Thanks to generous funding from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Arrow awarded three nurses a travel scholarship to attend the Blood Conference in Perth, Australia in October 2025.

Here is what the scholarship recipients had to say about the conference and their scholarships:

Brooke Grech

Brooke Grech is a Registered Nurse on the Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Ward (7B) at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Brooke was eager to attend the conference to expand her clinical knowledge, learn about emerging treatments and ultimately strengthen the care she provides to patients.

One presentation that stood out to Brooke was about the CAST study – a clinical research project that looks into how to prevent graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). The study tested a combination of two drugs – cyclophosphamide and cyclosporin – given as a prevention before GVHD develops. The study found that this approach can lead to better outcomes such as faster engraftment and less severe mucositis affecting the mouth and gut. The details of this study gave Brooke a deeper understanding of the current practices on the ward, and with better symptom management she hopes to contribute to an improvement in patient treatment experiences and quality of life.

Also of interest to Brooke were the discussions around psychosocial support for patients, particularly around the long term emotional impacts of transplantation. Brooke gained valuable strategies to better support patient’s emotional wellbeing and improve communication particularly during the transition from in hospital to outpatient care.

Overall, Brooke found that the conference “deepened my interest in haematology and bone marrow transplant and reinforced my commitment to ongoing learning”. She now feels more confident in supporting colleagues in adopting updated practices, and aims to integrate her learnings into practice which she knows will contribute to a “stronger more knowledgeable nursing team”.

Brooke and the BMT nursing team at Royal Melbourne Hospital

Katrina Debosz

Katrina Debosz, a CAR-T Nurse Practitioner from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, found the sessions, workshops and networking opportunities at the Blood Conference, helped her to gain practical insights to strengthen her care and management of CAR-T patients.

One key learning for Katrina was updated approaches to monitoring patients once they go home after their treatment. This included remote monitoring tools, clear escalation pathways and patient education tools. “This will improve my ability to identify complications early, deliver safer outpatient monitoring, and support patients to recover at home with clearer education and guidance,” Katrina said. And all of this will ultimately result in reduced pressure on hospital beds through safe early discharge and allow patients more time at home.

Katrina also learnt about effective telehealth and virtual ward models designed to support regional and rural patients, where care is shared between regional and metropolitan hospitals. These approaches aim to improve the inequity of access to care for regional patients. Katrina also took the opportunity whilst in Perth to visit Fiona Stanley Hospital which added to her learnings. There is a lot to learn from Western Australia about remote care given the vast geographical areas that they cover. “It was invaluable to compare my work to those in WA and see that we are all on the same page”.

This knowledge is particularly relevant to Katrina who is planning to work on a research project in 2026 on developing a shared care model for rural and regional clinicians post CAR-T. She is passionate about improving access and support for regional patients. The networking opportunities at the conference also helped Katrina strengthen collaborations with other CAR-T teams, enabling them to work together to solve problems and benchmark data across services.

Reflecting on the Arrow scholarship, she said, “Financially it was a godsend. It was an expensive trip made much easier. The scholarship removed a lot of stress.” Beyond the financial support, Katrina found the experience very rewarding “A massive thank you to Arrow. It makes such a difference to be able to experience a conference and network with colleagues to improve patient care.”

Katrina Debosz at Blood Conference 2025

Katrina Wragg

Katrina Wragg is a Cellular Therapies Clinical Nurse Consultant at Box Hill Hospital, Victoria.

She was grateful for the opportunity to attend Blood 2025 and deepen her knowledge in the quickly evolving area of cellular therapies. With a growing patient workload, staying current in emerging treatments and best practice, is a constant challenge. However, Katrina says, “staying up to date with advances in haematology and treatment pathways is essential to providing safe, evidence-based care and supporting patients through complex therapies”.

For Katrina, there were three main themes that she took away from the conference. The Nurses Symposium on regional and remote care in Western Australia highlighted the practical challenges faced by clinicians in delivering haematology services across vast geographical distances, and the innovative solutions that have been developed by nurses to ensure safe and coordinated care. This presentation resonated with Katrina and her experience at her own hospital, as they discussed limited local resources, complex patient logistics and the need for strong coordination of care by nurses.

A lightbulb moment for Katrina came during the presentations on Nurse Practitioners, and how their role is essential to improving a patient’s experience including access to timely care, continuity of care and streamlined pathways. This is particularly the case in the area of complex treatments like cellular therapies. Katrina was challenged to reconsider how they currently measure and communicate the impact of advanced practice nursing within their hospital, and how they can better represent the value of Nurse Practitioners to secure more roles like this within their service.

Finally, Katrina also learnt some practical approaches to improve her management of patients post CAR-T. These patients require intensive follow up, close monitoring and frequent support during their recovery. The strategies Katrina learnt will result in quicker assessment, clearer guidance and a more consistent follow up experience for patients.

All up, Katrina said “I’ve come away with clearer strategies and a stronger sense of direction in how I support patients”.

Katrina appreciates the investment in her personal growth sating “Thank you! Your support makes a genuine difference. I encourage Arrow to continue supporting these initiatives – your contribution has a real and lasting impact on both clinicians and our patients.”

Katrina Wragg at Blood Conference 2025