2023 USANZ NZ - NZUNS urology awards

2023 Awards Winners were:

Dr Michael Rice

A Urologist who has contributed to the Urological Community

Michael Rice is the senior most Urologist practising in the northern region of NZ.

After graduating in Australia, he moved to New Zealand and trained in general surgery in Dunedin before embarking on a urology training program in Auckland and Hamilton. Once he completed his training program, he took up a Consultant Urologist position at Auckland hospital in 1991 and has remained there since.

He has been an integral part of the Auckland Urology department and has worked as a clinical director at Auckland hospital, at North shore hospital and ran clinics at Middlemore. He has been instrumental in shaping the Urology networks in the Auckland region. he has been heavily involved in training, being chair of the board of Urology in New Zealand and has been actively involved in hands-on surgical teaching of most of the urologists currently working in New Zealand.

He has stepped back from active urologic surgical oncology practice and spends a lot of time guiding and teaching our house surgeons and junior registrars in the Auckland region.

Jean Bothwell

A Nurse who has contributed to the Urological Community

In 1991 Jean commenced her urology career, joining a private urology practice in Auckland. She was then contracted by Waitemata Health in 2000. Jean was the first Urology CNS; the role designed to implement and coordinate the service from a nursing perspective. She established policy, procedure and patient information. Education was a key focus of her role, teaching both nursing and medical staff in a various settings including perioperative and OPD. Jean was an integral part of a service that provided high quality patient focused care, receiving multiple nursing awards within the DHB. In 2003, Jean joined the NZUNS committee, becoming the chairperson 2005-2009. In addition, she was president of ANZUNS 2010-2011. She won the Obex Travel Award in 1999, 2005, 2012 and the Astra Zeneca Travel fellowship 2007, using that award to train in urodynamics in the UK. In 2012 she set up the first nurse led UDS service and is an acknowledged expert in the field. She has continued establish and advance the CNS role in urology, pioneering and advocating for nurse led clinics. Jean deserves to be recognized for her long and ongoing involvement in the development of urology nursing in NZ.

Sally Walker

A member of the public who has contributed to the Urological Community

Sally has provided incredible consumer support and advocacy to patients undergoing cystectomy as well as consumers with mesh complications. She supports them by telephone and in person and shares her own story. She visits their home to show them her stoma and discuss the cystectomy course preoperatively. She also supports them and visit them in hospital postoperatively. She does this as a voluntary service - she has no affiliation with any advocacy group. She currently supports 44 women who have had cystectomy or mesh complications.