Mary Chiarella
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elizabeth Mary Chiarella AM (born 15 August 1952) is an Australian academic who specialises in issues relating to nursing, midwifery and the law. She is Professor Emerita at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, Australia and has been at the forefront of many regulatory changes to nursing practice and the nursing workforce and midwifery. These include the introduction of
nurse practitioners A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe ...
into Australia, the move from a state based to a national regulatory system and, for midwifery, the introduction of the world's first Doctor of Midwifery and the establishment of the framework for state funded home birth midwifery in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. She is a nurse and midwife, who specialised initially in anaesthetic nursing and later in palliative care.


Early life and career

Chiarella grew up as a farmer's daughter in Sutton, near
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
, in the North of England, the only daughter of Cyril and Marian Bullock. She attended Sutton St James Primary School and Macclesfield High School. She became interested in nursing by accident, because she wanted to do Voluntary Service Overseas and was advised she needed some skills. She commenced her training in 1970 at Macclesfield General Hospital. She transferred at the beginning of second year to the United Bristol Hospitals nurse training school. On graduation she worked in a medical ward in Bristol before transferring to the United Oxford Hospitals group in 1974 to undertake a graduate certificate in anaesthetic nursing at the Nuffield Department of Anaesthesia. She returned to Bristol to work as a senior staff nurse prior to moving to Australia at the beginning of 1976 to undertake midwifery at
Crown Street Women's Hospital Crown Street Women's Hospital (now-closed) was once the largest maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was located at 351 Crown Street (corner of Crown and Albion Streets), Surry Hills. The hospital was one of severa ...
in Sydney. She completed midwifery and went to work as the first anaesthetic sister at
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...
, before being invited to work in the school of nursing there, firstly as a clinical teacher and then as a sister tutor without diploma whilst undertaking her nurse tutor's diploma by correspondence through Armidale
College of Advanced Education The College of Advanced Education (CAE) was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) which offer t ...
. At that stage of her career she became politicised through the Operating Theatre Association of NSW, who were lobbying for supernumerary status for nursing students and greater recognition of the expertise of clinical nurses.


Middle years (UK)

Chiarella returned to the UK and worked as a sister tutor at the
Cumberland Infirmary Cumberland Infirmary is a hospital in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust. History The original Cumberland Infirmary is a Grade II* listed building which was designed by Richard ...
, Carlisle, Dudley and Stourbridge School of Nursing, at Fazakerley Hospital, part of South Sefton School of Nursing and later at
Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, as a lecturer, in the Department of Nursing in the Faculty of Medicine. The latter position was her introduction to degrees in nursing. During her time in Liverpool she read law part-time and undertook her Honours thesis, graduating from
Liverpool Polytechnic , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...
(now
John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This lat ...
) with LLB (Hons).


Later years (Australia)

Chiarella returned to Australia in 1988 and went to work initially at the
NSW College of Nursing The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is the peak professional body and voice for the nursing profession in Australia. ACN advocates, develops policy, and provides education to advance the status, recognition, and respect for nursing nationa ...
as a Senior Tutor. She then obtained a position teaching law for nurses in the Department of Legal Studies at the Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, which merged with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). She returned to the
NSW College of Nursing The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is the peak professional body and voice for the nursing profession in Australia. ACN advocates, develops policy, and provides education to advance the status, recognition, and respect for nursing nationa ...
as a Director and remained there for nine years, being involved in much policy and political lobbying at that time, including all stages of the NSW Nurse Practitioner project. She left to complete her PhD, prior to taking up a position as associate professor at UTS to introduce the Professional Doctorates in nursing and midwifery. She later became the first Professor of Nursing in Corrections Health and worked there until she was invited to become the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (CNMO) for
NSW Health The New South Wales Ministry of Health, branded NSW Health, is a ministerial department of the New South Wales Government. NSW Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Minister for Health, the Minister for Regional Health, an ...
. She resigned in 2004 to return to the UK. On her return to Australia she took up a professorial position at UTS funded by NSW Health to complete and oversee many of the projects she had introduced as CNMO. Following that position she moved to the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
in 2008 to an invited position where she worked until her retirement in 2020. During this time she was originally the chair of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council then the peak regulatory body for nurses and midwives in Australia. She resigned from that role in 2009 to become the NSW practitioner member on the newly established Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), where she served for the next six years, also serving as Chair of the Policy Committee for NMBA. She also served as one of the Federal Minister for Health's independent Board members on the Board of Health Workforce Australia (HWA) and was Chair of the Health Professions Standing Advisory Committee to HWA.


Publications

Chiarella is the co-author of 6 of the 9 editions of ''Law for Nurses and Midwives'' (originally Nursing and the Law) with Patricia Staunton. She is also author of ''The Legal and Professional Status of Nursing'' and ''Policy in End of Life Care''. She has co-authored two case books of disciplinary decisions, one with Amanda Adrian and one with Diana Keatinge. She is the author of 97 peer refereed journal articles and reports, and over 100 blogs, editorials and newspaper articles. She has given over 400 keynote and plenary addresses, both nationally and internationally and has spoken on radio and television over the years. Currently she is a regular panellist on The Drum for the ABC.


Personal life

Chiarella was married for 30 years to Laurie Chiarella, an Italian Australian architect, with whom she had 2 children - Ben and
Hugo Chiarella Hugo Chiarella is an Australian writer and actor best known for his work in musical theatre. Chiarella grew up in Sydney, Australia and trained in musical theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts. Writing DreamSong While at university at the ...
. Laurie died at age 60 in 2008 and she later married Martin Christie, a neurosurgeon, who died in 2014. She has four stepchildren from that marriage.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiarella, Mary Living people 1952 births English nurses Australian women nurses Australian nurses Members of the Order of Australia Academic staff of the University of Technology Sydney Academic staff of the University of Sydney University of New South Wales alumni