Supporting nursing excellence and innovation

Breast Cancer Nursing Education Fund

In the last 12 months, nursing causes have begun receiving the recognition they deserve and attracted major philanthropic gifts and corporate support, such as the Breast Cancer Nursing Education Fund.

Nurses advocate for health promotion, educate patients and provide care, assistance and support. Their round-the-clock presence, observation skills, and vigilance help doctors to make better diagnoses and propose better treatments. Despite their importance, donations for nursing-related activities at Macquarie University have been relatively modest in recent years.

One notable beneficiary is the inaugural Breast Cancer Nursing Education Fund, set up by Peter and Sue Dodd through Macquarie University Hospital. Established in 2016, the fund will provide annual grants that give the hospital’s breast cancer nurses opportunities to boost their careers, skills and knowledge through further education. Grants of up to $2000 will be awarded to nurses who are enthusiastic about furthering their professional development and show promise in applying their knowledge to the care of breast cancer patients.

“Sue and I have great confidence in the approach to breast cancer being taken at Macquarie,” says Peter, who is the former Chairman of Macquarie University Hospital. “We hope our donation will ultimately help to provide even more training opportunities for nurses.” With its state-of-the-art facilities, the University’s approach to healthcare is widely acknowledged as bringing together high-quality clinical expertise, research and education. This program will help further enhance patient care and enable better healthcare outcomes.

Women with breast cancer make up one of the largest groups of patients at the hospital, but with a constant stream of new information becoming available from conferences and journals, staff face the endless challenge of maintaining currency and ensuring patients are getting the latest and best advice and care.

The Dodds’ contribution will help develop the knowledge and skills of the nurses who are at the forefront of breast cancer care. In a message to Sue and Peter, Head of the Cancer Program at the University, Professor Rick Kefford expressed his sincere gratitude. “Your generosity provides us with an opportunity to innovate in this area, and we look forward to developing nurses’ breast cancer skills on our surgical and medical wards,” he says.