On International Nurses’ Day, May 12, Bass Coast Health (BCH) celebrated its kind, caring and skilled nurses who care for the community.

The event, celebrated annually, serves as a tribute to these unsung heroes who touch our lives with their compassionate care.

The BCH nursing team is dedicated, diverse and the backbone of the health service, looking after patients in its care. BCH CEO Jan Child knows how incredibly hard nurses work and how special they are, having started her career as a registered nurse.

“Nurses work tirelessly to care for people when they are at their most vulnerable, so it’s a career that requires compassion and a real love for people, as well as a broad range of skills given the many services and levels of care nurses provide,” she said.

“Nurses choose this career because they genuinely wish to help people; not only the patients in their care but also patients’ family and friends, and that takes an incredible amount of empathy.”

While nursing brings challenging times, nurses often finish their shift feeling proud that they’ve made a difference.

“Nurses are there for anxious patients awaiting prognosis, for when patients emerge from surgery that may change their lives and when new mothers give birth to their first baby,” Ms Child said.

“Nursing is such a unique and remarkable career journey to follow, and we know how special our nurses are. On International Nurses’ Day, we invite everyone to say ‘thanks’ to those who care for you.”

Acute care

Cassie Anagnostou, a registered nurse on the Kodowlinun Acute Ward, undertook her Graduate Year with BCH, where she worked on the Haemodialysis Ward and Acute Ward.

“I like being a nurse because it is a career that feels very meaningful knowing that I could have an impact on the lives of others,” she said.

“In addition, nursing enables numerous career paths. At Bass Coast Health I have had the opportunity to transition into different areas of nursing. There is a lot of support and encouragement to follow whatever field of nursing interests you. Not to mention the lovely new building that we all get to work in.”

Janet Lovett is an Associate Nurse Unit Manager in the Sub-Acute Ward at Armitage House, Wonthaggi, helping patients to recover from illness and injury, and also providing palliative care.

“I like being a nurse because I love caring for patients and their families, and BCH is such a caring, positive team environment,” she said.

Carolyn Milnes is an endorsed enrolled nurse at Griffiths Point Lodge at San Remo, looking after aged care residents. “Nursing is the ‘caring, nurturing feeling’ inside that no-one can take away from you,” she said.

“The nursing of our elderly residents is a privilege. It’s tinged with care, love, laughter and sometimes tears.”

Cardiac and dialysis

Cardiac Clinical nurse consultant Karen Billman helps patients to enhance their cardiac health.

“I get a lot of satisfaction in making a positive change to people’s lives and teaching people how to be as healthy as possible,” she said.

“Bass Coast Health has a great community feel and all of my colleagues are happy and friendly. It is a great place to work.”

Registered Nurse Jenni McPhee has worked as a dialysis nurse for more than 20 years.

“Working in dialysis means I see our patients on a regular basis and therefore get to know them well and feel very privileged to be able to care for them,” she said.

“I have been lucky enough to meet and work with many nurses from a wide variety of different cultural backgrounds and some are now very dear friends. I have only worked at BCH for six months but have found it to be a wonderful experience with both the staff and patients making me feel very welcome.”

Training

Undergraduate Coordinator Gabby O’Connor loves being able to help people on their worst and best days, and guiding students to be the best health professional they can be.

“BCH has given me an amazing opportunity to achieve this and aid in the development of staff/students, encouraging them to focus not just on the task at hand, but also taking a person-centred approach during their care,” she said.

Clinical nurse educator Liam Kennedy enjoys nursing because he loves working with people.

“I love meeting and speaking with our consumers, and being able to provide high quality nursing care to make their hospital journey a positive one,” he said.

“My passion is in education, which I am very fortunate to work as part of our amazing Learning and Development team. BCH has such a friendly and welcoming culture. I really enjoy working as part of our close-knit team at BCH.”

Heart of care

Registered Nurse Hayley Weaver works in the Integrated Care Unit at Wonthaggi Hospital.

“I enjoy the diversity of patients and how we can make a positive impact on their illness journey. It’s a rewarding role,” she said.

Enrolled nurse at Kirrak House, Naomi Johnston, said nurses “are the heart of Bass Coast Health”.

“They empathise, encourage and offer emotional support, all while displaying the gentle art of healing. I love working at BCH working with such an inclusive team of nurses – angels in disguise,” she said.

Hospital in the Home nurse Laura Marshall enjoys working in “a great multidisciplinary team of BCH staff”.

“I enjoy being able to nurse members of our community to ensure they feel supported, safe and cared for while being able to receive treatment and get better in their own home,” she said.

Dick Pendlebury is a client of the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Group run by our Clinical Nurse Consultants, including Karen, at Wonthaggi YMCA.

“The nurses help me immensely with getting my muscle strength back and improving my energy levels, and they’re all great people too,” he said.

Students

BCH hosts student nurses on placement, including Karley Bentley, Emma Evans and Kiera King from Federation University Australia, of which BCH is an accredited campus. It offers students practical training to save students having to travel to university, making a nursing career more accessible.

Karley is undertaking her placement on  the Acute Ward. “I’ve been following a buddy nurse, and doing medications and observations. It’s lovely and welcoming here. I’ve been learning lots. The nurses are helping me put into place what I’ve been learning at uni.”

Emma is a Bass Coast resident, doing an acute ward placement. “It’s been great being able to do my placements locally. My last placement was a three-hour round trip. I just like helping, so that’s why I’m nursing. I’m hoping to do my graduate year here.”

Kiera King has been doing her placement on the sub-acute ward. “It’s so good being able to do my placement locally. It’s very flexible so I can do other things in my life and not have to drive a long way,” she said.

Extraordinary care

BCH Executive Director of Acute Clinical Service, Chief Nurse Chris Henderson acknowledges the extraordinary efforts and contributions made by members of the nursing profession over the past few years.

“Our nurses have gone above and beyond to provide high quality care to the members of our community, often in very challenging conditions. Our nurses continue to work extra hours to ensure their colleagues have safe working conditions and good care can be provided,” she said.

“It is vital that we look after our nurses, the same way they step up and look after our patients, and empowering, supporting and growing our workforce is a key priority to ensure our nurses can continue to succeed and feel valued for years to come.

“Every day our nurses care, support and make a difference to individuals, families and communities. For that we say a huge ‘thank you’.”

If you would like to work as a nurse with BCH, please email hr@basscoasthealth.org.au.

You can see current vacancies on the BCH recruitment website: basscoasthealth.mercury.com.au