Congratulations Le Truong – 2021 recipient of the Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship

Pictured: Le Truong

Le Truong has been announced as the 2021 national recipient of the Chief Executive Women’s Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship.

A Nurse Unit Manager of an Acute General Medical ward at St Vincent’s, Le was shortlisted for the prestigious prize from over 120 applications from across Australia. The scholarship will cover the total cost of her course fees, which is estimated at $20,000, to study a Master of Healthcare Leadership at Southern Cross University.

Kathryn Riddell, Chief Nursing Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, who was part of the submission process says Le’s application was a standout.

“She is an absolutely deserving nurse, at the sweet spot of her career and I have personally witnessed her tremendous growth in leadership and expertise, particularly during the struggles experienced over the course of the pandemic last year,” Kath says.

“She is always the first to dig deep, offer assistance and push through challenges. Le has an outstanding level of commitment to her patients, her team and St Vincent’s, and is definitely a talent destined to succeed further in her career.”   

Making a difference

In her 10 years at St Vincent’s Le has worked across a broad range of areas within the hospital, starting as a Graduate Nurse in the Orthopaedics Ward.

Since then, her roles have ranged from an Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist and an Orthopaedic Tumour Surgical Liaison Nurse to a Continuous Improvement Coach and, more recently, a Nurse Unit Manager.

Le’s impressive career path and dedication to her work and patient care is a driving force in the professional development of her team.

“I believe nurses play a pivotal role within hospitals, and am keen to further explore the potential of the nurses within St Vincent’s,” Le says.

Focused on the future

After completing her Bachelor of Nursing degree at Australian Catholic University, Le went on to obtain a Graduate Certificate in Continence Promotion and Management, and has recently become a Nurse Immuniser to assist in Victoria’s Covid-19 response.

Around the hospital, Le is well known for her transparency, lateral thinking and engagement, as well as her collaborative multidisciplinary team approach. Le is also committed to focusing on the wellbeing of nurses and retention rates – ­ areas she saw really come to the fore in her time supporting nurse teams during Wave 2 of Melbourne’s COVID-19 pandemic last year.

“I am passionate about the future of the nursing profession and am looking forward to further developing my leadership skills and employing these skills to make meaningful changes in the nursing field,” Le says.

The scholarship

Bonnie Boezeman AO, one of the founding members of Chief Executive Women (CEW), established The Bonnie Boezeman AO Leadership in Nursing Scholarship to offer higher education opportunities to Australian female nurses.

Chief Executive Women 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.

Their mission is “women leaders enabling women leaders”. This CEW Scholarship aims to help female nurses develop the leadership skills to advance their own careers and to grow the nursing sector as a whole.