Welcome to the Sydney Nursing School

A warm welcome to those who are new to the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery (Sydney Nursing School) in 2017. We are excited that you have chosen to our Faculty to explore or expand your education in nursing and health care. To you, and to all returning staff and students – my very best wishes for a great year.

At Sydney Nursing School, we aim to creatively sustain a vibrant, respectful environment in which staff and students collaboratively engage in quality nursing and midwifery education and research that impacts on national and international policy and practice to improve the health of all people and their communities.

We are proud to be educating nurses and midwives who are confident and competent to work wherever they are needed, and to be undertaking research that influences future trends in treatment, person-centred care and illness prevention. Situated within a research-intensive university, our academic staff are among the leading researchers in their fields. Their work is directly translated into your education and into improving care for others through practice. With nursing and midwifery research centres located within two major Sydney hospitals (for midwifery and family-based mental health); at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse (cancer centre); at the Charles Perkins Centre of the University of Sydney (obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease); and a growing number of clinical professors and joint education and research appointments across the Sydney region; we value the development of a strong research community and our clinical partnerships.

Our efforts have been recognised in the 2016 QS World University Rankings – we are the Number One Nursing School in Australia by subject (Nursing) – ranking 13th in the world, and our research has achieved the highest score possible (ERA 5 ‘well above world standard’) in both rounds of the Excellence in Research for Australia audit. I applaud the innovation and creativity of our staff and students as we work with our clinical and professional partners on exciting new developments in health and health care that focus on people and their communities across the globe. Since offering our Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry) program at the Westmead Precinct campus of the University of Sydney for the first time in 2016, we have continued to develop our partnerships in this region. While many of our staff and students already study and work within the Westmead Precinct, I am excited about expanding the excellent work of Sydney Nursing School in education, research and scholarship more visibly within this region.

Sydney Nursing School aims to be known internationally for our collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to achieving excellence in education and research and for improving and maintaining health in partnership with people, their families and communities. We are committed to maintain a focus on the quality of care and the health-related experience of people across the lifespan: from healthy beginnings to end of life. There are so many fabulous things you can do as a nurse or midwife and many opportunities await you as a student of the University of Sydney. I encourage you to explore these experiences. Whether you are just at the beginning of your path to nursing, or are joining us to advance your nursing and midwifery career, Sydney Nursing School is a great place to study. Please accept my sincere best wishes for a happy and successful year.

Professor Donna Waters

Susan Wakil Professor of Nursing
Dean, Sydney Nursing School
The University of Sydney