AFTER 26 years working for the Western District Health Service (WDHS) and tirelessly assisting the community with their health care needs, Men’s Health and Urology nurse practitioner, Stuart Willder, has been awarded a 2022 Victorian Rural Health Award (VRHA).

In the online ceremony earlier this year, Mr Willder was awarded the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Rural Primary Care Nursing’ award, which recognises an “exceptional rural nurse or midwife who has delivered outstanding patient care, positive outcomes, and who has performed above the expectations of their role”.

Mr Willder was nominated by his colleague of 17 years, Professor Richard Grills, who in his written nomination, said Mr Willder had been “integral” in supporting his role and continuously goes above and beyond to provide the community with the highest level of care.

“The reason I’ve nominated Stu for this award is not because of the role he performs in this capacity, it’s because of everything else he does,” his nomination read.

“I have never heard him say no to anything that anyone has asked him to do.

“He is 100 per cent committed to his community and I cannot think of a more-worthy recipient of this award.”

Mr Willder said he felt embarrassed to be awarded the accolade after seeing so many health care professionals go above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The last three years have been pretty tough for everyone, so to get chosen for this award, out of all of the nurses and health professionals in Victoria, is pretty overwhelming,” he said.

“So many other nurses are doing really great work, and I certainly would like that highlighted.

“After the last few years of COVID-19, I think everybody needs one of these awards, not just me.”

In addition to providing men’s health and urology services for the region, Mr Willder was one of the many healthcare workers who took on a front-line role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The award recognises the urology work that I do,” he said.

“At WDHS we run three urology Theatre sessions per month and I usually manage these patients, and that involves quite a bit of on-call and after-hours work. 

“And during COVID-19 that didn’t change, it probably grew busier.

“I was heavily involved in the Drive-thru and vaccination clinics, whilst also juggling my normal workload and our urology patients.”

Reflecting on the last few years with the pandemic, Mr Willder said he “reluctantly” accepted the VRHA and wanted to put a spotlight on all healthcare workers who did everything possible to protect the community from COVID-19.

“I was reluctant to accept the award, because there are so many others who have done so much,” he said.

“Five years ago, I would probably have thought, ‘oh that’s great recognition’, but you know when everyone’s gone through so much, I think it’s really difficult to focus on an individual and celebrate them, and that’s why I’m pretty low key about it all.

“As I said, there are many others who are just as deserving.”

WDHS chief executive, Rohan Fitzgerald, said Mr Willder was a very worthy award recipient, who had been integral to the provision of men’s health and urology care at WDHS over many years.

“We have a fantastic team at WDHS and I am grateful for the contributions of so many of our staff,” he said.

“Stu has provided incredible care and support to people with urological conditions and as our Men’s Health Nurse Practitioner for over two decades.

“It’s important work that has a big impact on the lives of people living in our community.

“Stu also volunteers his time each year to provide urological surgery support in Vanuatu.”

VRHA is the only platform that enables peers, teams, and patients to honour the whole spectrum of excellence in healthcare, including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, Aboriginal health workers, and practice managers working across regional and rural communities of Victoria.