Heather May Herrick Scholarship Program

Heather May Herrick was born in Maitland, NSW on 27 July 1945.  Her parents were prominent dairy farmers in the Hunter Valley. In her high school years, she was a champion high jumper and on leaving school went on to senior secretarial positions in the Commonwealth Bank.

She and Stephen were married in 1967, and their son Andrew was born in 1973. Heather looked after the administrative aspects of Stephen’s legal and mediation practices.

In 2005, she was diagnosed with the first of four primary cancers, two of which were rare. The last two cancers led to significant issues with pain. Her doctor was limited in the amount of addictive drugs she could be given due to legislation designed to curb prescription drug shopping. In a chance meeting, we became aware of a Nurse Practitioner, Anne Booms, who took over the pain management issue. By this time, it was clear that Heather was in the palliative care segment of treatment. As a consequence of Anne’s support and skill, her last days were much more manageable.

Heather’s response to the terrible disease she was confronted with was nothing less than heroic.

She was a wonderful mother and wife and is sorely missed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Must be a financial member in any category of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners or Palliative Care Australia (PCA) at the time of submission, presentation and utilisation of the scholarship prize.
• Must be an Australian Citizen or hold a Permanent Resident Visa and be registered with Ahpra.
• Complete the online application form and attach all supporting documents in PDF format.
• Must meet at least 1 of the essential/desirable listed criteria.
• Applicants wishing to apply for the additional $500 due to travelling from a rural or remote area must outline this at the time of application.
  • Rural and Remote is defined by the Modified Monash Model classifications MM6 and MM7 - Click here to download Modified Monash Model – fact sheet | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
•  The applicant has not been a recipient of the Heather May Herrick Scholarship within the last 3 years.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

The scholarships will be awarded in the following categories:

• Advanced Practice Nurses intending to become Nurse Practitioners according to the priorities listed
• Nurse Practitioners in the first 2 years of practice according to the priorities listed
• Nurse Practitioners or Advanced Practice Nurses in rural and remote areas according to the priorities listed
• Nurse Practitioners or Advanced Practice Nurses working in a Community Setting according to the priorities listed

The scholarships are weighted with the following criteria:

Essential Criteria:

• End of life pain management
• Palliative Care
• Aged Care
• Working towards Advanced Practice or a Nurse Practitioner role

Desirable Criteria:

• Oncology
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
• New and emerging NPs
• Rural and Remote NPs
• Intensive Care Nurses

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 Heather May Herrick Scholarship Committee, consisting of two (2) ACNP board members and two (2) Palliative Care Australia board members.
A maximum of one (1) board member from each association can nominate a proxy to stand in on the committee.

Applicants with essential priorities will be given more weight than those with only desirable priorities.
Please note that the judging panel’s decision is final.

PRIVACY:

Applicants' submissions are provided only to the judging panel.

RECIPIENT OBLIGATION:

Successful applicants must be able to attend the ACNP National Conference in the same calendar year of attaining the scholarship, and are required to submit a brief report to the ACNP Board within three months of attendance, outlining how the scholarship benefited them. 

ACNP, Palliative Care Australia and Palliative Care Nurses Australia are pleased to be working together to administer the ‘Heather May Herrick’ Scholarship program aimed at supporting more Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Practice Nurses to deliver services with the priorities listed above. This scholarship is in conjunction with Palliative Care Australia (PCA) and Palliative Care Nurses Australia (PCNA).

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Please refer to the ACNP Heather May Herrick Scholarship Terms and Conditions listed within the scholarship application form.

Online applications only

Click here to apply online

Advanced Practice Nurse intending to become a Nurse Practitioner/ Candidate

Carrie-Ann Young

Nurse Practitioner/Candidate in the first 2 years of practice
Nimmy Chacko      Nicola Jackson

     

Nurse Practitioner/ Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurse in Rural and Remote area
Leah Van Kasteren

Nurse Practitioner/ Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurse working in the Community
Rhys Paddison       Kylee Eaton

    

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2023 Heather May Herrick Scholarship awards.

Nurse Practitioner in the first 2 years of practice

• Bonita Blight (VIC)
• Jenna Stewes (SA)
• Jomy Kuriakose (NSW)

Advanced Practice Nurses intending to become a Nurse Practitioner/Candidate

• Jose Joseph (QLD)

Nurse Practitioner/Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurses in a Community Setting

• Sue Berry (VIC)

 

 

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2022 Heather May Herrick Scholarship awards.

Nurse Practitioner in the first 2 years of practice

• Jenelle Mackay (NP) Nurse Practitioner Locum Services
• Noriko Ogo (NPC) Perioperative
• Patricia Zerha (NP) Emergency and Trauma

Advanced Practice Nurses intending to become a Nurse Practitioner/Candidate

• Marlise McEvoy (NPC) Acute Emergency Care
• Felicity McLaren (NP) Vascular Access Transitional Care
• Annette Nuich (NPC) Urgent Care

Nurse Practitioner/Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurses in rural and remote areas

• Kirrily Bennett (NP) Primary care
• Carly Martin (NP) Paediatrics

Nurse Practitioner/Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurses in a Community Setting

• MaryJane Hulls (NP) Diabetes
• Cara Taheny (NP) Sexual Health

2022 recipients with Stephen, Andrew & Amelia Herrick, with President Leanne Boase

2021 Recipients

Congratulations to the following Recipients of the 2021 Awards year Heather May Herrick Scholarships.

• Nurse Practitioner/Candidate in the first 2 years of practice
  • Carl Livingstone - Victoria (NP) Emergency & Acute Care
• Advanced Practice Nurses intending to become a Nurse Practitioner/Candidate
  • Emma Collins - South Australia (NPC) Emergency & Acute Care
  • Emma Knowland - Queensland (NPC) Sexual Health
  • Mark Young - New South Wales (NP) Hospital in the Home 
• Nurse Practitioner/Candidate or Advanced Practice Nurses in rural and remote areas
  • Kate Ryan - New South Wales (NPC) Diabetes 

    

2021 Conference Recipients

Congratulations to the following Recipients of the 2020 Heather May Herrick Scholarships.

• Brigitte Karle - New South Wales (NP) Palliative Care
• Emma Lane -  New South Wales (NP) Rural / Remote
• Fay Tomlin - Queensland (NP) Pain Management
• Melanie Rose - Victoria (NP) Rural / Remote Aged Care

    

2020 Recipients

Congratulations to the following Recipients of the 2020 Heather May Herrick Scholarships.

• Priscilla Peart – Victoria (NPC) Emergency & Acute Care
• Sruthy Raju – Queensland (NPC) Chronic Disease
• Natalie Spence – South Australia (NPC) Aged & Palliative Care
• Samantha Mulholland – Queensland (NPC) Primary Health
• Karly Carruthers – Victoria (NPC) Emergency & Acute Care
• Sally Evans – Victoria (NPC) Emergency & Acute Care
• Ruth Ikobe – Victoria (NP) Aged & Palliative Care
• Lynley Buckley – Queensland (NP) Aged Care

• The following members were unable to attend the 2019 presentation, and joined the 2020 receiptents for formal acknowledgemnt.
  • Khera Kim – Queensland (NP) Aged Care
  • Melanie Press – New South Wales  (NPC) Primary Care

2019 Recipients

Congratulations to the following Recipients of the first Heather May Herrick Scholarships.

• Amor Kisling
• Elizabeth Hristov
• Fiona Gillanders
• Khera Kim
• Kylie Cross
• Melanie Press
• Melissa Hanson
• Monica Attard
• Robyne Hingeley
• Sue McDonald

      

Awardees with Stephen Herrick (Centre) and Andrew Herrick (Right)