Melbourne Covid nurse awarded Leadership in Nursing Scholarship

A woman with dark hair and spectacles standing in front of a buildingLe Truong will be studying a Master of Healthcare Leadership with Southern Cross University after securing a Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship.

Chief Executive Women has awarded its Leadership in Nursing Scholarship to Le Truong, a Nurse Unit Manager from St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

The scholarship will see Le Truong undertake a Master of Healthcare Leadership at Southern Cross University.

Ms Truong led a St Vincent’s team of 50 through the 2020 pandemic on a designated COVID-19 ward. In 2021 she is celebrating 10 years of service at the Melbourne hospital.

The resilience shown by Ms Truong and many other nurses during the pandemic is a key quality of leadership, according to Bonnie Boezeman AO, scholarship benefactor and a founding member of CEW.

“As essential workers, they’ve shown enormous resilience showing up every day and not knowing what challenges would face them and they take it in their stride, like true leaders,” Ms Boezeman said.

“From clapping in the streets to the tribute at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, nurses have been publicly recognised for their contribution like never before. It is well overdue”.

Ms Truong is passionate about the future of the nursing profession with this growing recognition. She said she was looking forward to further developing her leadership skills to make meaningful changes in the nursing profession.

“I see so many young, eager nurses who are willing to move towards leadership positions, and this scholarship will help me foster that environment for them,” Ms Truong said.

Southern Cross University Chancellor Sandra McPhee AM said the online Master of Healthcare Leadership course was designed with flexibility for working nurses.

“It allows nurses to engage with the latest evidence-base to further develop their confidence and leadership, whilst extending their skill set to enhance their day-to-day nursing practice,” Chancellor McPhee said.

“As a long serving member of Chief Executive Women, I am particularly pleased to celebrate this important partnership with Southern Cross University as we both strive to develop the future health workforce, recognising the critical role that female nurses play on a daily basis in our healthcare.”

This is the third year CEW has offered the Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship for a nursing professional studying the Master of Healthcare Leadership at Southern Cross University. The inaugural recipient was and Danielle Coates (2019) followed by Lisa Vilé (2020).

About Chief Executive Women

/Public Release. View in full here.