Fellowships and grants

Fellowships and grants offered by the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office can take you to the next step in your career, while improving patient care in WA.

Receiving a fellowship or grant can:

  • help further your career
  • offer opportunities to visit and learn from other healthcare sites, overseas and interstate
  • enable you to fund a practice improvement or small research project
  • support you in completing your masters or PhD thesis.

Fellowships and grants attract a high number of applications. They are highly sought by nurses and midwives completing higher degrees or undertaking significant practice improvements. An independent panel of experts evaluate submissions against set criteria.

The Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office oversees  5 fellowships and 2 grants offered at various times throughout each year.

Applications for a 2024 fellowship supported by the Western Australian Nurses Memorial Charitable Trust is now closed.

 

Important application information for fellowships and grants

Application process 

Applications can only be made online. 

Documentation required

  • Proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency visa
  • Proof of your current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (external site). (i.e. A copy of current registration certificate or printout from the NMBA website.)
  • a curriculum vitae (CV)/resumé that includes qualifications, current employer and past work history, relevant publications and contributions to the profession, relevant publications, and contributions to the profession
  • evidence of current enrolment (if applicable, e.g. undertaking a higher research degree such as masters by research, PhD, professional doctorate)
  • an outline of your research proposal or practice improvement and budget – see Research/Practice Improvement project proposal (Word 264KB)
  • declaration of receipt form (Word 303KB). As part of your application, you are required to complete the declaration of receipt form to disclose any other forms of funding you have been granted, or have pending related to this research or project proposal
  • references – a professional reference (Word 303KB) is required for all fellowship and grant applications – an academic supervisor reference (Word 330KB) is required for applicants undertaking a higher research degree.

Incomplete applications, without the required supporting documentation listed may be deemed ineligible.

Supporting documentation may only be attached in Word, JPEG or PDF file format.

Eligibility requirements

Eligibility requirements for all fellowships and grants

All applicants must:

  • be currently registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia as a registered nurse or midwife
  • be a current employee of WA Health in a nursing or midwifery role
  • minimum requirement of 2 shifts per week consistently over a period of 12 months (evidence of this is required)
  • be an Australian citizen or in possession of a permanent residency visa (or equivalent)
  • have at least 2 years post registration nursing or midwifery experience
  • have gained ethics approval where necessary.

Eligibility requirements for specific fellowships

Aboriginal Health Fellowship

Preference will be given to nurses and midwives who are:

  • Aboriginal
  • working within Aboriginal health

You are required to seek out and gain support from the community you are researching prior to applying.

Advancing the Midwifery Profession Fellowship

You need to be able to demonstrate that you are:

  • working towards a higher degree such as a masters or PhD in midwifery, or
  • undertaking a significant practice improvement within your current workplace which aligns with strategic priorities and is supported by your Director of Nursing.

Advancing the Nursing Profession Fellowship

You need to be able to demonstrate that you are:

  • working towards a higher degree such as a masters or PhD in nursing, or
  • undertaking a significant practice improvement within your current workplace which aligns with strategic priorities and is supported by your Director of Nursing. 

Proving Australian citizenship /permanent resident status

You must provide a copy of your birth certificate, Australian passport, Australian citizenship certificate or evidence of a permanent residency visa.

New Zealand citizens

New Zealand citizens are eligibile to apply. You are required to provide evidence of New Zealand citizenship and/or evidence of your permanent residency status from Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) such as a Special Category Visa.

Evidence of enrolment

You only need to provide evidence of enrolment if you are undertaking a higher research degree such as masters by research, PhD, professional doctorate. Please refer to this example. This is the only type of documents that will be accepted as proof of enrolment.

Tax implications

Any tax implications associated with these scholarships are the responsibility of the individual applicant. Please seek further advice from your tax accountant to determine your personal tax obligations.

Application restrictions

  • You cannot apply for more than one fellowship in the same year.
  • Fellowships are only available to WA Health employees.
  • You cannot apply for a Fellowship and an Academic Research Grant or Academic Support Grant in the same year. The Academic Research Grant is for those in the first or second year of a Masters (research) Professional Doctorate or PhD to help with the initial setup costs.

Requirements of successful applicants

You are required to:

  • write an interim report approximately 3 months after being awarded a fellowship or grant
  • write yearly reports on your project/study tour
  • acknowledge the Nursing and Midwifery Office’s financial support in all written material and presentations you give associated with the fellowship or grant
  • present at an appropriate forum (determined by the Nursing and Midwifery Office) the findings of your tour / research, ie. master class or senior nurses/midwives forums
  • seek publication in your local health or hospital newsletters about receiving the fellowship or grant.

If you do not require the full amount on offer

You may elect to take a smaller amount – such as $5,000 or lots of $10,000.

The selection panel may also elect to split the money between 2 or more recipients.

Receiving fellowship, scholarship or grant funding from other sources

You are welcome to apply for other sources of funding, but we do request that you disclose this using the Declaration of Receipt Form as part of your application. Priority may be afforded to applicants with no other sources of funding.

Fellowship or grant decision making process

A panel of independent, senior nurses and/or midwives will judge all applications. This panel is made up of a minimum of 3 experts from industry related to the type of fellowship or grant applied for.

The following criteria are considered:

  • clarity of the project summary
  • significance of the research to contemporary clinical nursing/midwifery practice and outcomes
  • the research plan (including timetable for completion of the project)
  • that the research or project will lead to improved patient, staff or organisation outcomes.

The panel will make a recommendation to the Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer who will have the final decision on the fellowship recipient(s).

The decision made by the Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer is final and there is no appeal process.

The panel may also decide that funds may be divided into smaller amounts to provide access to more applicants, as deemed appropriate by the Nursing and Midwifery Office.

Other terms and conditions for all fellowships and grants

  • Funding is not retrospective and is only available for 1 study year only. Applicants who plan to study in the following year must reapply if further funding is sought.
  • The successful applicant is expected to work in the WA public health system for at least 12 months following receipt of their fellowship or grant.
  • Written notification must be provided to the Nursing and Midwifery Office if the:
    • research or practice improvement project that alters from the original proposal
    • leadership opportunities or research is not completed
  • Feedback requests must be sought within 14 business days of receiving an unsuccessful outcome letter.
Application tips for fellowships and grants

This is a guide only, but provides some tips on the information that should be considered when applying for a fellowship or grant.

Plan your proposal

The subject headings for your proposal should include:

  • cover page
  • contents page
  • background (brief)
  • purpose and significance of study/research to the nursing and/or midwifery professions
    • research question or hypothesis
    • rationale and objectives
  • research strategy
    • sample
    • inclusions and exclusions
    • design/methodology
    • analysis
  • limitations
  • ethical consideration
  • timeline
  • budget
  • references

Budget

Your budget should include any expenses that you may incur during your project.

Some examples include:

  • specialised computer software programs
  • research assistant (this will require details of their hourly rate multiplied by the expected hours of work)
  • computers/printers/paper (quotes should be based on today’s market and not an inflated price)
  • flights/accommodation/visas (the expected cost should be based on actual costs without inflation)
  • any mail/stationary associated expenses.

Please ensure that the budget is correctly tallied up. See example below.

Resource Estimated cost
Analysis software
$4,000
Research Assistant ($32 per hr x 300 hours)
$9,600
Laptop
$1,000
Flights to Melbourne
$900
Accommodation for 3 nights
$500
Travel/conferences
$300
 Associated mail cost (60c x 400 letters)
$240
Total
$16,540

Last reviewed: 04-07-2024