Every year on 12 May, we take a moment to recognise and celebrate the wonderful work our caring and compassionate nurses on International Nurses Day.
Kewarra Aged Care’s, Clinical Care Coordinator, Kathryn Murray, joined the Kewarra team in February 2022 and shares with us what inspired her to enter nursing and what she loves most about working at the home.
Why did you choose to do nursing as your chosen career?
Initially I didn't really choose Nursing due to an inner calling etc I did it more for its advantages for travelling, job security, able to work part time when I had children etc but the more placements I had during my course the more I loved it and began seeing how nurses play a big part in determining patients /residents positive/ negative experiences and wanted to have a positive effect.
What do you enjoy most about working as a nurse at the home?
I have worked in aged care for over 30 years and always worked in metro Melbourne so working in Cairns has been amazing!! Although it has its challenges I thoroughly enjoy getting to know the residents whose life experiences differ so much to mine and the staff are genuinely caring and again, so diverse, I am learning something new each day.
What would you say is most challenging about being a nurse?
In general, the workload at times, it is difficult to feel job satisfaction when don't feel you accomplished all you wanted to in a shift. But what I find particularly challenging is when staff, resident, family, and GP aren't on the same page especially when residents nearing the final stages of their life. I feel it is very important to have conversations about Advance Care planning well before decisions have to be made.
Do you have a special memory from your nursing career so far?
The first time I put Person Centred Care into practice (delving into their history, finding out their likes and dislikes, trying multiple different strategies until we discovered the right ones etc) and saw the positive effect it had on a resident who had multiple challenging behaviours. Now I am a huge advocate for moving away from task-oriented approach to care and sharing my knowledge and experience in resident focussed care and love the feeling I get when staff come to me and say I was able to shower…on my own today for example because they changed their approach until they found one that worked.