South Mudgee Surgery registered nurse Helen Dickinson the 2021 APNA Nurse of the Year

That's what South Mudgee Surgery registered nurse, Helen Dickinson said after being named the 2021 Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) Nurse of the Year.

While she was recognised for her leadership, mentoring and problem solving skills during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as well as her work in women's health and promotion of prevention and screening initiatives, Ms Dickinson said it's all been a team effort.

"South Mudgee Surgery has done such a brilliant job for the COVID movement with everything everyone has done and it goes right down to the admin girls, the calls and the amount they are taking is just phenomenal," she said.

"Everybody has done a little bit extra and put their hand up to get the clinics up and running...and the award is lovely because A - staff feel that highly to put us in to start with, and B - for the team because everything is always a team effort, especially in a surgery like this.

"To actually win the award is amazing."

Fellow South Mudgee Surgery registered nurse, Andrea Honeysett was the person behind Ms Dickinson's nomination, and said the reasoning behind it was plain and simple - "she deserves it".

"She's just very good at what she does. She looks after us nurses," Ms Honeysett said.

"I was stoked to hear she won, she really deserves it.

"She keeps saying it's a team effort, and it is, but when it boils down to it, she's the Nurse of the Year."

Ms Dickinson's efforts, along with those of fellow employees, were praised by practice manager, Jenny Marchant who said to be recognised in this way is "fantastic".

"For Helen to rally all the other nurses together and supervise them for the vaccination clinic has been wonderful, she totally deserves the recognition," Ms Marchant said.

"To think two of our doctors were named citizens of the year and now this, it just goes to show the amount of work everybody is putting in.

"It is well over and above what they're expected to do, and they've done that without any apprehensions whatsoever because it's the right thing to do.

"Some people think it's normal and it's what we should all be doing but it's not, everyone is going over and above."

Ms Dickinson, who was born and raised in Dunedoo, has been a registered nurse since 1991, eventually making her way to Mudgee 18 years ago and signing on with South Mudgee Surgery approximately seven years ago.

Throughout that time, she has gained a sound perspective on the practice as a whole having said not only is it a "great place to work" but patients are treated with the utmost of care.

"Every person that comes in is treated as an individual, everybody's looked at holistically and we get that from the top, the doctors are all for the patients, it's not about the business," she said.

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