NCIRS is pleased to announce applications for the Karen Orr Nurse Immunisation Education Scholarship are now open. This scholarship is dedicated to the late Karen Orr who was a highly valued staff member of the centre.
Throughout her career, Karen Orr was an exemplary role model for nurses and a passionate advocate for vaccination, who made significant contributions to the fields of paediatric nursing and immunisation.
In her role as a clinical nurse consultant at NCIRS, Karen was instrumental in establishing the New South Wales Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS), providing an expert phone advice line for clinicians and a specialist immunisation clinic for children and their families.
In her role as a clinical nurse consultant at NCIRS, Karen was instrumental in establishing the New South Wales Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS), providing an expert phone advice line for clinicians and a specialist immunisation clinic for children and their families. She also led the development of the Drop-in Immunisation Clinic at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, providing opportunistic immunisation for patients and visitors.
Karen recognised the importance of research through her active role in a national NHMRC-funded research project on febrile seizures post vaccination and provided valuable input to the Australian Government Department of Health publication, ‘Questions about Vaccination’. She contributed to NCIRS publications on vaccine coverage and evaluation of measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccines in Australia and shared her knowledge at public health and primary health conferences, where she was an inspiring speaker.
This annual scholarship is offered to a nurse or a midwife to the maximum value of $1,000 in funding for further education by attending a conference or a course to enhance immunisation practice.
To be eligible for the scholarship, you must be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency, be a registered nurse or a midwife (A List) with current registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), and have an appropriate post-registration qualification as an authorised nurse immuniser.
Applications are now open and close on Monday 6 June.
