Registered nurse Jayne Dicketts always had a strong interest in healthcare but was uncertain about which field to choose – until she tried nursing.

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“I just really clicked with nursing,” she recalls.

“It was probably the people contact in it. I went into my nursing degree straight from high school and just loved it.”

After working across various clinical areas during her early career, Jayne found her niche with Hospital in the Home (HITH) across Austin Health and Northern Health, which involves nurses providing clinical care and support to patients in their home environment, meaning that they can leave hospital sooner.

“It promotes feelings of safety and comfort,” explains Jayne.

“Patients have often presented to hospital for any number of treatments and if it’s deemed safe and appropriate, we can continue that care in their home setting. Nurses go and visit them each day, or multiple times a day, to provide care in their own environment so that they’re comfortable, they can eat and drink what they want, and they can be around their family, pets, garden, and everything that’s important to them, while still receiving high quality clinical care.”

Out in the community, there’s no such thing as a normal day, says Jayne.

“Even though we do assess every environment before we go into it, you probably never quite know what you’re walking into until you get there. And then you need to be a bit more creative with your solution. For example, if you’re trying to run a bag of intravenous fluids through, you don’t have a pole and a pump, so you often need to use coat hangers or ceiling fans. You’ve got to get quite creative in how you deliver the care.”

Jayne’s extensive service to community health, and to nursing, which includes ongoing volunteering roles with St John Ambulance and Australian Red Cross, led to her being among 732 Australians today recognised in the Australia Day 2025 Honours List.

She received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division, as Australia’s honours system marked its 50^th anniversary.

“I was incredibly surprised,” she told the ANMJ.

“I really didn’t expect it at all. It’s very humbling to be recognised for what I do.

“It gave me pause to stop and reflect on what I have done and just a renewed sense of commitment to what I plan on continuing to do in the future. I think if everybody volunteered a bit when they’re able, the world would be a much better place. So, pick up some rubbish, donate some blood, learn first aid. It doesn’t have to be moving mountains, but if everybody did a little bit, it would be a much happier place.”

On top of her clinical work, Jayne, an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF Vic Branch) member, is also a Job Rep within her workplace.

She took on the role early last year and has relished the opportunity to provide information, support and advice to her colleagues, giving them confidence and allowing them to “feel seen and heard”.

“I think I’d always been passionate about people’s right and entitlements,” says Jayne, of stepping up to the post.

“I’d always been quite vocal and supportive of the EBAs and making sure people knew where to go for information and things like that. Then I formalised my passion and went on and did the training and learned a lot.”

After working within the HITH service for two decades, Jayne, who is currently completing a Master’s degree in wound care, plans to soon shift into tackling Australia’s hidden chronic wound epidemic through early intervention.

“I want to do my bit to bring wounds into the spotlight so that people can get the right care at the right time,” she says.

“If a wound gets the right treatment and care at the right time, it can heal as an acute wound and not become chronic. My aim is to improve education out there and access to services, especially for people living in rural and remote regions.

“They [wounds] take a huge toll physically, emotionally and financially. They’re a really under-resourced problem that is slowly starting to get the attention it deserves.”

Jayne considers the OAM great recognition for the broader nursing and midwifery professions and the difference one can make to people’s lives.

Her advice to the next generation?

“It’s definitely worth it,” she says proudly.

“There’s a million different ways nursing can look like, so don’t think that where you are is it. There’s always the next chapter. So, if you’re not happy where you are, go and try out a new area, a new job, a new location, because you will find something out there that really fits.”

LIST OF NURSES AND MIDWIVES HONOURED

MEDAL (OAM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Jayne Dicketts (VIC) – for service to community health, and to nursing

Cheryl Dunn (NSW) – for service to nursing

Angela Russell (Tas) – for service to nursing

AM

Margaret Fry (NSW) – For significant service to the nursing profession, and to tertiary education