Nursing hero at Caboolture Nurse to The Ramsay Way - 2015 | 02 13 Ramsay doctor elected RANZCP President Professor Malcolm Hopwood, a Professor of Psychiatry with Ramsay Health Care at the University of Melbourne and Clinical Director, Professorial Psychiatry Unit at the Albert Road Clinic, has been elected President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry. Professor Hopwood officially began his term as President in May at the College’s Annual General Meeting in Brisbane. He takes over from Dr Murray Patton who has held the role for the past 2 years. Professor Hopwood has held a number of roles with the College, most recently as Victorian Branch Chair (2009–2013). President Professor Hopwood looks forward to continuing the College’s engagement with on key issues and challenges for psychiatry. RAMSAYPEOPLE Strathfield nurses defy global job-trotting trend They say the best way to lose yourself is in the service of others – never more true for the dedicated team at Strathfield Private Hospital – with 106 of the hospital staff recently recognised for their 10, 20, 25 and 30 Years of Service Awards. Whilst recent research shows show job-hopping is the new norm in Australia (with one third of the nation’s workforce quitting their jobs in the first two years), the small hospital, tucked away in Strathfield’s leafy glades, continues to defy the new world order of things. More than a third of the hospital staff have worked for 10 years or more, with new graduate nurses experiencing a 90 per cent long-term retention rate. “Health care has become more complex in ways that I couldn’t have imagined 30 years ago,” says Ann Edgington Performance Improvement and Infection Control Coordinator who this year celebrates 30 years’ service at the hospital. “Now it’s imperative to be not just a great caregiver but a great innovator too. “With the complexity of new hospital structures, fancier gadgets, and financial and political challenges, the heart of nursing at Strathfield has stayed the same. Whatever the tools and technologies, the job of our nurses will remain as caregivers and advocates for the sick and needy. “Perhaps because Strathfield is a smaller hospital we are closer than most. We not just a team, we are family.” As Northside Clinic AIN Richard Thompson proves, it’s enjoying your work that matters – not how old you are when you do it Q Over the past four decades, you worked as an organisational psychologist in career and counselling roles for Sydney and Macquarie University students; and as HR General Manager for a national company employing 3000 staff at its peak. Why did you decide on nursing after the company was sold? “I always had an interest in health and mental health which came from my HR experience including OH&S. So I now had an opportunity to move my career into this area.” Q What do you value most about the company? “I met Ramsay representatives twice at Careers Days while I was a nursing degree student and out of that came casual AIN work in mental health at Northside Clinic. When I finished my nursing degree in 2011, I had already been with Ramsay for two years and have continued on in that role. Ramsay always recognised and valued my previous experience.” Q What do you enjoy most about your job? “I really enjoy working with the admin staff, nursing staff, housekeeping staff and the patients who range from young people with eating disorders to elderly patients with mood disorders. I also appreciate working with the psychiatrists and the allied health staff. Every working day I see patients achieve significant health benefits at Northside including the life-changing outcomes many experience from ECT. I know patients appreciate the excellent hospital care. I particularly value the Ramsay Way, which recognises the company’s most important asset is its people. I appreciate the company’s emphasis on mentoring new staff and developing career pathways.” Caboolture Private Hospital theatre nurse Cherryl Williams has taken out runner up in Ansell’s Australian Nursing Hero of the Year Award 2015. Cheryl, who has worked at Caboolture Private for over 15 years, received 2745 votes from colleagues and friends who variously described her as a “fantastic, supportive and caring nurse, always great for staff morale and an effective leader”. Cheryl’s career in nursing has spanned 40 years and she will shortly retire to spend time with her grandchildren and pursue her hobbies. cardiologist & the HSC at 27! Why/how did you transition from nursing to medicine? I come from a family of nurses and started nurse training after school. I loved working with patients and families and wanted a challenge that would allow me to continue to do this - medicine. My nurse training was in the 80s when it was hospital not degree based. So I knew I had to go to University start a BSc doing biology, chemistry, maths and physics to transfer to a medical degree. How did it feel to be doing your HSC at 27? I had missed the University cut-off dates, it had been a long time since school and having never owned a calculator, decided it best to go to night school. Enrolling at TAFE, near Central Station, I studied HSC biology, maths and chemistry at night school while continuing to work full-time. My colleagues in cardiology at Royal Prince Alfred were very supportive with shifts so I could go to night school. I started a BSc the following year at the University of Sydney and began my medical degree a year later. Areas of special interest and why? My special interests include heart failure, Indigenous health, chronic disease and echocardiography. As a medical registrar at RPAH I was seconded to Alice Springs Hospital for three months, I got to visit remote communities and loved every minute of it. I have continued to visit communities in Central Australia since 2008 to do cardiology and chronic disease clinics. What were/are the biggest challenges you faced/face as a woman in medicine? I cannot remember worrying about being a woman in medicine. If you told me I couldn’t do something because of my gender I would have asked why not? Being a mature aged student was the biggest challenge and not having that abundant confidence of youth. Being 5’2’’ was a challenge in my surgical jobs. I spent years standing on a box assisting at operations. Strathfield Private cardiologist Dr Michele McGrady MBBS, FRACP, Phd discusses her inspirational transition from nursing to cardiology. L-R: Andrew Barker, Senior Manager Marketing Ansell; Cherryl Williams RN, Judy Schinkel RN & Helen Jones Director of Clinical Services. Strathfield nurses Laura Dolby, Jane Harris, Ann Edgington & Laura McCrow Richard Thompson with Chris Rex Managing Director & CEO Ramsay Health Care.
The Ramsay Way - Winter 2015
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