I began nursing as an enrolled nurse via Melbourne School for Enrolled Nurses in 1989 and completed medication endorsement qualifications in 2008. The completion of this course opened up a whole new world and ultimately led to enrolment in a Bachelor of Nursing part-time at Charles Sturt university in 2009. I completed my Bachelor in 2012 with the final year at the University of South Australia, as their programme was more family friendly in relation to university face to face time. I thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate degree and was pleasantly surprised at my ability to juggle work, family and the demands of study. I have made life-long friends along the way, bonded by finally achieving our degrees and practicing as registered nurses.
I have been employed at Goulburn Valley Health for the past 23 years in a variety of fields, the last ten years within the emergency department including a rotation within the intensive care unit. I have always loved emergency nursing, initially as an enrolled nurse and now as an RN with an expanded scope of practice and have thrived on the ever changing acuity of the emergency patient. I am now a competent resus/triage RN having completed a number of certificate courses after graduation, including one in advanced life support, over the last four years.
Our hospital is currently undergoing major expansion in order to respond to the increasing population in our catchment area and the high acuity of current presentations. At the same time our youngest child is completing VCE enabling me to enrol in further study in my chosen field. I am passionate about emergency nursing and believe an emergency postgrad course will increase my pathophysiology knowledge and ultimately enhance the delivery of clinical care within our ED. I have actively sought management approval and support over the past six months for a number of staff within our department to complete this post graduate certificate as we believe it can only positively benefit our patients.