The Australian College of Nursing Foundation is pleased to name Lien Johns as the inaugural recipient of the Cynthea Wellings PhD Scholarship – Advancing nursing research and building Australia’s digital health capabilities, announced today at the ACN National Nursing Forum in Melbourne.
The scholarship is designed to advance nursing leadership in digital health and drive innovation in electronic health records.
Lien will commence her PhD in the coming weeks, becoming the first scholar supported under the program launched earlier this year in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU), Ausmed and Monash Health.
ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN congratulated Lien Johns on being named the inaugural Cynthea Wellings Scholar, describing the appointment as an important step in growing nursing leadership in digital health.
“Nursing leadership is integral to the success of digital health,” Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.
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.
“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 their deep understanding of the realities and needs of healthcare delivery.”
Lien is a Registered Nurse with extensive experience in education and intensive care. She is committed to undertaking research in digitally enabled care, and empowering nurses and the wider multidisciplinary team to provide effective patient care.
“In Lien, we have a scholar who embodies exactly what this program was created to support – a nurse ready to lead research that will shape the future of care,” said Adjunct Professor Zeitz.
The $90,000 top-up scholarship, delivered over three years, is sponsored by leading healthcare education provider Ausmed, with ACU contributing $233,000 to the program.
Lien’s supervisory team comprises Professor Phil Parker, Professor Jo Coldwell-Neilson, Professor Stephen Guinea and Dr Brandon Cheong. Their combined expertise across digital health, computer science and nursing will provide exceptional support throughout her PhD.
Her research will focus on informatics and digital health.
Professor Guinea, Associate Dean of Learning, Teaching and Professional Experience at ACU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, led the working group responsible for establishing the scholarship.
About the Partners
The ACN Foundation is the charitable arm of the Australian College of Nursing, dedicated to supporting nursing education, research, and professional development initiatives that advance the nursing profession and improve healthcare outcomes for all Australians.
ACU’s Faculty of Health Sciences is recognised for its excellence in nursing and midwifery education and research.
Monash Health exists to reimagine care, so that people can live their best lives. We provide safe and equitable care, for every stage of life, delivered with world-leading expertise and over 175 years of experience. As a leading academic health service, we’re committed to providing tomorrow’s care today by integrating research, teaching, and training into everyday practice. Monash Health has not contributed to the funding of this scholarship.
Together, Monash Health, Australian Catholic University and the Australian College of Nursing collaborate as the Australian International Council of Nurses-Accredited Research and Development Centre for International Classification for Nursing Practice. Its aim is to advance nursing and midwifery education, shape nursing policy, and drive innovation in digital health, particularly in electronic health records. The Centre’s main objectives are to use the International Classification for Nursing Practice to support care delivery, research, and evaluation, with the aim of improving the quality and effectiveness of healthcare services.
Ausmed helps healthcare professionals and organisations build capability. Beyond training and compliance, we support career growth, skill development, and resilience. By uniting learning, competency management, policies, and performance in one system, Ausmed empowers individuals and strengthens organisations for the future of care.
