I grew up on a farm in a small regional town called Gundagai and moved to the Snowy Mountains when I was 10.   From there, I completed my secondary education at Monaro High School and received my higher school certificate.   I have just completed the final year of my degree of Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Wollongong Bega campus.

Nursing to me, is the start of a chapter of many more to come.   I see nursing as a challenging but rewarding career that is forever changing and adapting.   I am engaged in the endless number of opportunities it will open for me.  My end goal is to work in a rural hospital within the Emergency Department as a Registered Nurse with the opportunity to transition to a nurse practitioner role and travel to rural and remote Australia.

Throughout my nursing degree, I have had the opportunity to attend workplace experience and many regional hospitals.   From my workplace experiences I have been able to work within many different hospitals and with many other healthcare professionals.   For 2024, I have been lucky enough to have been offered a new graduate position at South East Regional Hospital within Bega; this opportunity will open numerous future career experiences and prospects.   I look forward to grow my knowledge and skill sets to help prepare me for my future as a rural registered nurse.

During 2023 I was fortunate enough to have two critical care placements through my university at South east Regional Hospital ( my current workplace for new grad).

ICU / HDU

My first placement in late March/ early April was in the intensive care/ high dependence unit at SERH.

During the 4 weeks I was here I was given countless opportunities to practice and perform specialised skills learnt in university within a controlled environment.  This placement aided  in developing my  focused assessment skills for clinically ill patients. I got the opportunity to work with skilled experienced nurses with some mentoring throughout my placement and final year of university. this environment was open to me as a student asking any questions I may have had and if the nurse was unsure, spending the time to find the answer either through searching the intranet to find policies/procedures or discussing with other nurses or doctors.

ED

My final placement of 5 weeks in August and September was in the emergency department at SERH.

This placement was the best placement for my study as it allowed me to work autonomously and build upon the basic skills I had already learnt throughout my nursing course.

From my first day, I had a patient load meaning a I was entirely responsible for my patients care needs with the supervision of the registered nurse I was paired with. At first, this was confronting and I doubted my ability but through doing it I learnt how to be proactive and built upon my time management skills.

I had endless opportunities on my placement and got to experience and see interesting procedures.

• Resuscitation of patients
• Bedside medical procedures -> chest drains
• Radiology
• Pathology
• Patient load
• Experience working with paediatric patients
• Recognising and looking after deteriorating patients

6 months down, 6 months to go!! Officially the halfway point.

I have spent the last 6 months on the medical floor at southeast regional hospital. In this time I have the opportunity to see and do the following:

• I got certified to undertake venepuncture and put in cannulas. This is a skill I have been interested in since doing my work experience in year 10. Learning and getting certified in this skill has allowed me to become more independent within my practice while also being more self-sufficient.
• Having rapid responses to some of my patients has allowed me to work closely with other health professionals and see how critically ill patients are managed in high pressure situations. From the middle of the day to the middle of the night the care is the exact same. By experiencing this it has also allowed me to utilise my critical thinking and be able to manage under high pressure situations.
• Within the medical ward I have had the opportunity to look after patients in their last days of life. For palliative care it is important to ensure that the patient is comfortable and that their symptoms are managed. A major aspect in palliative care is managing not only the patient but the family. This has allowed me to build upon my communication skills and to have difficult conversations.

As of the end of July I started my new 6-month rotation on the mental health inpatient unit at southeast regional hospital. And my first couple of weeks were incredible. Mental health is a completely different type of nursing compared to ward nursing, as it is more focused on the consumer rather than the condition.

Within the inpatient mental health environment, nurses work very closely with the physiatrists and doctors, in developing a plan which is in the best interest of the consumer. The legal aspect of mental health has also been a major learning stone understanding the mental health act 2007, and differences between a mental disorder vs Mentally ill patient.