2025 RMGNA REUNION LUNCH

Robyn started her training at the RMH in April 1970 where she ‘lived-in’ at the Connibere Nurses Home. She loved her training day which led her to complete further training as a midwife at Western General Hospital following her staffing year before jetting off to travel in London and Europe, including working in the London Clinic in 1976.

On her return to Australia she trained to become, then worked as, an OH&S clinician at a large industrial site in Sydney but, despite being busy with work and a young family, Robyn realised she wanted to concentrate on working with aging and frail patients. She started her career aged care in 1988 and quickly moved into a NUM role which prompted Robyn to gain qualifications in Gerontology, Nursing Home Management, and Human Resource Management. 

With these foundations, Robyn rose in the rands from DON to Executive DON then Director of Care Services across a number of residential and community aged care services. She was given the opportunity to commission a greenfield site in NSW to povide services for independent living units, community and residential clients, developed an extensive network of community and political leaders and co-authored a book titled   “Cultural Diversity and Spirituality in Ageing”.  Robyn also successfully  led a number of teams through quality audit and accreditation processes before becoming an Accreditation External Assessor registered on both the NSW and   Victorian Assessor Registries.

She moved back to Victoria in 2010 where she became the Integrated Services Manager for a large, aged care service, commissioned another new Aged Care and Community Service site and publishing   a second book called ‘From Seed to Table’ filled with recipes collected from staff, clients and residents.

During COVID lockdowns, Robyn completed a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment. Armed with this qualification and her extensive knowledge, skills and experience, Robyn established her own business, providing services in quality and accreditation, leadership mentoring and support and professional development training and facilitation. 

[Source: Robyn Reeder]

Professor Shelley Dolan joined the RMH in August 2023 as Chief Executive. She is a familiar face in the Parkville Precinct, previously serving as the Chief Executive of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

In her previous roles, Professor Dolan has successfully led large specialist tertiary hospitals in the UK, including as Chief Executive of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Deputy Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Professor Dolan is a highly respected clinical and research leader with an impressive track record in health care, having successfully led major organisational and cultural change in Victoria and the United Kingdom (UK).

Key capabilities include executive and non-executive leadership across national and international bodies, strategy development, delivering excellence in quality and performance, overseeing large capital schemes and innovative research projects that require engagement with a broad range of stakeholders.

Professor Shelley Dolan has a PhD in the early diagnosis of sepsis in cancer patients and a master’s degree in advanced practice nursing. She is a Professor (Enterprise) of the Melbourne School of Health Science at the University of Melbourne.

She is Chair of the Western & Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service, a Board member of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance, the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health, Melbourne Genomics and CRC Participant Director on the Board of Oncology One. In November 2022, the Minister for Health and Aged Care appointed Professor Dolan as a Member of the Cancer Australia Advisory Council.

[Source: thermh.org.au]

Kethly Fallon joined Royal Melbourne Hospital as Chief Nursing Officer in 2023, having been Chief Nursing Officer and Executive Director Nursing Services at Alfred Health. 

Kethly held various positions at Alfred Health from April 2010 to April 2023, including Executive Director of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer, as well as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Deputy Chief Nurse, with a focus on areas such as Partnering with Consumers, Population Health, Environmental Sustainability, and Nursing Quality.

Kethly also worked at Western Health from October 2002 to April 2009, taking on roles such as Clinical Service Director, Acting Executive Director of Nursing, and Director of Nursing at Sunshine Hospital. 

Kethly's educational background includes a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business and multiple bachelor's degrees, including qualifications in Nursing Management, Cancer and Palliative Care, and Applied Science - Nursing. 

[Sources: thermh.org.au, theorg.com

Cindy Barry has been the CEO of AOTDTA, which is referred to as the Organ & Tissue Authority (OTA), since 2017, is a member of the Chief Executive Women (CEW) group and President of the South Canberra Netball Association. 

Cindy always knew she wanted to be a nurse so moved from Dimboola in country Victoria to train at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Following her graduation in 1990 - where she was voted “most likely to be a Matron” by her class! - Cindy quickly discovered her passion for emergency and trauma nursing which gave her the drive to work in a variety of innovative and influential jobs. 

After moving to Canberra, she achieved a major career goal as Director of Nursing in 2002 at the National Capital Private Hospital but then her career took a new path when she became the Senior Health Advisor to the Prime Minister – the first nurse in Australian history in that role.  

In 2017, Cindy left the Prime Minister’s office to take up her dream job as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, a leading organ donation program.   Under her leadership, the OTA has been ranked first among 100 government agencies for employee engagement, innovation, and well-being and she is recognised as international expert on donation systems. 

Cindy was seconded in 2021 to lead the Prime Minister’s Department Health Taskforce in the initial response to the COVID outbreak in Australia as the Executive Coordinator. Cindy’s hard work and dedication during this time and for her whole career was recognised in 2024 when she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to health in executive roles and medicine. 

Cindy, or Sister Barry as she is still known by friends, has travelled far from her training days at the Royal Melbourne Hospital but remains a proud RMH nurse who is dedicated to the lifelong friendships created during this time and to her true calling of making a difference in people’s lives.

[Sources: donatelife.org.au, LinkedIn] 

Yvonne Chaperon is a registered nurse and lawyer with a distinguished career spanning health, law, and industrial advocacy. She began her nursing training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1989 and, after returning to Tasmania, completed a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Tasmania in 1997.

Yvonne has practiced law in both Tasmania and Victoria, representing health professionals in a range of jurisdictions, while continuing to work clinically as an emergency nurse. She spent over a decade in senior leadership roles with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, advocating for nurses and midwives at state and federal levels.

In 2014, Yvonne was appointed President of the Tasmanian Mental Health Tribunal. She currently serves as a Senior Member of TASCAT, presiding over mental health and guardianship matters, and also sits as a Bench Justice in the after-hours Magistrates Court.

Yvonne is an active member of the ANMF (Tasmanian Branch), the Council of Australasian Tribunals, the Law Society of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Women’s Lawyers Association.

[Source: Yvonne Chaperon]

Susan Sherson, RN BA, retired from her position as a nurse educator and clinical ethicist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) in 2012. She taught in both undergraduate and postgraduate settings and to multidisciplinary audiences. Prior to this position she worked in a variety of nursing roles and clinical specialties, both at home and abroad. In 2013 she was nominated by the hospital and received the Anzac of the Year Award.

Her early interest in ethical issues related to clinical practice was deepened by her experiences as a member of the of the first Civilian Surgical Team sent from Australia to South Vietnam during the war in that country. She wrote of that year’s experiences (October 1964-October 1965) in Long Xuyen on the Mekong Delta, in House of Love – Life in a Vietnamese Hospital published at the end of 1966. It was the best-selling Australian book of that period and was also published overseas and translated in 25 countries.

In more recent years Susan has researched and written two short histories (including Always Your Voice Will Call about MGHS) and in 2005 a major historical work, Being There – Nursing at The Melbourne, Victoria’s First Hospital ,was published. Her most recent book A Daring Woman – The Story of Sister Jean Henderson MBE was released in 2017. She is currently working on the stories of 100 prominent nurses who graduated from The Royal Melbourne School of Nursing from 1890 to 1993.

Susan’s major work interests were in clinical ethics, nursing history and staff support. In 1993, as part of a Travelling Fellowship to look at the teaching of clinical ethics in healthcare institutions, she visited the UK, US and Europe. In the Netherlands she spent time with a surgeon-oncologist who practised euthanasia and was able to gain a valuable understanding of the practice in Holland.

Before she retired Susan was Chair of the Interdisciplinary Melbourne Health Clinical Ethics Committee and of the RMH Heritage Advisory Committee. She was also co-founder of the Melbourne Health Peer Support Program and one of its senior peers. She has also been part of numerous voluntary community projects in North Carlton, most notably as co-leader of ‘The Golden Oldies’, a senior citizens group that ran from 1984 to 2003. One of her proudest achievements was the convening of the MGHS History Group and overseeing the publication of The Making of Women, A History of Mac. Robertson Girls’ High School by Pauline Parker in 2006.

Since retiring Susan has remained closely involved with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and works as a community member on a number of committees including the Community Advisory Committee, two ethics committees and committees involved with end of life care. A recent research project which she has taken part in involved follow-up of the relatives of patients who died during the first Covid outbreak and lockdown. The findings of this project are soon to be presented at a conference in Sydney.

Note: For those not able to attend the lunch and hear her interviewed in person, please see the next section where Sue Sherson talks about her career as a nurse, her travels, and her experiences as a writer. 

[Source: macrobfoundation.com.au]