Remembering a nursing leader

Dr Aileen Monck was a central figure in Australian nursing through a pivotal period, working closely with Flinders University (Sturt College of Advanced Education) to establish the nation’s first tertiary nursing program as the inaugural Director of Nursing at the Flinders Medical Centre. The Flinders University alumna (Honorary Doctorate, 1992) died late last year on 26 December after a lifetime of caring and achievement.

From a young nurse in the 1950s, Dr Monck’s passion and expertise saw her rise to become one of South Australia’s trailblazing nursing change-makers who helped transform the profession from a hospital-based apprenticeship to a tertiary model over the 1970s and 80s.

After her initial training she obtained additional qualifications in midwifery and obstetrics, then broad experience working in London, before joining Royal Adelaide Hospital teams sent to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. At this time she suffered exposure to Agent Orange and other toxins, which had a devastating effect on her long term health into retirement.

Dr Monck was Director of Nursing at the Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) from 1975 to 1991, advising and leading changes that led to the establishment of the Flinders University School of Nursing.

As Director of Nursing at FMC, Dr Monck worked closely with Genevieve Gray, Head of the School of Nursing, to establish and lead the Centre of Nursing Research, a partnership between FMC and the Sturt College (which later merged into Flinders University).

Her expert contributions included member of the national steering committee which secured WK Kellogg Nursing Fellowships for nurses to progress their studies in the United States; campaigner to establish the Centre for Nursing Research in SA; campaigner to ban smoking in hospitals, and accredited surveyor for the Australian Council on Hospital Standards.

She had leadership roles with the Australian Nursing Federation, the Public Service Association, was deputy chairwoman of the SA Nurses Board and on the board of Child, Adolescent and Family Health Services.

Dr Monck received a Bicentenary Award in 1988 for her pioneering role in transforming nursing and was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1992. She is survived by a sister and brother.

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