners to deliver evidence-based solutions to real-world challenges.
"By contributing $233,000 to this PhD scholarship, ACU is demonstrating its commitment to collaborative engagement and high-impact research," Ms Lopez said.
"The investment also reflects our dedication to enabling flourishing lives, fostering thriving communities, and shaping an ethical future – core pillars of ACU's vision."
The PhD scholarship will support research into informatics and digital health, with the exact project to be determined based on the successful candidate's interests, experience, and prior education.
Potential research areas include:
- Understanding the use of standardised nursing terminologies in advancing the visibility and value of nursing care.
- Investigating digital health workforce requirements for successful health transformation.
- Exploring the impact of co-designing and co-evaluating digital health technologies with patients and consumers.
- Contemporary application of artificial intelligence to nursing work.
- Exploring the impact of integrating standardised nursing data into local and national ecosystems.
- Strengthening nurse care planning and multi-disciplinary care coordination through digital technologies.
- Investigating the relationship between standardised nursing terminologies taught in education and those used in electronic medical records.
Professor Stephen Guinea, Associate Dean of Learning, Teaching and Professional Experience at ACU's Faculty of Health Sciences, is leading the working group responsible for implementing this initiative.
Application Process
