Rural Nursing and Midwifery Faculty Advisory Committee face-to-face meeting

On Monday 31 May the Rural Nursing and Midwifery Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) attended a face-to-face meeting, held at RCNA National Office in Canberra.

Previous meetings had all been held via teleconference, so the day provided a wonderful opportunity for FAC members to finally put some faces to names and voices.

The first order of the day was the vote for the position of Rural FAC Chair. We are delighted to announce that Professor Karen Francis, from Monash University, was unanimously voted in as Chair.

Mr Jeremy Higgins, Director of Nursing – Carnarvon Hospital, was also voted in unopposed as Vice-Chair. RCNA congratulates both Karen and Jeremy. Karen steps into the position of Chair after the resignation of Dr Jane Mills, Deputy Head of School at Cairns Campus, James Cook University.

Jane previously held the position of President of Australian Rural Nurses and Midwives (ARNM), becoming the inaugural Chair of the FAC, spearheading the seamless transition from independent association to RCNA faculty.

Without Jane’s vision, leadership and passion for rural health care, which relies on a strong rural nursing and midwifery workforce, it is unlikely this highly successful merger would have taken place. RCNA would like to offer heartfelt thanks and best wishes to Jane and we look forward to her continued involvement.

The rest of the day’s proceedings focused on the future direction of the rural faculty and how all members can contribute to ensuring the voice, views and values of rural nurses and midwives continue to be heard! For the meeting’s minutes go to www.rcna.org.au/chapters/rural_faculty.

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