I want to be a rural nurse because I want my work to matter most to the people and place I call home – Sale and wider Gippsland community.  Sale has been my home for the past seven years.   It is where I completed all of my major clinical placements at Central Gippsland Health and it is where I want to build my nursing career.

Through my student placements, fellowship, and now moving into my graduate year with CGH, I have been able to care for local families, work alongside the teams here and understand the realities of delivering healthcare in a regional setting.   That experience has given me not only clinical learning but a genuine sense of belonging and accountability to this community.

Rural healthcare is not just about clinical skills; its about connection, compassion, and teamwork.  I enjoy working with a close-knit community where you actually know faces behind the diagnoses, understand people’s circumstances and context, and see how meaningful it is to provide safe and timely care to pole close to their home.   Because rural teams are smaller and resources can be limited, burses are required to practise with broader clinical skills, stronger assessment skills, early escalation, and close interdisciplinary collaboration.   This is the kind of nursing I want to do, work that challenges me clinically, motivates me to learn and grow in my profession, builds my confidence and adaptability, and still keeps me connected to people, jut just tasks.

I have witnessed the close relationships between patients and staff, and how every nurse plays an essential role in ensuring access to quality care.   That sense of purpose and community motivates me every day.  I want to continue growing within CGH and contribute to improving the health and well-being of the Gippsland community that has welcomed me so warmly.  Rural nursing also creates space for ongoing education, advanced practice and leadership while staying local – which is important to me as a future Registered Nurse who values continuous growth and learning, and as a committed member of this community.

Most of all I see my future in Sale.  My goal is to contribute to improving rural health outcomes and promote the idea that people, no matter where they live, deserve quality, compassionate care.

My final placement in the Critical Care Unit was an important milestone in my journey as a student Registered Nurse. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding learning experiences of my training, testing my clinical judgement, and shaping my critical thinking, clinical skills, emotional resilience, and professional identity. This placement provided valuable insight into the complexity of caring for critically unwell patients, strengthened my ability to remain fully present during moments of uncertainty, deterioration, and loss, and reinforced my commitment to patient-centred care.

Every shift in the Critical Care Unit came with a great sense of responsibility. Many of the patients I cared for were unable to communicate or advocate for themselves, which reinforced the importance of vigilance, advocacy, and compassionate care. I learned that critical care nursing goes far beyond monitoring and interventions; it involves continuous assessment, constant anticipation of changes in patient condition, being present for patients and their families during their most vulnerable moments and ensuring patient safety and dignity.

One of the most significant learning experiences during my placement involved caring for a critically unwell patient with a severe gastrointestinal bleed, profoundly low haemoglobin levels, and hypotension requiring invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring. Under the guidance of my buddy nurse, I administered packed red blood cells to manage the patient’s acute anaemia. This experience strengthened my understanding of transfusion procedure, including safety checks and close monitoring for transfusion reactions. It also highlighted the importance of vigilance and attention to detail to ensure patient safety.

Alongside this, I actively participated in adjusting a noradrenaline infusion under the guidance of my preceptor, carefully titrating the medication according to real-time mean arterial blood pressure readings. This was key learning moment, as it strengthened my understanding of physiology, pharmacology, and clinical judgement, and showed how these areas work together in practice. I gained insight into the use of vasoactive medications, the importance of precise titration, vigilance, and clinical reasoning. It highlighted how careful adjustments can directly influence patient outcomes and the level of responsibility required in managing high-risk infusions.

Another key learning experience was caring for patients with chest pain requiring continuous heparin infusion. During my placement, I actively participated in obtaining and observing a PTT levels and adjusting the infusion rate accordingly as per protocol to maintain therapeutic anticoagulation while minimizing bleeding risk, under supervision. This hands-on experience strengthened my confidence in managing high-risk medications, highlighted the importance of meticulous documentation and deepened my understanding of the nurse’s role in caring for patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Caring for ventilated patient developed my understanding of airway management, sedation, and preventing complications like ventilator-associated pneumonia and pressure injuries. When a patient is sedated and ventilated, they rely completely on the healthcare team for comfort, dignity, and safety. I learned that every action, from repositioning and oral care to monitoring sedation and responding to alarms, makes difference. I was particularly impressed by how my preceptor spoke to the patient before performing any procedure, explaining what she was doing, and ensuring patient’s dignity was maintained, even though the patient was unconscious. This approach will stay with me forever, and I aim to practice the same level of respect and communication in my own nursing care.

I also cared for a post-hernia surgery patient whose oxygen saturation was very low and who required high-flow oxygen therapy. I gained experience in managing high-flow oxygen therapy, monitoring and documenting patient’s respiratory status, and supporting the gradual weaning off process as his pain was managed effectively with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). This experience highlighted how pain can directly affect respiratory function and reinforced the importance of assessing and managing pain to support overall recovery.

One of the most emotionally profound experiences of my placement was caring for a patient with worsening multiple sclerosis who was receiving palliative care and later passed away. Being present with this patient and family challenged me deeply, teaching me that nursing is not always about curing or saving lives. It is about preserving dignity, relieving suffering, and offering compassion. This experience strengthened my ability to provide empathetic care while also recognising the importance of self-care and engaging in reflective practice to process my emotions, building emotional resilience, and to be able to continually provide safe and compassionate care.

Throughout my placement, I developed stronger skills in recognising early signs of deterioration and escalating care promptly. Beyond clinical skills, this placement taught me invaluable non-clinical lessons. I learned how to communicate effectively under pressure and how to ask for guidance without hesitation. Observing senior nurses model leadership, mentorship, and calm professionalism during complex situations shaped my understanding of what it means to provide safe, competent, and compassionate care. On a personal level, this placement tested my emotional resilience. Some shifts were mentally and emotionally exhausting, particularly when caring for dying patient or witnessing sudden deterioration. Reflecting on these experiences and seeking support from colleagues helped me develop strategies to maintain my wellbeing.

Finally, reflecting on this placement, I see how much I have grown clinically, emotionally, and professionally. This experience increased my confidence while also reinforced the importance of humility and lifelong learning in nursing. Moving forward, I feel excited and motivated as I am about to embark on my professional journey as a graduate Registered Nurse, looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills I have gained throughout this and other placements during my graduate year.

My second graduate rotation in aged care has been a very different clinical experience from my first rotation in the Critical Care Unit. Moving from a high-acuity environment where patients often required immediate assessment, intervention and escalation, into aged care required me to adjust to a different pace and approach to nursing care. The transition required some time to adjust, particularly to become familiar with each resident’s baseline, individual routines and care needs.

Although clinical acuity in aged care was lower than what I experienced in CCU, the larger resident workload presented a different challenge. Managing multiple residents with different care needs required effective prioritisation, organisation and time management. Initially, managing medication, personal care, clinical assessments and documentation for multiple residents in the available time was challenging, and at times I required additional time after the shift to complete my documentation.

As the rotation has progressed, I have noticed improvements in my confidence, efficiency and familiarity with the aged care environment. I am becoming more familiar with the workflow and expectations and more efficient in organising my workload, anticipating resident’s needs, managing competing priorities, and incorporating documentation throughout the shift. This helped me manage a larger resident load more efficiently while still maintaining the quality of care and dignity of residents.

I have developed a greater understanding of the importance of knowing each resident, including their preferences, routines, level of independence, cognitive status, communication needs and personal goals. I have become more conscious of promoting choice and independence rather than simply completing the tasks for residents. This has reinforced my understanding that quality nursing care is not only about completing clinical tasks, but also about maintaining function and quality of life.

Recognising and responding to deterioration has remained an important area of development. I have become more confident in identifying subtle changes in residents’ physical and cognitive condition, including changes in mobility, appetite, behaviour, pain, skin integrity and general presentation. I have developed greater confidence in undertaking appropriate assessments, communicating concerns to the nurse in charge and escalating when required. This has strengthened my ability to apply clinical reasoning and make appropriate clinical decisions within my scope of practice.

Caring for residents with diverse cognitive and behavioural needs has strengthened my communication and therapeutic relationship skills. I have learned to adapt my approach to each resident, using patience, reassurance and consistency. I have also become more aware that changes in behaviour may indicate an underlying issue and should not automatically be attributed to a pre-existing condition. Recognising changes from resident’s usual baseline has also strengthened my clinical assessment and reasoning.

Throughout the rotation, I developed a greater understanding of the importance of skin integrity and pressure injury prevention, including the role of implementing regular skin assessment, repositioning, mobility, and adequate nutrition and hydration. I incorporated these preventive strategies into my practice to reduce the risk of pressure injuries and became more confident in identifying early changes in skin integrity. I also gained experience undertaking comprehensive wound and skin assessments, implementing appropriate interventions, maintaining aseptic technique, selecting appropriate dressings, documenting findings and evaluating progress to prevent complications.

Falls prevention is another area where I developed a greater understanding of preventative nursing care, I learned to consider factors such as mobility status and changes, cognition, medications, environmental risks and the resident’s individual level of function. I have gained a greater appreciation of balancing safety with independence and implementing strategies that allows residents to remain as independent and active as possible.

Overall, my second Graduate rotation in aged care has been a valuable learning experience that has expanded my clinical experience and challenged me to adapt my clinical knowledge and skills to different care environment. I have strengthened my ability to manage competing priorities, recognise changes in residents’ condition, communicate concerns, build therapeutic relationships, and develop my skills in wound management and falls prevention. I have also developed greater confidence and efficiency in managing larger resident workload while ensuring safety, independence and quality of life of residents. As I continue through the remainder of this rotation, I aim to build on these skills, and further develop my clinical reasoning and confidence, and carry these experiences forward into the next stage of my graduate year and my ongoing practice as Registered Nurse.