20/10/2026
Today, the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia recognises Shaun Robertson and his remarkable contribution to emergency nursing, military health, and health service leadership.
Shaun's path into emergency nursing began in 2007, during his graduate year at Wyong Hospital, where he built the foundational skills that would carry him through his career, guided by mentors and senior staff who accelerated his early success. He served as a permanent Royal Australian Air Force nursing officer from 2006 to 2018, and continues today as a Specialist Reserve nursing officer, work that has taken him to austere locations around the world, including ships and in the air. Through ADF placements, he also worked in the EDs of Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and John Hunter Hospital.
Shaun is currently Nursing Director for Emergency Care Services at the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, overseeing the Gold Coast University Hospital ED, Robina ED, the Tugun Satellite Health Centre Minor Injuries and Illness Centre, and two QPS Watchhouses, leading a team caring for over 220,000 presentations a year. He worked his way through Registered Nurse, Clinical Nurse, Clinical Facilitator and Nurse Educator roles at Gold Coast University Hospital ED before stepping into his current position.
As Senior Emergency Nurse with 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron, Shaun deployed to Afghanistan, where he was embedded with the US Army as officer in charge of the NATO Emergency Department in Kabul and served as a nursing member of the trauma response team, an experience he counts as the highlight of his career amid the intensity of the trauma case mix and the multinational team he served alongside.
"Emergency nursing is incredibly diverse, and there are so many different roles within the emergency stream, but it is also a gateway to any nursing role. Emergency will accelerate and test you in a month in ways that other forms of nursing might do over an entire career. Embrace it, learn from it, reflect, and remember there is a team alongside and behind you wanting you to succeed."
Emergency nursing attracts a special kind of nurse, Shaun says, each bringing a unique skill or interest called on in the most wild and wonderful ways to achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Thank you, Shaun, for your leadership, service and lasting contribution to emergency nursing.
