About this event
The College of Nursing and Health Sciences is thrilled to announce that Margaret Martin (DipAppSc(Nurs) ’85, BNg(PostReg) ’91, MHlthServMgmt ’96) will deliver the second annual Joan Durdin Oration.

Marg Martin will discuss:

“CHOOSING YOUR OWN YELLOW BRICK ROAD – Lessons in leadership: making choices with courage, heart and brains”.

Marg Martin graduated from Flinders University (then the SA College of Advance Education), with a Diploma of Applied Science (Nursing) in 1984 going on to gain a Bachelor of Nursing and a Masters in Health Service Management. Marg’s career has encompassed a variety of roles in the public health sector gaining experience in clinical, management and leadership roles including leading the clinical change for the implementation of a Statewide EMR project in South Australia.

Over her career, Marg has led transformational change with extensive experience in the application of clinical practice improvement methodologies, lean thinking, and process redesign in a wide range of health and non-health settings.

Marg is currently the Executive Director Clinical Operations for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District in NSW responsible for an $800m budget and 5,000 staff across 8 hospital sites.

Following the discussion there will be a Q & A Panel with an opportunity for audience questions. The panel will be made up of Marg Martin and fellow Flinders alumni members Andrew Wiley (DipNg ’89, BNg(PostReg) ’92)), Director, SA Prison Health Service, CAHLN and Adjunct Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars (BNg(PreReg)),CEO, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, SA Branch.

If you wish to attend the Joan Durdin Oration in person, please select the first ticket option, online attendance can be selected in the second ticket option.

Please contact alumni@flinders.edu.au for any event enquiries.

About the Joan Durdin AM Oration

Distinguished nursing education pioneer, Dr Joan Durdin AM, RN, FRCNA (Hon), (DUniv ’94), has worked tirelessly throughout her life to improve the professional status of nursing across Australia and internationally.

After completing her general nursing training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1945, Dr Durdin moved to Melbourne to complete her midwifery training at the Queen Victoria Hospital. In 1949 she was awarded a Florence Nightingale Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Nursing London.

She later returned to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where she was Senior Sister Tutor from 1955 until 1964, before spending the following six years as a nurse educator in Papua New Guinea.

In 1974 Dr Durdin joined the Nursing Department at Flinders University (then the Sturt College of Advanced Education) as a lecturer. Just one year later, she was fundamental to the establishment of South Australia’s first tertiary nursing course – and only the third in Australia.
From 1979 to 1981 Dr Durdin was Head of the Nursing Department, then Head of the School of Health Professions at Flinders University before she retired in 1983.

During her career, Dr Durdin was also active with the College of Nursing Australia (now the Australian College of Nursing), which awarded her an Honorary Fellowship in 1984. She was President of the South Australian Branch of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (now the Australian Nursing Federation) between 1976 and 1980,and served on the Board of Management of Child and Adolescent and Family Health Service for three years, including as Chair in 1983.

The importance of Dr Durdin’s work was recognised when she was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1985, and later in 1994 when she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Flinders University.

Following university studies in history she published two books, They Became Nurses: a History of Nursing in South Australia, 1836-1980, and Eleven Thousand Nurses: A History of Nursing Education at the Royal Adelaide Hospital 1889-1993.

As part of the celebrations for her 100th Birthday in May 2022, the annual Joan Durdin Oration was announced in June 2022 in honour of Joan. The Oration takes the form of a conversation and involves prominent and emerging leaders in nursing. The 2024 Nursing Leadership Mentoring Program for postgraduate nursing leadership students will be launched at the event.