A new era of Nursing leadership
16 February 2026
Peter Mac’s new nursing leadership model is creating closer connections and strengthening support for all nurses. Meet Deputy Directors of Nursing Jenny Marcen, Yvonne Panek-Hudson, and Kyra Chapman.
Chief Nursing Officer, Associate Professor Andy Dimech, describes the change with enthusiasm, “Jenny, Yvonne, and Kyra’s strengths and different specialist experience complement each other perfectly.”
“Their experience reflects the incredible range of opportunities in cancer nursing,” he says, “meaning they genuinely understand the needs and goals of all Peter Mac nurses.”
Jenny’s career began in intensive care. She then moved into nurse workforce management, followed by a return to her passion – the clinical environment – as a Nurse Unit Manager within Peter Mac’s Cancer Imaging department.
Her role encompasses Ambulatory Services, including Radiotherapy and Cancer Imaging, and the Vascular Access Specialist Team. Her goal is to build strong interdepartmental relationships and strengthen the role of nursing across Ambulatory Services.
Ambulatory clinical areas play a crucial role in a patient’s experience, and many patients will move through more than one of these areas in a single day,” Jenny said. “Across all ambulatory settings, nurses are central to coordinating care - managing patients, working with teams, and ensuring the delivery of expert, compassionate care.”
A cancer nurse for 35 years, Yvonne has experience in inpatient care, specialist nursing, and advanced practice, including 16 years as a Nurse Practitioner in Haematology.
Yvonne's role is focused on the strategic development of advanced practice models in nursing. Her role ensures nurses can build expertise, and progress in their careers through innovative models of care.
“Specialist nurses are fundamental in all aspects of cancer care,” Yvonne says. “We want nurses to have clear pathways to develop professionally, and in alignment with the needs of people with cancer.”
Kyra began her career at Peter Mac 20 years ago, as a graduate nurse. Reflecting on her early career move into management she says, “I found real love in leadership and supporting nurses, and I really wanting to elevate the role of the nurse.”
Overseeing Inpatient and Surgical Services, Kyra is focused on strengthening nursing leadership, and supporting nurses who work in complex, fast-moving environments.
Despite their varied focuses, the DDONs work as a team, and have built significant momentum in just a few months. In February they will launch quarterly all nurse forums to better connect nursing teams. They will then support the implementation of Peter Mac’s first Nursing Strategy, set to be released in May.
Visibility is central to their approach. All three DDONs can be spotted in clinical spaces several times each day. They want all nurses to feel confident to approach them with ideas, concerns, or questions.
Yvonne explains they are also prioritising research. “Nurses bring unique perspectives and ideas to cancer research,” she says, “When nurses are involved, research is richer, and more closely connected to real patient experience.”
Overall, the DDON model recognises the complexity of cancer nursing, and aims to ensure nurses feel supported in their many endeavours.
It is clear these exceptional nurse leaders share a simple motivation: they want excellent care for patients, and they want nurses to feel fulfilled in their work.