On Tuesday, 12 February 2019 we said congratulations to
- Madison Douglas
- Amelia Sturgess
- Olivia Magill
- Alex Kavenagh
- Ali Maw
- Kate Watts
- Jaide Kettle
These seven graduate nurses completed a 52 week Program providing unique challenges for them with 3 rotations through the following areas:
- Acute Ward
- Urgent Care Centre
- Community Nursing
- Peri-Operative Services
- Residential Aged Care
- Elective Week
In addition, we also congratulated
- Bec McLachlan who completed the Graduate Midwife Program of 2018
As well as Certificate III in Business trainees:
- Briannah Searle
- Charlotte Daniels
- Chelsea McLeod
Ali Maw spoke on behalf of the graduates.
“I would like to start by thanking Colac Area Health for the amazing opportunity to undertake in your graduate program – I think all of us grads agree that it has been an amazing start to our nursing career and we are all so grateful for the support the we received over the past 12 months. The organization as a whole has been so welcoming I felt that I was able to fit in as a valuable member of the team so well from the very beginning.
My favourite part of working for Colac Area Health was always feeling like part of a family. All the departments are so well connected, we all know each other and can work as a big team to achieve a common goal. As a graduate nurse I have to thank not only the other nurses who mentored me, but also the doctors, the HMOs, the pharmacists, educators, allied health, food services, porters, ward clerks, domestic staff and everyone else who works behind closed doors to ensure that the job gets done. I have to thank each and every one of you because I couldn’t have done it without you either – and none of us could do it alone.
My favourite part about being a nurse is that every single day is completely different and everyday I learn something new. In the past 12 months I have learnt more than I could have possibly imagined and I still feel like there is so much left to discover. Colac Area Health has given me the opportunity to learn foundations of nursing in so many varied medical specialties and I am excited at the possibilities of what I am still yet to know.
Of all the skills, knowledge and lessons I have learnt – there is one in particular that I hope even after many years as a nurse I never forget. Often as a nurse you can become so overwhelmed by all the clinical tasks you need to squeeze into what feels like such a short amount of time that you can forget that the smallest of things can make the biggest impact. Your patients generally don’t care how well you’re coping with 4 dischargers, 3 admissions, a post op and a code blue all in the same shift – but make them a decent cup of tea and you will be their favourite nurse for their whole stay. “People will forget what you said, and people will forget what you did, but people never forget that way that you made them feel”. They will remember the nurse that made them feel well in times of great illness, feel comfortable in times of great pain, feel listened to in times of great uncertainty and feel happy in times of great sorrow. These are the moments that make me proud to be a nurse and the moments that are above all else the most rewarding.
I am honored and feel extremely privileged to be apart of the Colac Area Health team. We are a small hospital but we really do achieve great things. In such a small and close knit community I wear my uniform with such pride because I know this little town is so grateful to have such a wonderful and collaborative healthcare service.
Finally, to end, I will reflect upon the start. As I remember my first days, I remember looking up to the ANUMs, looking up to the nurses who have worked for Colac Area Health for 5, 10, 20, 30 years and sometimes even more – and thinking – wow, I hope one day I can know as much as them. I hope that I can be a member of this fantastic little community we have at Colac Area Health for many years to come. I wonder, and I hope that one day the new rookie reds (grads) might look up at me and think – wow, I hope one day I can know as much as them.”
