INTRODUCTION
My 12 year tenure as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for NSW from 1990 - 2002 was the pinnacle of my nursing and midwifery career as well as the most challenging. Leaving the known and therefore somewhat ‘safe’ operational context in an area Health Service and moving into an unknown departmental bureaucracy and the political context was an incredible experience and one that I would not have missed. However, at the same time, resigning from the position in August 2002 after 12 years as CNO was also a difficult decision.
The opportunity to re-create a ‘nursing and midwifery presence’ in the NSW Department of Health (Department) and to establish the position of CNO as a meaningful one; representing nurses and midwives from the public, private and academic sectors as the interface between the Minister, the Director-General of Health and the nursing and midwifery profession were experiences that I will always value. One of the many highlights of my tenure was to work with five very different Ministers from two sides of politics and five very different Director-Generals.

To read more click on the PDF.