These are generously supported by ten providers, including organisations including Uncle Bobs Club and the Pied Pipers, through the Good Friday Appeal.

These scholarships allow staff to travel and undertake further education, participate in research or complete workplace experience, leading to improved care for RCH patients. 

The scholarships have recently enabled staff from areas including neurology, physiotherapy, cardiology, oncology, rehabilitation, respiratory and sleep medicine to attend international conferences, symposiums and site visits, undertake fellowship programs and complete training at other world leading paediatric centres. 

To date, over 50 clinicians have been awarded this opportunity. Last year, program participants attended 11 conference visits, 13 site visits and undertook one fellowship program.

In addition to general neurology, the department provides subspecialty care for children with epilepsy, muscle disorders, strokes, genetic conditions affecting the brain, demyelinating disorders including multiple sclerosis, and movement disorders.  

The Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship, made possible thanks to the support of Uncle Bobs Club through the Good Friday Appeal, gives junior paediatric neurologists the opportunity to work in this in-demand department. This training experience enables them to develop specific expertise in managing neurological conditions, which make up one third of all paediatric referrals to the RCH. 

Uncle Bobs Club has been supporting the Good Friday Appeal since 1942. They support a number of projects and initiatives at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), including the Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship. Each year, the fellowship gives junior paediatric neurologists the opportunity to work in the RCH’s Neurology Clinic. 

The Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship has allowed several talented clinicians from across the world to train at the RCH, refining and enhancing their knowledge and skills.  

The 2025 fellow is Dr Olivia-Paris Quinn. She has a special interest in paediatric strokes and is especially inspired by the novel research performed by the RCH in this area of medicine.  

The allied health workforce encompasses 27 professions across The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), including physiotherapy, dietetics, speech pathology and social work. The workforce includes a large cohort of staff who are passionate about undertaking world leading research that improves patient care.  

The Director of Allied Health Research, a position made possible thanks to funding support from the Good Friday Appeal, focuses on building the research capacity in allied health professionals at the RCH, and driving research partnerships with The University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and academic and industry stakeholders.  

Associate Professor Kelly Weir was appointed to this role in 2023. A certified practicing speech pathologist with extensive clinical experience, Kelly provides leadership within the allied health team. She supports allied health clinicians to undertake high-quality clinical research that identifies, implements and evaluates effective, evidence-led treatments and services for children and young people at the RCH. 

In her role as Director, and with the support of Emily O’Kearney in her newly commenced role of Allied Health Research Development Officer, Kelly provides leadership to support high-quality clinical research with the aim of supporting allied health clinicians to identify, implement and evaluate effective, evidence-led interventions and services for children and young people.

In the first year of the initiative, Kelly worked to understand current allied health research capacity and activities at the RCH, and to develop a program of research and education for allied health in collaboration with staff, children and families, and stakeholders.

In the program’s second year, Kelly will be focusing on a formal evaluation of allied health research culture and capacity to develop research resources, stronger networks, and mentoring or training opportunities.

By prioritising allied health research, the RCH can ensure optimal outcomes for patients and families, while also positioning itself as a leader in paediatric allied health research and education.

This investment will further bolster the RCH’s Allied Health Department, with the chance to combine research interests and clinical duties being an incredible drawcard for staff.

Funding from the Good Friday Appeal is helping the RCH to continue to stay at the forefront of transformational change and innovation in paediatric healthcare.  

This program has led to the introduction of cutting-edge treatments and interventions across departments including social work and mental health. Last year alone, 65 staff across nursing, social work, prosthetics and orthotics, occupational therapy and allied health were able to access professional development training programs, helping further establish the RCH as a world-leading paediatric hospital. 

Recent outcomes from the Allied Health and Nursing Development, Education and Leadership Program include:

• Between February 2023 and February 2024, 123 allied health clinicians and 62 nurses participated in continuing education programs. Additionally, 61 allied health clinicians and 46 nurses travelled to in-person events, with a further 62 allied health clinicians and 18 nurses attending off-site seminars or workshops to advance their professional knowledge and skills. 
• 23 allied health clinicians across 12 different departments underwent post-graduate study, and 40 nurses across 21 departments received scholarships to help them engage in further academic study. 
• A new Education and Training Steering Committee comprising of RCH nursing, allied health and medical education staff was established to further strengthen campus collaboration.  
• 65 staff across nursing, social work, prosthetics and orthotics, occupational therapy and allied health were able to access professional development training programs. This has helped further establish the RCH as a world-leading paediatric hospital.  

The RCH’s Education Hub has been central to the delivery of education on campus for close to a decade. By working with campus partners such as The University of Melbourne, the Hub has supported clinical excellence through its one-of-a-kind delivery of programs.  

“When it comes to clinical care, we often think about the technical bits of learning. For instance, learning about diseases or treatments. A lot of what the Education Hub does is think about how we can support health providers thrive,” explained Professor Amy Gray, Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and the Director of the Education Hub.  

Through innovative and bespoke learning practices, the team have been able to deliver programs that are cultivating a holistically skilled workforce. Similarly, as a well-established leader in the field, the RCH’s Simulation team has been making a profound impact in improving teamwork and driving safer clinical environments. 

“We’ve known for years how important simulation is in supporting health teams. But simulation today doesn’t look the same as it did five years ago. We now use simulation to test ideas before we even put them into practice. This really elevates the safety for patients and their families,” Amy highlighted.   

The Education Hub and Simulation team have already made a profound impact on the paediatric workforce across the state. For instance, in 2024, both the Education Hub and the Simulation team’s outreach efforts supported 111 health facilities across metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria, empowering clinicians to look after their local communities. 

“We’ve worked with hospitals that have never done a tonsillectomy before. Hospitals across the state expanded their services to address long waiting lists for this common procedure.  To help them do so with the best possible care our nurses went to metropolitan and regional hospitals to upskill the post-operative teams. So, I think this statewide and regional impact is really important,” Amy said.  

“The feedback we’ve heard on our outreach programs is that it has helped change the way they look after children. It has also given them new evidence and new ideas of how to practice that has been quite rapidly incorporated into what they do,” she continued. 

This new partnership will help uplift clinicians and paediatric staff across the RCH and state-wide, ensuring that even more children and young people can receive the best possible care, closer to home.  

“Our health system needs to continually grow and change, and so to do the best for our patients, we need to continually take in new evidence and research. We’re working to enable the whole organisation to grow and learn, and be more adaptable,” Amy emphasised.  

The Education Hub’s impact would not be possible without the support of the Good Friday Appeal and its generous donors. This is something that Amy and her team are incredibly grateful for.   

“Investment in education is an investment in the future. This can often be taken for granted, but I’m so incredibly grateful when education receives the support from philanthropy because it allows us to do things that we would not be able to do otherwise,”. 

Professor Amy Gray, Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and Director of the Education Hub.  

Key Statistics

• In 2023, more than 15,000 clinical and non-clinical staff participated in the Education Hub and Simulation team’s programs combined, helping build a quality workforce both within and beyond the hospital’s walls. 
• In 2024, these outreach efforts provided custom education programs to 111 health facilities, including 36 regional centres and 75 rural hospitals or acute care facilities.
• In just the last year, the program has reached 5,000 staff across the campus through 500 face-to-face education events. The program has also accelerated opportunities for digital learning through technology. This includes the introduction of a virtual learning platform with over 20,000 users in 67 countries, podcasts that have 17,000 downloads a year, and web-based video content which have over 35,000 views each year.  

Over half of all Australian adults have low health literacy, which can impact decision making about children in their care. By improving levels of community health literacy, this project will help keep children and young people well and prevent them from needing hospital care.

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Health Literacy Project will address this issue by elevating the voice of the child and combining two successful health communication initiatives (the RCH National Child Health Poll [RCH Poll] and RCH Kids Health Info [KHI]) through directly engaging with children and young people, as well as parents and carers.

Through understanding children and young people’s perspectives, this project aims to increase community health literacy, helping to keep them well, and out of hospital. The project will develop and launch youth-focused health information to live on the RCH website, including fact sheets and other digital resources, and establish a youth-focused social media channel.

“The RCH Health Literacy Project is all about sharing our expertise and knowledge with the broader community in an accessible and practical way – to empower children, young people and their parents to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.”

Clinician Anthea Rhodes, Paediatrician, Director RCH Poll

As young people are increasingly consuming health information via online platforms and social media, this project aims to combat misinformation in a space where influencers lead content creation at a rate of 24:1 when compared to reputable sources.

“This project enables the RCH to play a role in the lives of children and families across Victoria and beyond, not just those who we care for directly in the hospital. The support of the Good Friday Appeal will enable us to lead the way in advocacy and improved health literacy across the community and empower young people to take a more active role in their own healthcare.”, said Dr Anthea Rhodes.

The RCH’s Emergency Department is Australia’s largest paediatric Emergency Department. Not only does it help sick and injured children, but it also supports world-leading research.

The research will improve emergency care for all children and young people, both at the RCH and beyond. Funding from the Good Friday Appeal will allow the RCH to expand its research into areas including concussion, neck injury, bronchiolitis, acute mental health, bell’s palsy and sepsis.  

Based at the RCH, Franz’s role is to initiate and oversee research to improve emergency care for children and young people at the RCH and beyond. Franz will often work in collaboration with other clinical and research teams onsite at the Melbourne Children’s Campus. The role has helped position the Melbourne Children’s Campus as a global leader in paediatric emergency medicine research.

“My role as Professor of Paediatric Emergency Medicine has given me an amazing privilege to have a positive impact on the frontline care of many children across many hospitals, rather than looking after just one injured or sick child at a time.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue this important work in the coming years thanks to the support of the Victorian community through the Good Friday Appeal.”

Professor Franz Babl, Professor of Paediatric Emergency Medicine

With Franz’s support, the department has generated new knowledge, contributing to more than 200 publications over the past five years. These include top-tier journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet. Much of this new knowledge has led to changes in clinical practice.

Impact Milestones

2022/2023

• Professor Franz Babl sourced grant funding totalling $8.3 million to support additional world leading research.  
• Professor Franz Babl won the 2022 Elizabeth Molyneux Prize in recognition of outstanding work in the field of paediatric medicine for his paper titled, “Efficacy of Prednisolone for Bell Palsy in Children: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial”. 
• Research projects undertaken by Professor Franz Babl and his team in 2022/2023 looked at a range of topics including: Concussion, Neck injury, Bronchiolitis, Bell’s Palsy, Acute mental health, Sepsis.

Tasked with treating the most severely injured children, it’s essential that the RCH remains at the forefront of great trauma care. Thanks to support from the Good Friday Appeal, Associate Professor Warwick Teague is ensuring that happens.  

A trailblazer in his field, Warwick plays an important role in trauma, burns and surgery, continuing to develop the RCH as a national and international leader ensuring the RCH can continue to provide the best care to children and young people.

Noah Seddon, aged 15, was a patient of Warwick’s after suffering burns to his arm and hand. 

“The work Warwick does changes people’s lives, especially with how confident they are and their overall mental health. People would be much worse off without Warwick and the other clinicians at The Royal Children’s Hospital.”

Noah’s dad, Glenn, spoke highly of Warwick following his sons treatment.

“At the start, when we first saw Noah’s arm, we didn’t know what was going to happen. Then as things progressed and we spoke to Warwick and saw the game plan his team had, it really helped us. What he does is amazing.”

As Director of the RCH Trauma Service, Warwick leads a team of dedicated clinicians who provide emergency treatment and ongoing care for patients. He also plays a vital leadership role in trauma prevention, education and research. 

Warwick’s recent achievements include leading the RCH Trauma Service to successfully complete the first of a two-phase project to implement a world class, evidence-based trauma quality improvement program.  

He has continued to support, grow and develop the RCH Burns Service, ensuring the team stays at the forefront of clinical care and innovation with the implementation of new tools and techniques like microneedling and the use of a fractional ablative CO2 laser. 

Warwick and his co-convener and colleague, Dr Monique Bertinetti, the RCH Burns Service hosted the 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association, which brought together the brightest and best of the ANZ and regional burn care community to Melbourne in late 2023.  

Warwick produces quality knowledge for the hospital and the community. In the last three years, Warwick has published 35 peer reviewed journal articles and four book chapters. He has also delivered 30 invited presentations to national and international conferences and seminars and made multiple media appearances.

He has also supervised a PhD student, which he described as “very exciting”.  

All of this, Warwick says, would not be possible without the Good Friday Appeal.   

“Thanks to support from the Good Friday Appeal, I am given the permission, as well as the protected time, to dedicate myself to both clinical and research work, which is really special.”
“When I think about the people who give to the Good Friday Appeal each year, knowing my role is one of the things they contribute to, I find it so humbling. I also feel an undeniable sense of gratitude. I don’t even know how to put my thanks into words.”

Associate Professor Warwick Teague, Director of Trauma, Clinical Leader for Trauma, Burns and Surgery Research, and Academic Paediatric Surgeon

Impact Milestones

2021

• Warwick led the implementation of a world standard trauma quality improvement program at the RCH, which included the establishment of a new Trauma Clinical Nurse Consultant role.  
• Warwick continued working with key RCH Burns Service colleagues to organise and commence research activities focusing on children’s burns, multi disciplinary management and long term outcomes.  
• Warwick became Co-Group Leader for Surgical Research within the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), together with his colleague, Professor Sebastian King.  
• Warwick continued producing new, quality knowledge for the hospital and the community, including 19 peer reviewed journal publications, addressing topics including trauma, burns, COVID-19, oesophageal atresia and other clinical paediatric surgery.  
• Warwick co-authored four book chapters in 2021. He also shared knowledge with four presentations at conferences and multiple media appearances.

2022

• Warwick led the RCH Trauma Service to successfully complete the first of a two-phase project to implement a world class, evidence-based trauma quality improvement program.  
• Warwick has continued to grow and develop the RCH Burns Service, supporting recent, strategic staff appointments within surgical, clinical and nursing roles. He has encouraged an evidence based, evidence creating, and patient focused adoption of new burn treatment technologies.  
• In addition, under the leadership of Warwick and his co-convener and colleague, Dr Monique Bertinetti, the RCH Burns Service hosted the 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association, which brought together the brightest and best of the ANZ and regional burn care community to Melbourne in late 2023.  
• Warwick continued as Co-Group Leader of Surgical Research, together with his colleague, Professor Sebastian King. One new development in this space has been the engagement of surgical research as a key contributor to a new MCRI research flagship program, the High-Risk Infants Flagship. 
• Warwick continued producing quality knowledge for the hospital and the community, including eight peer reviewed journal articles and three invited book chapters. He also shared knowledge with 12 presentations at conferences and seminars, and multiple media appearances.

Thanks to funds collected by the RCH Auxiliaries for the Good Friday Appeal, the $50,000 scholarship allows one outstanding nurse to develop skills and experience by exploring innovative practices and models of care across Australia and internationally. 

Dame Elisabeth generously gave her name in perpetuity in support of this scholarship and the advancement of nursing at the RCH.

2022 Scholarship Recipient

Congratulations to Eloise Borello, the 2022 recipient of the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship.

Eloise is a highly skilled clinical nurse consultant who has been caring for sick children at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) since 2010. She will use the scholarship to improve the current model of treatment for children across the hospital requiring intravenous access, a delicate and often traumatising procedure that can also lead to complications.

Eloise began her career as an adult oncology nurse before transitioning into paediatric oncology, working in both Kookaburra and Kelpie wards at the RCH. In 2017, Ella moved into the Quality and Improvement Department as a Clinical Nurse Consultant, specialising in vascular access.

Vascular access can mean different things, however for this project it refers to the process of inserting a device into a patient’s vein to deliver medical treatment. The most used device is called a peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC), which is a thin plastic tube which is inserted into a vein using a needle.

“Around 50 per cent of all children admitted to the RCH will require a PIVC. While the use of the device is common, they are notoriously difficult to insert and maintain in children, which often leads to complications,” said Eloise.

“There are a lot of factors that play into this, but one reason is because children have small and fragile veins which can make it more difficult to insert the device, often resulting in multiple insertion attempts which can make the experience incredibly daunting for young children and their families.”

“While working at the RCH, I have seen firsthand the challenges involved in inserting PIVCs into a child’s vein and the negative effect that it can have on them, which is why I am passionate about ensuring patients have access to the treatment they require with no complications or harm, so they can get back to having a happy and healthy childhood,” she added.

With the support of the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship, Eloise will audit the current practice in real time, which will allow her to look at the challenges involved in the process. As part of this, she will engage clinical staff and patient families to share their experiences to help provide more insight into the best way forward.

The scholarship will also allow Eloise to seek new knowledge around peripheral vascular access by consulting with leaders in the field, both locally and internationally. The end goal is to develop a best practice recommendation for vascular access at the RCH, ensuring the hospital become global leaders in the area.

“I am beyond grateful to receive this scholarship, and I am so grateful to the RCH Auxiliaries, RCH Foundation and BankVic for giving me and many others this opportunity. By providing this scholarship, you are providing more than a one-off opportunity, you are investing in the future of nurses and allowing us to create a different future for children, one that is better,” said Eloise.