Empowered nurses go beyond the bedside

03 June 2026

In an emergency department, a calm voice can steady a room.

In aged care, compassion can restore dignity during life’s most vulnerable moments.

And across the healthcare system, nurses are shaping the future of care far beyond the bedside.

They are contributing to research, influencing health policy, implementing emerging technologies and helping design the future of patient care.

This year’s International Nurses Day theme, Empowered Nurses Save Lives, captures something far broader than clinical intervention.

It reflects the growing influence of nurses across healthcare systems, education, research and leadership and the many ways they advocate for patients and communities every day.

For Nicole Hibbert, a Curtin nursing alumna, empowerment is closely tied to confidence and communication.

Working in the Emergency Department at Perth Children’s Hospital, she said nurses often spend the most time with patients and families, placing them in a unique position to recognise when something is changing and act quickly.

Nicole’s postgraduate studies in Critical Care nursing helped build her confidence to advocate for patients, communicate effectively with senior clinicians and support distressed families during high-pressure situations.

“When the nurse remains calm, families become calmer and when parents feel supported, children do too,” she said.

But empowerment in nursing is not only about critical moments. It is also about leadership, lifelong learning and creating pathways for future generations of nurses to thrive.

As the Interim Head of the Curtin School of Nursing, Dr Sharon Maclean has spent her career across many different areas of nursing; from midwifery to aged care and academia.

Having cared for patients across every stage of life, she believes nursing leadership is grounded not in titles, but in advocacy, evidence-based care and empowering the next generation of nurses.

“Being empowered means being willing to lead, make change, advocate for vulnerable communities and commit to being a lifelong learner throughout your career,” Sharon said.

That commitment to continual growth and education is shared by Dr Carrie Janerka – asenior lecturer and researcher for the Curtin School of Nursing and Clinical Nurse Manager of research for the South Metropolitan Health Service.

Now teaching postgraduate emergency and critical care nursing students across Australia, Carrie says empowerment comes from equipping nurses with the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver safe care.

She recalls one memorable moment early in her emergency nursing career, when supporting a junior doctor during a successful resuscitation helped save the life of a young father. A week later, the patient returned to the emergency department with flowers and chocolates to thank the team.

For Michelle Tan, a Curtin Alumna who studied at the Singapore campus, nursing empowerment also means recognising that nurses can influence healthcare systems well beyond direct patient care.

Beginning her career as an operating theatre nurse in Singapore’s public healthcare system, Michelle has since moved into health policy, research and strategic partnerships at the SingHealth Duke-NUS AI in Medicine Institute, where she helps shape how artificial intelligence is implemented across healthcare.

“Nurses who are trusted to question, to research, to govern, and to lead do not just save the patient in front of them,” she said.

“They save the patients they will never meet, because the system around them has been made safer.”

Michelle believes universities and healthcare leaders play a critical role in broadening perceptions of what nursing can become.

Creating opportunities for nurses to contribute to areas such as research, data science, policy, informatics and artificial intelligence.

After hearing from several nursing professionals from Curtin, one message rings true: empowered nurses shape healthcare in countless ways – through advocacy, compassion, leadership, research, education and innovation.

And while the profession continues to evolve, at its heart, nursing remains deeply human.

At the end of the day, empowered nurses do so much more than influence clinical outcomes.

They comfort people in their hardest moments, strengthen communities, drive change across healthcare systems and inspire the next generation to lead with both skill and compassion.