New scholarship to support women’s leadership in nursing and beyond

Made possible by the generous support of Chief Executive Women (CEW) founding member Bonnie Boezeman AO and Southern Cross University, the annual scholarship will support Australian registered nurses to undertake postgraduate education in healthcare leadership.

“Southern Cross is delighted to partner with CEW to offer this unique opportunity to women who aspire to be healthcare leaders in this country,” said Professor Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor of Southern Cross University.

“We developed the Master of Healthcare Leadership course a few years ago to empower registered nurses to take that next step in their careers. It is now one of our most popular offerings.”

CEW is the pre-eminent organisation representing more than 550 of Australia’s most senior women from the corporate, public, academic and not-for-profit sectors. 

The inaugural Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship will allow a nurse to undertake the Master of Healthcare Leadership at Southern Cross University.

Ms Boezeman says she created the scholarship in response to the nurse shortage crisis in Australia.

“Modelling has shown that in five and a half years there will be a shortfall of 85,000 nurses in this country, and that number will grow to 124,000 by 2030.

“We need to find ways to support women nurses to develop the leadership skills and capabilities that will help them both advance their own careers and grow the nursing sector as a whole.

“We need to ensure talented nurses also have access to the pathways they need to realise their leadership potential,” said Ms Boezeman.

Since 1992 CEW has provided opportunities for more than 150 talented women across sectors to develop the leadership skills to become the leaders of tomorrow.

About the scholarship

The scholarship is open to Australian registered female nurses with at least five years of nursing experience.

About the course

The Master of Healthcare Leadership course offered at Southern Cross University equips participants with the skills to help multidisciplinary healthcare teams excel under strategic and thoughtful leadership. The engaging, flexible and interactive online course is ideally suited to professionals working in a health science discipline, like nursing, allied health or mental health. Students can access the materials and conversations at times that suit them around the demands of career and family life.