The Emerald Nursing Professional Development Award 2027 is for registered nurses working in the field of urological nursing, who can demonstrate how a significant professional development award can be utilised to improve the outcomes of their patient group.

This award offers the Registered Nurse the opportunity to refine their nursing practice in urology care. The award can include attendance at a major urological conference or a urological department site visit. This can be either in Australia, New Zealand or can include travel to an international center.

This is a competitive grant application and consists of an award to the value of $3,500.00.  The award will be given to the applicant who, in the opinion of the judging panel best meets the criteria below:

Selection Criteria

Applicants must:

• Be a Registered Nurse
• Have been a financial member of ANZUNS for a minimum of 2 years and be an active member at time of application
• Be employed a minimum of 20 hours per week in urology nursing or at the discretion of the ANZUNS committee, considering the position held by the applicant and the educational opportunity for which the award application has been made
• Have a minimum of three years post registration experience

• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to urology nursing by outlining 3 objectives and accompanying text which describe i) the relevance of the chosen education program to the applicant’s practice, ii) how it will contribute to improving the management and support of urology patients in the nurse’s work setting and iii) how this knowledge will be disseminated both locally and to the ANZUNS membership.

• Acknowledge they will be available to present their findings from their professional development activity and discuss how this information has been used to change practice at an ANZUNS webinar.

• Have not received any prior emerald awards from ANZUNS 

• Provide a complete application with accompanying CV

Award Conditions:

$3,500.00 is payable to the recipient upon acceptance of receipts showing proof of payment.

Applications must include the following:

• Curriculum Vitae.

• A detailed proposal (including a proposed schedule and budget) of how the professional development award will be utilised and how the award will benefit practice. The proposal should also address how knowledge from the award will be disseminated to ANZUNS colleagues.

• A declaration of any real or perceived conflicts of interest in relation to receiving this award or the proposed use of this award.

Conditions of the Emerald Award 2027

• The successful applicant is required to provide feedback to ANZUNS, in the form of a written report which in turn may be published on the ANZUNS website. The report will provide a synopsis of the educational program undertaken along with any key messages learnt. The report will be tabled at the 2028 Annual General Meeting and will be disseminated to all ANZUNS members and to the award sponsor.

• A formal panel will make the final decision on the successful applicant. The panel will be comprised of the ANZUNS President/Vice President and two representatives of the Australia and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society (ANZUNS) Board of directors.

• The award activity must be executed by January 2028. This includes completion of all travel, conference attendance and/or site visit.

• The emerald award can only be received once.

• Once the award activity has been completed, funds will be reimbursed to the successful applicant upon acceptance of receipts. 

• Reimbursement of approved scholarship funds is contingent upon the completion of the approved activity. Where the activity is not completed, reimbursement will not ordinarily be provided. However, if the recipient is unable to complete the activity due to exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, they may submit a written explanation and supporting evidence for consideration. The Scholarship Panel will review the circumstances and, at its sole discretion, determine whether reimbursement will be approved in whole or in part. The Panel's decision will be final.

• The Award Sponsor will be notified of the successful applicant and may choose to contact the recipient for marketing purposes.

• This Award is not to be used for the payment of study/courses

• This award does not cover ground transport costs (e.g. Uber/Taxi), food, travel insurance.

• All receipts must include notation of costs in Australian dollars ($AUD)

Key dates to note

Application Process

• Applications will only be accepted using the designated application portal 

• Applications close 30^th November 2026

• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. 

• The Award recipient will be announced at the 2027 ANZUNS ASM and the name of the successful applicant will also be posted on the ANZUNS website. Attendance is not funded for the award recipient to attend this meeting to receive the award in person and is not mandatory.

• If the applicant is unable to utilise the scholarship funds within the designated time frame, the funds may be revoked or deferred. In the case of deferral, funding can only be deferred to the following year otherwise it may be terminated and will require a full refund to ANZUNS.

Taxation Advice:

Applicants are advised to seek their own taxation advice regarding the income tax/fringe benefits tax and its effect on any funding they receive from ANZUNS

Award Sponsorship Disclaimer

The continuation, value, and associated benefits of this award are dependent on the confirmed sponsorship arrangements at the time of presentation. ANZUNS reserves the right to amend, suspend, or withdraw the award should sponsorship be reduced, withdrawn, or otherwise become unavailable. In the event of such changes, ANZUNS will make reasonable efforts to notify recipients; however, no guarantee is provided regarding the availability of funds. ANZUNS accepts no liability for any loss, expectation, or impact arising from changes to sponsorship or award conditions.

Application Form: