Nicola Young

Nicola Young is a rural DON and facility manager at Whitsunday Health Service (Proserpine Hospital & Whitsunday Community Health Centre campuses). She has over 20 years of experience in the rural health environment as a clinician delivering frontline service and management. Prior to being DON, Nicola was a nurse unit manager and general/mental-health-trained Registered Nurse. She has had extensive acting roles as director for rural services and district director of nursing within the Mackay Hospital & Health Service. She is a member of the Association of Queensland Nursing Leaders (AQNL) and has held roles including president, vice president and currently sits on the executive committee. Nicola is regularly asked to provide advice on rural nursing services at many levels. Nicola is the 2017 winner of the AQNL “Outstanding Achievement in Nursing Award.”

Currently, Nicola sits on the Queensland Clinical Senate and provides advice and direction to the senate on clinical matters that particularly revolve around rural nursing. This direction is further enhanced by Nicola’s participation in the MHHS Clinical Council which is led by clinicians who provide advice regarding strategies, reforms, models of care and service provision. Nicola is currently part of the Queensland Governments’ Next Generation program. The Next Generation program is a DG initiative designed for high-performing senior leaders in the Department of Health looking to increase their capability for executive-level roles. Nicola is passionate about health care for rural and remote communities and believes that all people should have access to high-quality healthcare despite their geographical location. People should not need to leave their communities to receive the best possible health care.