Flinders University nursing lecturer Heather Keighley has been awarded the NT Administrator’s Medal for Lifetime Achievement at the 2024 NT Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.
Established in 2004, the NT Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards is a prestigious event recognising the hard work and dedication of nurses and midwives, who go above and beyond the everyday demands of their roles and exhibit exceptional qualities.
The NT Administrator’s Medal for Lifetime Achievement award recognises the lasting contribution that Heather has made to her profession.
Heather is both a registered nurse and midwife with over 40 years of distinguished service to the NT as a clinician, educator, manager and leader.
She has worked in all the regions of the Territory, in acute care, health development, primary health care, and as a senior policy advisor and chief nursing and midwifery officer.
At Flinders University she focuses on student placement coordination and oversight as well as assisting with the Remote Health Practice Programs, supporting the Advanced Remote Nursing Practice short course, the Clinical Supervision Workshops and the Remote Health Experience.
Heather says that she is passionate about developing well-prepared and well-supported nurses and midwives to care for the NT community: “I strongly believe that there should be more equitable and culturally secure health access for all rural and remote people across our country.
“I also enjoy student networking and inter-professional sessions and contributing to relevant research in the student placement and workforce development arena,” she says.
Professor Robyn Aitken, Flinders University’s Dean of Rural and Remote Health, says Heather has made an outstanding contribution that has positively impacted on the quality of care delivered by the professions of nursing and midwifery and the care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote NT.
“As an active advocate for remote area health care, she has lobbied tirelessly on a national platform for her profession and Indigenous health.
“She is truly a legend in remote area health and an inspiration to nurses, midwives, and the collective health team in the Northern Territory and nationally,” says Professor Aitken.