Beverley was born on 6 February 1940 at Griffith, on the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales.  After the encouragement of her mother, Beverley passed the Nurses Entrance Exam, 1957 at age 17 & commenced her nursing training, living in the Nurses Quarters at Brisbane General Hospital.  Beverley began her career as a Registered Nurse following graduation from the Brisbane General Hospital, School of Nursing, Queensland, Australia in 1961.

After her marriage to Donald McGavin, in 1961, Beverley and her husband moved to the United States while Donald completed his studies in graduate studies in Veterinary Pathology, gaining his PHD in 1964.   After some years back in Brisbane, the family returned permanently to the United States in 1968.

Here Beverley graduated from the NURSE PRACTITIONER program of WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY in 1976.  Beverley was amongst the early graduates of a Nurse Practitioner program in the United States, after which she focused her professional nursing career in the speciality of women’s health.

She continued her professional nursing practice for many years in Knoxville, East Tennessee and became a devoted mentor for clinical nursing students who enjoyed her knowledge and sense of humour while learning. She was a

• Certified member of the Society for Colonoscopy and Cervical Pathology.
• An active member of the Tennessee Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association. 
• President of the University of Tennessee Faculty Women’s Club 2004-2005 and remained active on the Board of Directors up to her death in 2010.
• Adjunct Clinical Faculty of the College of Nursing, University of Tennessee.
• A member of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral for 25 years
• A member of the Knoxville Opera Guild and Symphony Guild.

Beverley’s smile and graciousness were everywhere and with everyone she touched.  Beverley passed away peacefully at home in Knoxville, Tennessee on 4 March 2010 surrounded by her loving family and friends.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Must be a Nurse Practitioner (endorsed by NMBA) residing in Australia
• Must be a current financial member of the ACNP
• A third party must nominate all nominees (self-nominations are not accepted)

SELECTION CRITERIA:

The award will be given to the nominee who can best demonstrate excellence in clinical care and innovation in Nurse Practitioner practice, including evidence of their NP model that has overcome barriers and improved patients’ access to evidence-based health care. The nominator must complete the selection criteria in the online nomination.

AWARDEE OBLIGATION:

The awardee must be able to accept the award at the ACNP National Conference Gala Awards Dinner, and is required to submit a brief report to the ACNP Board within three months of acceptance, outlining how the award benefited them.

TIMEFRAMES:

Please refer to the opening, closing, notification and presentation dates listed on the ACNP Awards & Scholarships webpage.

JUDGING:

The judging will be conducted by the ACNP Awards and Scholarships Committee.
Final recommendations will go to the National Board for endorsement.
Please note that the judging panel’s decision is final.

PRIVACY:

Nominees' submissions are provided only to the judging panel.

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Please refer to the ACNP Award Terms and Conditions listed within the award nomination form.

Online nominations only
A third party must nominate all nominees (self-nominations are not accepted)

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE ONLINE

Lisa Dick

Lisa was endorsed as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in 2016 after completing her Masters of Nurse Practitioner at The University of Melbourne.  As a registered nurse she specialised in aged
care, community health, urological conditions, continence and chronic disease management. As a NP she has worked in a variety of different settings including in both public and private
health services. Lisa is an Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) member.

Lisa has been honoured to represent the ACNP as the Victorian Chapter Chair for a 2-year term. In 2021 Lisa commenced specialising in alternative health solutions for chronic illnesses. She has  always had an interest in non-traditional medicine and since she was allowed to provide these treatments in private practice, there has been no looking back. Lisa is a board member of the Australian New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners (ANZCCP), and an active member on additional health bodies advocating for Medicinal Canabis and the Nurse Practitioner role. Lisa recently received the highly prestigious award in her Industry as “Highly Commended Prescribing Healthcare Practitioner of the Year”. Lisa enjoys every opportunity to attend and participate in educational events and presents at ACNP Conferences to her colleagues.

Jane Laidlaw

Jane is a UK trained RN who  first registered in 1988. She and her family moved to Tasmania in 2002. Jane is an experienced Nurse Practitioner who graduated from QUT in 2014.  Jane works in 2 General Practices in the Launceston municipality undertaking reviews of patients with a broad range of conditions including women’s health checks, assessing , treating and diagnosing. From her initial training Jane has been consistently studying and this has led to her undertaking studies in Diabetes Care, Nurse Immuniser studies and then becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Jane has considered nursing to be a career which required on going learning and asking the questions why , or indeed why not! Jane is passionate about equal access to health care and this is evident as she has developed a clinic for the homeless at City Mission in collaboration with City Mission and The University of Tasmania.
One of Jane’s biggest fears is speaking in public- the clinic has enabled her to become less fearful and is delighted to discuss the clinic at this years ACNP conference.

Award Sponsor Family Representative Heather McGavin with Winner Jane Laidlaw and ACNP President Melanie Dunstan 

Kelly Roberts

Kelly has been an endorsed Nurse Practitioner in the Aged Care Sector since 2107 having a 35-year history in primary health, leading vaccination and immunization clinic in both Primary and Aged Care.  Kelly worked as a RN in residential care since 2001 being instrumental in maintaining and promoting collaborations with Allied Health and Nursing training for rural, regional and remote undergraduate students from Sydney and Western Sydney Universities.  Since becoming a NP, Kelly maintains a focus supporting and developing the aged care workforce, mentoring emerging clinicians as Clinical Teacher with Southern Cross Universities Nursing Program and EPIQ transition to practice program for RN’s who are overseas trained wishing to work as RN’s in Australia.  As Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Manger, Kelly has developed working partnerships with Geriatricians, GP’s, Mental Health, and related specialists in her regional area.  She has developed a strong team of registered nurses in the 150 bed Crowley facility.  In 2022 Kelly was appointed to ACSQHC Aged Care Standards. Jelly remains a strong advocate for clinical nursing innovation for older people and recognition of the Aged Care section as a whole

Winner Kelly Roberts (Left) with Beverley McGavin's daughter, Heather (right).