Tag: Career

Final-year undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of general practice as a career path

Health systems that have strong primary healthcare (PHC) have lower rates of hospitalisations and overall better health outcomes. This realisation has increased demands on building a PHC workforce to meet the changing needs of the community (Australian Government Department of Health 2013). General practice remains at the ‘heart’ of PHC (Calma, Halcomb & Stephens 2019; […]

Q&A with a paediatric respiratory nurse

Melinda Gray, a Clinical Nurse Consultant, Paediatric Asthma, who has worked at Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick since 2000, first developed a passion for respiratory nursing while working in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. Melinda shares her journey with the ANMJ and how she cemented her career pathway. What inspired you to become a nurse? My parents nurtured […]

How to be a good preceptor

Having experienced the culture shock of moving from undergraduate study into the workplace firsthand, registered nurse Jennifer Hally decided to become a preceptor and role model to early career nurses and new staff members. In nursing, preceptors are experienced nurses formally assigned to provide transitional support to students, graduate nurses and newly employed staff navigating […]

What is a preceptor?

Transitioning from education into the workplace can leave many new graduate nurses feeling overwhelmed, unsupported and full of doubt. One strategy to help counter the culture shock and retain graduate nurses in the workforce is preceptorship. A nurse preceptor is an experienced and competent nurse formally assigned to guide the professional journey of a student, […]

A NUM’S top 7 tips for early career nurses

Starting out your nursing career can be daunting, exciting and challenging. Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) Pauline Ryan works at Victoria’s Monash Medical Centre in a cardiothoracic and respiratory unit, overseeing everything from daily operations to engaging with patients about their care and monitoring clinical standards. A large part of her role involves supporting and empowering […]

What I learned from my first month as a graduate nurse

Registered nurse Melanie Challen finished her graduate year at Peninsula Health’s Frankston Hospital in Victoria in February. She undertook three rotations throughout the year, working in gastroenterology and general medicine, the orthopaedic and plastics surgical ward and lastly in the emergency department. Melanie followed in the footsteps of her mother to become a nurse. She […]

Meet Australia’s new Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

“It’s an incredible privilege to be able to be in this role and I take this role and my responsibility very seriously,” says new Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan. “I hope that I can bring strong leadership and commitment to both the nursing and midwifery professions across Australia as well as play […]

What it takes to volunteer as a nurse or a midwife in a developing country

Have you ever had a burning desire to volunteer as a nurse or a midwife in a developing country but not sure what’s involved? Registered nurse Jeneane Allen shares her insights on volunteering as a nurse in Kenya and Nepal. Jeneane spent nearly as much time in Africa than at home in Australia last year. […]