I have grown up in a rural community and I always wanted to give back to this community. I am married to a dairy farmer, and we have 2 children and live on the family farm.  I have always lived in the Gippsland region near Maffra and experienced a wonderful rural upbringing and I want the same for my children. I am currently working within my local rural community in an aged care facility as an enrolled nurse. While in this role I care for the elderly, building a rapport with them and their families, communicating effectively, and I have the confidence to speak up and advocate for them if something was not right.

From my experience as an enrolled nurse, I decided I wanted to give more back to my community holistically and clinically so I decided to complete my Bachelor of Nursing degree. When I enrolled to undertake my Bachelor of Nursing degree at Federation University it was a daunting time, I did not know what to expect or how challenging this course would be for me. Being a mum of 2 young children, I knew that it would be difficult, but I was willing to give it a go to be able to upskill my profession.

Throughout my degree there was a number of placements that I had to complete, this gave me a better understanding of the different areas of the hospital, protocols to follow, and how to manage my time efficiently in a fast past environment. Over this time, I have learnt a lot about myself as a person but also where I want to pursue my career in the future which is to work at my local hospital (Central Gippsland Health) which services my local community and give the best possible care I can give as a nurse.

I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when I know I have helped someone achieve the best health outcome for their diagnosis or even just being there when they needed someone to listen to them.

I am now at the end of my degree, and I am proud to say that I have finished my Bachelor of nursing and have received a graduate year at Central Gippsland Health to be able to continue to learn and grow as a person and a nurse.

During the last year of my Bachelor of Nursing degree, I was lucky to be placed in different hospitals in my local area. My placement during the first semester was in the Emergency Department at Latrobe Regional Health Hospital, this allowed me to be able to continue to utilize my critical thinking skills, look at the patient with a holistic view, and ask more questions to get a better understanding of why the patient has come into the Emergency Department. I was also able to gain confidence in my clinical skills when caring for patients. I thoroughly enjoyed this placement as I found the turnover high, every case was different, and I was able to liaise with my preceptor and other disciplinary team members.

The second placement in the first semester was in the Critical Care Unit at Central Gippsland Health Hospital, I found this very interesting because I could focus my time and skills on the three patients both my preceptor and I were allocated. These patients were critically unwell and needed close monitoring, even on ventilators.

In the second semester, there was an opportunity to be able to apply for a placement overseas, to study abroad, this was something that I thought it could be a possibility for me to undertake.  Once I got approval from my supportive family to apply, I did so, after the application was taken there was an interview process to see if I was suited for the placement. I was lucky enough to get accepted with 15 other students. The placement occurred in Nepal at the Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital which was in a little town called Banepa.

The placement at Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital consisted of ten days where I was rotated through different wards of the hospital. I started off in obstetrics where I got to witness many births and a few caesareans, being in the room with these women giving birth really sparked my interest to my career path and potentially where I want it to head after my graduation year. I also did a rotation in theatre where all staff were welcoming and wanted to know about Australia and our studies, they gave us every opportunity to be in the theatre rooms where they were performing surgery and being a third-world country. I noticed that some procedures were completed differently but the outcome for the patient was the same. The surgeons explained every step that they were doing and were happy to answer any questions I had about the procedure. Another rotation that really sparked my interest was in the Emergency Department. It opened my eyes to see how different the equipment was compared to what we are so privileged to have in Australia. I also noticed while I was in the emergency department that for someone’s family member being so unwell it would take them a while before bringing them into the department, they would wait a longer amount of time before getting help whereas people in Australia would get help straight away and not leave it until the last minute to seek assistance. While in the ward I was able to assist the doctor and other nurses to give CPR to a patient and be able to bring him back to life, this was the first time completing this task on a human and felt like I was able to help get a better outcome for someone’s family member.

Overall, the placements that I undertook throughout my last year of the bachelor of nursing degree really cemented my path in wanting to help my community through the healthcare system and stay in my local community and they gave me good insights to be able to get through my graduation year in different areas of Central Gippsland Health Hospital.

My first rotation to start my graduation year at Central Gippsland Health is in the surgical ward.  In the first couple of weeks, I was able to find my feet, know where objects are kept around the ward, and be able to concentrate on my time management skills as now I have a patient load.

In my 3 months on the surgical ward, I have cared for many patients, under both the surgical and medical teams. During this time, I have learned so many different procedures but also have gained knowledge and have been able to continue to improve the skills I already had.

The patients that I have mostly cared for who have been under the surgical team have been orthopedics, both knee and hip replacements. These patients require pre and post-operation vital signs, pre-operating paperwork, making sure that the patient is ready for theatre, and taking the patients around to theatre for handover to the nurses in theatre. The patients that I have cared for under the medical team have been those who have had falls at home, diverticulitis, and generally unwell patients.

I have thoroughly enjoyed expanding my scope of practice by looking after many different patients. I have completed my PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) and cannula modules through the hospital which means now I can care holistically for a patient with a PICC line, I can access these to be able to give the patient full care. A PICC line is a long thin piece of plastic tubing that is inserted through a vein and sits next to the heart, these are for long-term use; these are used for chemotherapy, medication, and other IV medication. I can also place cannulas in patients so I can give IV (intravenous) therapy or medication.

Throughout my time on the surgical ward, I was able to improve different skills like taking blood for pathology, ECGs, IV administration, gaining more knowledge and understanding about the different medications I administer to patients, and knowing what is out of the normal for a patient, and being able to build rapport with patients and their families.

I have also enjoyed working within the surgical team as every nurse that I talk to has been extremely welcoming and any questions about any procedures that I am not confident in and unsure of, they are more than happy to help me out and answer the questions I may have, even take time out of their schedule to show me how to do the procedure. This has given me the confidence to continue to ask questions when I am unsure and that every question is relevant.