News

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer

Avondale College lecturer Gwen Wilkinson (pictured_ has presented findings from her soon-to-be-completed PhD at a conference of the world's peak nursing organisation.

Wilkinson, graduate studies coordinator for the Faculty of Nursing and Health, spoke at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Conference in Yokohama, Japan, on May 30. Her paper, "Protecting client autonomy: a grounded theory of the processes nurses use to deal with challenges to personal values and belief," is a partial summary of the degree. The research on which it is based seems self-contradictory. "I found nurses value autonomy, but they are prepared to give up their own to give priority to their patients and their autonomous decisions," says Wilkinson.

ICN accepts papers only through member organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing in Australia, of which Wilkinson is a member. "I felt privileged to have a paper accepted at an international conference with this status," says Wilkinson. "I want to thank Avondale for the financial assistance it gave to help me attend."

Some 3600 delegates from 109 countries attended the conference.