Graduate nurse Alice appearing in a promotional video.
Alice is a graduate nurse who began her program in July 2021. She participated in the Union Summer internship program at ANMF in February 2021.
Why do you want to be a nurse?
After experiencing hospitals as a patient, it was the nurses who stood out to me. Nursing makes me feel like I can make a difference – help people when they are vulnerable, advocate for patients when they can’t, and empower people to advocate for themselves.
What are your career goals?
My immediate goal is to complete my grad year. Then undertake a transition to specialty practice and complete post graduate studies in critical care so I can specialise in emergency nursing.
How did you find your uni experience?
My final year was quite different as classes were moved online and we had limited clinical labs due to COVID-19 restrictions. But even with those difficulties I loved going to uni. I met some amazing people and created friendships.
I was also able to complete some incredible extracurricular activities, such as a rural placement in Alice Springs, a surgical skills workshop, interprofessional days working with medical students, and working part time as a RUSON (Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing) for the past two years.
What are some of the most interesting things you learned during the Union Summer program?
I loved learning about all the different teams and their roles within ANMF. Some I had no idea about. Speaking to the environmental health officer Ros Morgan was a highlight. I got to hear about some of ANMF’s passion projects and discuss ways that individuals can start implementing change on a ward level.
We also spent a few days working at the federal office to see how they work with the state and territory branches on national issues such as aged care.
Something that I found particularly interesting were the social justice issues that ANMF campaign for, such as empowering refugees through increasing health literacy, and also funding to help combat homelessness. It’s so great to see the wide variety of things that the ANMF do that we might not consider.
What you like to do outside nursing?
I like to spend time with my dog Storm and going out with my friends (when its COVID safe of course). I also enjoy gardening, cooking/baking, and have recently started photography with varying degrees of success.
