Recipient: Dr Shelley Dolan

About the award: This award is made from the Executive Board and marks an outstanding personal and professional contribution made by an individual to the field of Oncology Nursing. The award honours individuals who, during their working lifetime, acted an as inspirational leader and whose achievements contributed to EONS oroncology nursing.

Dr Shelley Dolan is an inspiring and transformational nurse leader and a pioneer of cancer nursing. Shelly qualified as a nurse in 1980 and specialised in ITU, and went on to develop her specialty to include specialist cancer ITU at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a leading specialist cancer hospital in London, UK.

Shelley developed, designed and opened the largest Critical Care Unit for cancer patients in the UK when she was a Nurse Consultant Critical Care, and set up the London Post-Doctoral Cancer Research Forum with Professor Alison Richardson. She was appointed to the role of Chief Nurse at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in June 2007.

For more than two decades Shelley has inspired countless nurses to strive for better care of people with cancer and their families. She is committed to excellence and patient-centred care and exudes an undying passion for her work that is infectious.

Her contribution and dedication to the development of cancer nursing practice spans local, national, European and international spheres. She was a Board Member of EONS and has contributed to EONS’ education initiatives. She holds a European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) Award of Merit for ITU Nursing (2002) and an EMBT Nursing Prize for European Haematology Nursing. Shelley is also a past Board Member of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) and has contributed to a number of International Masterclasses. She developed the first clinical leadership course for cancer nurses in South Africa.  Shelley was awarded the Serbian People’s Medal for Cancer Nursing (2006) and has facilitated cancer nursing development in numerous countries.

Shelley is playing a key part in transforming Cancer Services in London and the wider UK within the NHS.  

Shelley is redefining Robert Tiffany’s legacy.