Nursing Career

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All photos provided by Rochelle Lindsay

     ROCHELLE LINDSAY

“ED would be a bloodbath night after night.”

I’m a registered nurse working with aboriginal peoples in remote Australia.

When I had to fill in my university application, I wasn’t completely sure what I was going to do. I put down for both nursing and for a Bachelor of Arts. I was accepted to Griffith University Gold Coast for nursing and started uni in 1997. I have not looked back since.

I loved uni and did quite well. I chose to do my grad year at Longreach as both my grandparents lived in rural areas. I quite liked the idea of doing a rural placement. Little did I know that 17 years later I would still be out bush (despite promising my best friend to be back in a year!) Continue reading →

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     SHIKHA MONDAL

“From my heart, I care for the patients; I feel a deep need to help them.”

I work as a registered nurse at Epworth Hospital in Melbourne.

When I finished year twelve in Bangladesh, my family insisted that I go into nursing. It wasn’t my first choice at all. I wanted to be a university lecturer, an academic. In my country, if you’re a good student, you study engineering, or medicine. Usually nursing is for those who are not the best students, or students from poor socio-economic background in Bangladesh.

But my parents sent me to study nursing because they thought that as a nurse, I’d be guaranteed at least a government job, and so I’d always be able to work and survive. I applied for the biggest medical college in Bangladesh. I sat my entrance exam very successfully, and got a chance to study nursing with scholarship. Continue reading →

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     EDGAR TAN

“Sometimes you are the only person with them in their dying moments.”

I am a registered nurse specializing in aged care.

I was always interested in nursing and all things medical, so straight after high school I went to do a nursing course at the Institute of Technical Education of Singapore. Coming from an Asian background where nursing as a career can be frowned upon, especially for males, I was lucky to have a pretty supportive family.

I did a two-year certificate to become an enrolled nurse. Thereafter, I did around four months work in a public hospital before it was time for me to do the mandatory two year military service. Continue reading →

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      REBECCA LANIGAN

“I think as nurses, often we focus primarily on our jobs and patients, but it’s also important to spend time on ourselves, our self-development and career satisfaction.”

I am a Registered Nurse, working in a Level 1 Emergency and Trauma centre in Melbourne.

Prior to doing my VCE in Mildura, I went on a cultural exchange trip to Indonesia. I lived with a host family in Yogyakarta, going to school and sharing their lifestyle. The second time I visited, I actually ended up being a patient in their healthcare system. That was the first time I was in a hospital – home or overseas.

When comparing the lifestyle I experienced there to my own, I was especially struck by the difference in healthcare – not just the resources, but even in the basic access people have to knowledge and health education. Continue reading →

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     MAEVE BLAKE

“In ICU, you don’t get the luxury of feeling tired, running on autopilot.”

I’m a Division 1 nurse working at the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Although my mum was a nurse, it was never something I was interested in doing when I was young. After school, I got into hospitality, working in bars and restaurants. Having a dual Irish passport, I travelled to Ireland and lived there a few years, doing odd jobs – but mainly hospitality.

It was a lot of fun for a while, but eventually, I looked around me and thought ‘Do I really want to be a fifty-year old waitress, working nights and weekends? This is going to get old real quick’. So I came back to Australia. Continue reading →

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     RIYAD ALADASSI

“The worst thing was the ugly feeling of impotence. When you can’t save a life.”

I am an anaesthetic and recovery nurse at Epworth Private Hospital.

Born in Kuwait, I am a third generation Palestinian refugee. We came to Gaza when my father had an accident which left him a quadriplegic. So from early childhood, I became used to performing nursing tasks, looking after my dad. My dream then was to become a neurosurgeon and operate on my dad to heal him.

After school, I started seeking medical scholarships abroad, as there weren’t any  medical schools in Gaza. But my father expressed a desire that I stay by his side, and I obeyed, letting my dream go. Instead, I went to an American Baptist missionary school in Gaza to study nursing. Continue reading →

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     ZOE SABRI

“It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m keeping my patients at their prime, at home and independent.”

I am a registered nurse working for Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS).

My story starts when I was a little girl. I always had nursing in me: I used to make Mum get me doctor playsets and pretend to take care of my younger sister. As I went through school, I became interested in biology and how the human body works.

After school I first went to TAFE and I did an enrolled nurse course. This meant I could do most regular nursing tasks, but I was not a Registered Nurse, and had to work under the supervision from one. Continue reading →

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     EVELYN BLAKE

“They don’t see perioperative nursing as glamorous as maybe critical care, or midwifery.”

I’m a registered nurse, currently working as a Clinical Services Manager in a day surgery.

I went straight into nursing after high school in the 70’s. I thought it would be a job that I would enjoy – and I always have, actually. I did my general training in Dublin, at the Meade hospital, which is gone now.

As a general nurse, you’re looking after patients who are in hospital, in the wards: it’s general duties. From there you can specialize – you can go intensive care, midwifery, acute care, many other specializations. Continue reading →