Grants & Financial Assistance

In order for a member of the NSW OTA to be eligible to receive a Grant from the NSW OTA, they must fulfil the following criteria:

• Are currently a full member of the NSW OTA (Only full members are eligible for grants)

• Have been a full financial member of the NSW OTA for at least two consecutive years

Other criteria may apply to other grants.

EVELYN COWELL, MBE
1915 - 2005

Evelyn Cowell was born on 28 December 1915 at Stuart Town, NSW. She completed her general nursing training at Bathurst District Hospital and her midwifery training at Crown Street, Sydney. In 1942 Evelyn enlisted in the AIF ands was posted to the 103rd Australian General Hospital, Baulkham Hills in an orthopaedic unit.

Lieutenant Cowell saw active service in Papua New Guinea in mid 1943 with the Australian Army nursing service and spent ten months under canvas near Port Moresby nursing wounded and sick soldiers in atrocious conditions. Evelyn can thank sea sickness for delaying her deployment on the ill fated hospital ship, Centaur which was sunk in May 1943.

Following her stint in PNG she joined the operating theatre at Concord Hospital and at the conclusion of WW2 she became a Captain, in charge of the theatres. In 1947 she became the first peacetime manager when the hospital was handed over to the Repatriation Commission. In 1952 Evelyn was seconded to the Hammersmith Hospital, London where she stayed for a year. She retired from Concord Hospital in 1981 after 37 years continuous service.

Evelyn was a founding member of the NSW OTA in 1957 and served as president in the 1960’s. She remained a proud and committed member rarely missing an annual conference. She became a Life member of the NSW OTA in 1974. Evelyn was also a longstanding member of the Returned Nursing Sisters Sub-Branch of the RSL and was a regular attendee at the ANZAC Day march.

Her commitment to perioperative nursing as a manager and gifted teacher were recognized with MBE in 1971. Following Evelyn Cowell’s death in 2005 the NSW OTA Executive, in consultation with Evelyn’s family, decided that the Grant would be a fitting way to remember a remarkable life.

Categories:

State/interstate conferences:

Funding is provided to assist with return economy airfare and conference registration fees.

Closing dates

Completed application must reach the Honorary Secretary two (2) months prior to the conference.

International conferences:

Funding is provided to assist with return economy airfare and conference registration fees.

Closing dates

Completed application must reach the Honorary Secretary two (2) months prior to the conference.

Please note that grants are dependent on available funding and number of applications received and may take up to a month to process.

Eligibility Criteria

In order for a member of the NSW OTA to be eligible to receive the Evelyn Cowell Grant from the OTA you must fulfill the following criteria:

be currently a full member of the NSW OTA (Full members only are eligible for Grants)
be currently a member of the Australian Defence Force
have been a full financial member of the NSW OTA for at least two consecutive years

Are a current member of the NSW OTA and have been a full member of another State perioperative group(s), both memberships totalling a minimum of two consecutive years.
A regular attendee at and / or active member of General / Zone or Special Interest group meetings.
Have not received a Conference / Seminar Grant from the OTA or ACORN within the two years preceding the current grant application
Agree to submit a written report of the conference which may be published.

Submission of Grant Application

Only completed applications received by the closing date will be considered.
Completed applications from Zones must first be submitted to the appropriate Zone Executive for endorsement.
Once endorsed, the application is forwarded to the Honorary Secretary for consideration at the first Executive meeting following the closing date.
Contact details of your Commanding Officer

Following Conference Attendance

Reports must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary within three months of the Conference / Seminar.
Failure to submit a report will result in the NSW OTA seeking the return of the education grant monies and refusing future education grant applications from the individual concerned.
Reports should be approximately 1000 words.
Reports should be submitted in a format of a standard suitable for publishing in the ACORN journal or Suite Talk; however, publication of the report will be at the discretion of the Editor.
An electronic version of the report in Word format should be provided together with a hard copy.

COMPLETE ONLINE APPLICATION DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM

Humanitarian Work Grant

Definition of humanitarian work:

“When a person is devoted to promoting the welfare of humanity, especially through the elimination of pain and suffering, usually in a voluntary capacity.”

The purpose of the Guidelines on Sponsorship of Members Engaged in Humanitarian Works is to provide the NSW OTA Executive with criteria to evaluate sponsorship applications.

The Guidelines on Sponsorship of Members Engaged in Humanitarian Works applies to applications by NSW OTA members seeking sponsorship from NSW OTA for support in undertaking humanitarian works either alone or as part of a not-for-profit organisation.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• Applicant/s must have been full financial member/s of the NSW OTA for at least two consecutive years.

• Only completed applications will be considered

• Applications must be in writing stating the focus/scope of the humanitarian work. The member/s must state if they are undertaking the work alone or as part of a not-for-profit group/organisation.

• The applicant must provide proof of role/involvement in the humanitarian work.

• The applicant must provide information regarding other sponsorship applications and/or fund raising activities undertaken/planned.

• Applications must be received no later than 3 months prior to the date of the commencement of the work to be undertaken.

• Applicants must have the written support of another financial member of the NSW OTA.

• Once endorsed, the application is forwarded to the Honorary Secretary for consideration at the first NSW OTA Inc. Executive meeting following receipt of the application.

• Applicants will be notified in writing of the result of their application.

• The applicant may not apply for any further financial support for a 2year period following successful application.

SUBMISSION OF REPORT FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF HUMANITARIAN WORK

• The applicant/s must agree to present a report to the NSW OTA regarding the work supported by the sponsorship.

• Reports must be submitted to the NSW OTA Honorary Secretary within three months of the completion of the humanitarian work.

• Failure to submit a report will result in the NSW OTA seeking the return of the humanitarian grant monies and future education grant applications will not be considered.

• Should be approximately 1000 words in length.

• Reports will be submitted in electronic and hard copy formats (see ACORN guidelines for publication) in the ACORN Journal or Suite Talk Publication of the report will be at the discretion of the Editor.

• This report may form the basis of a presentation at the NSW OTA Inc. Annual Conference/ Professional day/s and/or may be published in the ACORN Journal, Suite Talk and/or the NSW OTA Inc. website.

Download the form here: Humanitarian Work Grant Form

Research Grant

The NSW OTA is pleased to offer Research Grants designed to provide financial assistance to NSW OTA members who are conducting research in the area of perioperative nursing.

Research Grants will be awarded to a maximum value of $10,000 made in two separate payments.

GUIDELINES

• Research grants applications may be submitted at any time during the year, but must be received by the NSW OTA at least 3 months prior to commencement of the research project.

• Recipients are required to submit a progress report at six month intervals during the research period and a final report at the conclusion of this period outlining how the grant funds were used.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• The application must be an active member of the research team and a practicing perioperative nurse who has been a full financial member of the NSW OTA for at least two consecutive years.

• Have not received a Research Grant from the OTA or ACORN within the two years preceding the current grant application.

• Submission of Research Grant Application

• An application form must accompany supporting documentation.

• A copy of your Curriculum Vitae or professional portfolio should be included.

• Proof of NSW OTA membership by the applicant.

• Title and summary of research proposal.

• Ethics approval by relevant Ethics Committee as applicable.
A copy of Ethics Committee approval or relevant consent documentation should be submitted.

• Estimation of funds required, including breakdown of costs.

• Expected time frame for the completion of the research and a funding schedule.

• Within 3 months of completion of the research paper present a written report for possible publication in the ACORN Journal. Reports should be submitted in a format and of a standard suitable for publishing in ACORN (see ACORN guidelines for publication). However publication of the paper will be at the discretion of the editor.

• Apply to present a paper on the research project at the annual NSW OTA conference (this could be in the form of your research proposal, work in progress or report at completion of the research project).

• Acknowledge NSW OTA financial support in publications and at conferences.

• Failure to complete the research project or submit a report may result in the NSW OTA seeking the return of Research Grant funding and and future grant applications will not be considered.

DOWNLOAD FORM HERE: Research Grant Form