Registered nurse Donna Wunsch thought she’d retired once before.
In 2002, after years in senior nursing leadership roles, she stepped away from the profession believing it was time to call it a day. Within just a few months, however, she realised retirement wasn’t for her.
“I was very depressed because I hadn’t planned on retirement and hadn’t really thought much about it,” she recalls.
For the next chapter of her career, Donna returned to bedside nursing, joining Sir Leslie Morshead Manor in Lyneham, where she spent the next 24 years caring for older Australians, each with their own unique life story.
Now, at 79, Donna says this time retirement really is permanent, bringing to a close an extraordinary 61-year career that has left its mark on generations of patients, colleagues and the nursing profession itself.
Donna’s journey into nursing began in 1964 at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
“At that time, everyone going through schooling was thinking about either teaching, or nursing, and I wanted to do nursing,” she says.
Training was demanding.
“It was a hard school. I learned a lot. I think in four years I didn’t have a day off. I’ve always had a strong work ethic, and I loved the whole aspect of it all. You had to beg for resources, and you worked really hard, but you learned a lot.”
After finishing her training, Donna embarked on a year of midwifery at the Royal Canberra Hospital, before heading back to St Vincent’s (Private Hospital) in Sydney in 1969 to work in general nursing.
She then worked as an RN at Lewisham Hospital, where she was promoted to evening supervisor in 1973. “It was an incredible learning curve because there were no doctors on tap – you had to ring them at home. There was one registrar. I learned a lot there.”
When her husband John joined the public service, Donna and her young family relocated to Canberra in 1975 – a move that marked the beginning of more than half a century of dedicated nursing service to the ACT community.
Donna joined the then Woden Valley Hospital as a hospital supervisor and, over the course of her career, progressed into senior executive positions across several health services, including Director of Nursing at Calvary Private Hospital and Nurse Adviser at Canberra Hospital.
A great deal happened along the way.
In 1978, as nursing made the historic transition into Australia’s higher education system, Donna was “tapped on the shoulder” and encouraged to undertake an Associate Diploma in Nursing Science at university.
“I was a bit fearful,” she admits.
“After completing the Nursing Diploma, I undertook further studies at University of Canberra over the next six years while working full time.
“I loved university, and it just opened so many doors. I think I read nearly every book in the library, which broadened my education overall.”
During her career, Donna found herself at the centre of some of Canberra’s most significant healthcare developments.
At Woden, Donna served on the working parties that helped establish palliative care and hospice services in the ACT. She described it as a “privilege” to work alongside pioneer Clare Holland, who became the ACT’s first manager of home-based palliative care, during the services’ formative negotiations.
The HIV/AIDs epidemic during the 1980s remains another defining memory.
“There was still so much fear and ignorance across the whole community,” Donna recalls.
After attempts to establish a dedicated AIDS ward failed because of fear and a lack of understanding about the disease, Canberra Hospital responded by introducing a four-day education program for every staff member – from the CEO to maintenance workers – to help dispel misinformation at a time when stigma was widespread.
“The education helped a bit, and we were able to look after that cohort of patients. But that was a horrendous time.”
The late 1980s brought another major turning point, with Australia’s nursing career structure undergoing landmark reform. In her executive nursing role, Donna represented both Canberra Hospital and the ACT Department of Health in negotiations during a period of significant industrial unrest, as nurses took industrial action over low pay, chronic understaffing and an outdated career structure.
Although a longstanding member of the ANMF (ACT Branch), Donna more often than not found herself on the other side of the negotiating table in her executive nursing roles.
“I respected the team [nurses] on the other side and their passion, zeal, and whole approach. Throughout it, I didn’t have a conflict of interest because the nursing profession was always foremost in my mind.”
Another significant challenge arrived with the 1991 merger of Woden Valley Hospital and Royal Canberra Hospital to form the Canberra Hospital.
“It was horrendous because both sides [hospitals] had lost their own identity and it was a time of great suffering for individuals,” says Donna.
“It took a couple of years really for people to establish trust and to learn and feel comfortable working together. Over a period of pain, that all came together.”
By the early 2000s, Donna decided to take early retirement at 56. It lasted just three months before she realised she wasn’t ready to leave nursing behind.
She soon accepted a nursing position at Sir Leslie Morshead Manor in Lyneham, expecting only a brief return.
Instead, she stayed for another 24 years, spending most of that time on permanent night shift and relishing every moment.
“I never ever thought that I would be there for 24 years, but I’ve loved every minute of it,” says Donna.
“When I first went there, I was amazed at the carers, because they are the backbone of the industry, and they were dismissed and so poorly paid and not recognised. I have seen that develop over the years, and through COVID and people finally looking at aged care, it’s now seen as something worthy. I’m pleased to say that out of a horrendous time with COVID, the conditions and the pay rates have improved greatly for the carers in aged care.”
For Donna, some of the most meaningful moments were also the simplest.
“What I have gained through aged care is immeasurable because everyone has a life story,” she says.
“Some people left school at 14 to support their family. They worked in farms or in a factory. Other people went on to university. They’ve all got a story and they’re all unique and you learn something from everyone.
“If you spend 10, 15 minutes just listening to people, you can get a smile and that is so rewarding in itself.”
While nursing has changed dramatically since when she started out in 1964, Donna believes its foundations remain largely unchanged.
She hopes future generations continue to embrace lifelong learning and recognise the countless opportunities and specialties nursing offers.
“Be true to yourself,” she encourages.
“You have chosen a wonderful profession. It can be lifelong, like mine. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.”
Looking back, Donna struggles to single out a proudest achievement or honour, simply pointing to her strong work ethic, evidenced by the 1,500 hours of sick leave she retired with, and the continued growth and importance of the profession.
Much like the first time, retirement has proved easier said than done for the 79-year-old, producing mixed emotions.
“I loved my work, I always have, so I’m just going through a period of adjustment because it’s always been my life,” she says.
“I’ve worked full-time since I started training back in 1964 and I’ve loved all the different experiences along the way.
“I’m sort of ready to go back to work,” she jokes. “But there comes a time when you have to pull up the drawbridge and say that’s that.”
