Professor Lisa Whitehead.
Edith Cowan University's Professor Lisa Whitehead has won the State's most prestigious nursing honour, being named Nurse/Midwife of the Year at the Department of Health’s annual WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.
Professor of Nursing Research and Associate Dean of Research at ECU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, Professor Whitehead was also honoured with the Excellence in Research Award.
On top of educating the next generation of nurses and midwives, Professor Whitehead has 30 years of research experience.
Her work has focused on improving health outcomes for people living with chronic conditions, self-management interventions and working with families to support the management of chronic conditions.
Professor Whitehead was recently named in the top 2 per cent of researchers worldwide in the areas of nursing, rehabilitation, public health and health services.
She was also awarded a 2021 Australian College of Nursing Fellowship and was recently appointed editor-in-chief of the prestigious research journal, Collegian.
In awarding it's top honour for nurses for the year, the Department of Health praised Professor Whitehead for her research expertise and "its impact in WA, Australia and internationally".
"These prestigious awards provide us with an opportunity to publicly recognise and celebrate the achievements of Western Australia's finest nurses and midwives," Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.
ECU Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Chapman said the award was a just acknowledgement of Professor Whitehead’s years of service to the nursing profession.
"This amazing award is fabulous news for Professor Whitehead and ECU," Professor Chapman said.
"Professor Whitehead’s contribution to nursing spans decades and she continues to enrich the field in many ways, from her top-quality research to educating the next generation of nursing professionals.
"We are proud of Professor Whitehead’s latest accomplishment. It's yet another example of ECU’s teaching and research excellence."
ECU School of Nursing and Midwifery Executive Dean Professor Karen Strickland said Professor Whitehead's leadership in research excellence has made a significant difference to the health outcomes of people living with chronic conditions.
"We are very fortunate to have such an outstanding nurse researcher at ECU," Professor Strickland said.
"Lisa leads the research portfolio in the school and across several industry collaborations.
"Her leadership provides an inspiring role model and mentor for early and mid-career nurses and researchers.
"I am delighted for Lisa in winning the Excellence in Research Award and Nurse of the Year Award from WA Department of Health."
Professor Whitehead said she was deeply honoured to receive this recognition.
"I am passionate about improving the health outcomes of individuals, families and communities and I've had the privilege of working with many amazing nurses and midwives to make this happen," she said.
"With further support for nursing and midwifery-led innovation, I know we can achieve even more and I'm excited for the future."
