Dedicated nurses tell their stories
May 12 is International Nurses Day, an opportunity to reflect on the selfless care nurses provide. Taranaki DHB’s nursing workforce of 748 works across many different hospital and community settings, sharing some of the best and most difficult moments of a person’s life. Here are four stories from some of our nurses in the region.
After leaving school I got a job at a local pharmacy where I learnt basic pharmacology, how to work with patients to manage their conditions and healthcare. I enjoyed my job but felt I could make a greater difference improving people’s health.
I’d thought about becoming a nurse but knew it required tertiary education. No one in my whanau had attended university. It was something other people did. I didn’t think I had the academic ability. A pharmacist believed in me and told me I could do it.
So, despite my self-doubts, I enrolled into nursing and embarked on years of hard work and perseverance.
I received a solid grounding in my graduate years at Palmerston North Hospital and after completing my post-graduate diploma I moved to Western Australia.
That was a culture-shock but helped me become stronger and more resilient.
Job opportunities brought my fiance´ and I to Taranaki. After working as a resource nurse at Taranaki DHB a duty manager job came up. I didn’t think I had the ability to be a manager but Anne Richardson encouraged me to go for it that I gave it a shot. I’ve now been a duty manager for three years and haven’t looked back.
I’ve continued to study and will complete my Masters of Nursing in June.
Looking back over my 26 years of nursing I can say without a doubt that I was born to be a nurse. It hasn’t been just a career but a vocation.
Nursing has changed drastically over the decades but the fundamental role of being a nurse remains unchanged. Nurses still need to have friendliness, a caring attitude, a willingness to advocate for others. They also need to be teachers for clients, their whanau, nursing students, new graduates and colleagues alike.
My journey started with graduating at Taranaki Polytechnic with a Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing and 18 months as a Charge Night Nurse in a Rest Home. This was followed by 10 amazing years in Wanganui Hospital gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience in Surgical, Medical and Orthopaedics. This held me in good stead for where I am today, in the Surgical Outpatients Department. I’m privileged and honoured to work alongside an amazing, cohesive team of nurses where we nurse in an incredible array of specialties that are interesting, diverse and extremely busy!
Since moving into the area of Women’s Health – Gynaecology and Colposcopy four years ago as Lead Colposcopy Nurse, my nursing has become even more of a passion.
Nursing for me will always remain a privilege and an honour.
Joining the Taranaki DHB Nurse Entry to Practice programme meant I was given the opportunity to move from Wellington to New Plymouth to work at Taranaki Base Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. I knew that moving away from home to complete my Nurse Entry to Practice year would challenge me in many ways, not just from moving away from home for the first time but also starting my first ever nursing job.
I’m learning that sometimes I have to step out of my comfort zone (I can’t live with my parents forever!) and become more resilient, which I believe is an important attribute in a nurse. As nurses we need to be prepared for stressful situations, to advocate for patients, and to ensure continuity of care no matter the workload at hand.
The Taranaki Base Hospital ICU team have been very welcoming. They’ve provided me with as many learning opportunities as possible and are always willing to support me by happily answering my questions. This caring environment has enabled my transition into the registered nurse role to be smooth and stress-free.
It has been great being able to put what I’ve learnt throughout my student nursing days into clinical practice. I am a newly registered nurse who was lucky enough to be one of the new graduates who secured a spot on Taranaki DHB’s Nurse Entry To Practice (NETP) programme and be placed in my preferred placement at Ha¯ wera Hospital. That was perfect for me because of my passion for working in rural healthcare and the range of challenges not seen in bigger more urban areas.
The role of a nurse in that environment encompassed that of a nurturer, carer, advocate, teacher, student, and many others. As a new graduate nurse it was a challenge learning to balance these varied aspects of nursing, all the while learning where I fit within the team environment. Luckily, my colleagues at Ha¯wera Hospital have been very supportive.
I know that the journey ahead of me will not be easy, there will be days, situations or patients that will challenge me but I am proud to call myself a registered nurse.