WEBVTT - The importance of self care 0:00:05.921 --> 0:00:07.281 Appogie production. 0:00:11.201 --> 0:00:14.601 Hi, my name's beck Woodbine and welcome to Tenderness for Nurses. 0:00:15.081 --> 0:00:17.160 Do you need to burn out to have those insights? 0:00:17.161 --> 0:00:20.480 While I'm talking about it now, But you know, came 0:00:20.561 --> 0:00:21.961 to educate the world about it. 0:00:22.041 --> 0:00:25.680 But I didn't want anyone to know that I was 0:00:25.721 --> 0:00:26.401 so unwell. 0:00:26.961 --> 0:00:29.481 I don't know when it was ever okay to yell 0:00:29.681 --> 0:00:31.241 or scream or abuse somebody. 0:00:32.001 --> 0:00:35.641 We need to have support and know where to look 0:00:35.681 --> 0:00:38.080 for support, and know how to look after ourselves, not 0:00:38.161 --> 0:00:42.641 just professionally, but personally as well. It was quite profound 0:00:43.441 --> 0:00:51.160 and I learned a lot from that one action. I 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:54.441 particularly wanted to have you come on board because you 0:00:54.561 --> 0:00:57.961 were one of the most influential people in my nursing career. 0:00:58.761 --> 0:01:01.561 You were a mental to me when I first became 0:01:01.601 --> 0:01:06.841 a Richter nurse, and I have watched you move up 0:01:06.881 --> 0:01:09.761 through the ranks of nursing, and I know there are 0:01:09.761 --> 0:01:13.041 times that's been really tough and other times, you know, 0:01:13.161 --> 0:01:15.280 full of joy and that sort of stuff that nursing 0:01:15.401 --> 0:01:17.600 is known for. But I wanted to have a chat 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.441 to you about where you've come from, what you did 0:01:20.441 --> 0:01:23.401 to get to where you are, but also some of 0:01:23.441 --> 0:01:25.841 the pearls of wisdom. You think you could impart on 0:01:25.961 --> 0:01:30.200 younger nurses, older nurses as well in wanting to start 0:01:30.241 --> 0:01:33.041 a nursing korea and looking after themselves well. 0:01:33.081 --> 0:01:35.121 From a little girl, I always wanted to be a nurse. 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:37.801 I consider nursing to be a vocation and that is 0:01:37.961 --> 0:01:42.161 always a very controversial conversation these days, considering where the 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.601 profession has taken us now into this current times. Beginning 0:01:45.601 --> 0:01:48.041 of my career, I start at ryal Brisbane Hospital, I 0:01:48.081 --> 0:01:51.321 can now say in another century and when things were very, 0:01:51.401 --> 0:01:54.161 very different the way that nursing is now grew up 0:01:54.201 --> 0:01:57.721 in the marster and apprentice scenario there, so a nurses 0:01:57.881 --> 0:02:00.561 was basically seen and not heard. We were student nurses 0:02:00.761 --> 0:02:02.961 working in the woods from the day that we actually commenced. 0:02:02.961 --> 0:02:06.761 In our career, I've worked inariety of facilities, both public 0:02:06.801 --> 0:02:10.241 and private throughout Queensland, within the regional setting and also 0:02:10.321 --> 0:02:14.281 within the metro areas as well too. Working within both 0:02:14.321 --> 0:02:17.201 systems has provided me with a lot of opportunity to 0:02:17.321 --> 0:02:21.680 really understand how the variations of nursing and how different 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:24.720 staff go through a variety of things. My initial background 0:02:24.721 --> 0:02:27.721 in nursing at my major first club was theater nursing, 0:02:27.761 --> 0:02:29.960 which is where I met you, Rebecca. I walked into 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.161 an operating theater back in nineteen seventy eight and I thought, 0:02:33.161 --> 0:02:35.241 this is it. I'm home. I love the scrubs, I 0:02:35.281 --> 0:02:38.160 love the masks, I love being in that environment where 0:02:38.201 --> 0:02:41.721 I really took on that I was actually helping these people. 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.601 They came in with conditions and parts of their bodies 0:02:44.601 --> 0:02:47.081 that weren't working, and we were able to make them better. 0:02:47.281 --> 0:02:50.081 That career assigned me can take a variety of different ways. 0:02:50.121 --> 0:02:52.921 Within the next number of years, I went into repping. 0:02:53.001 --> 0:02:56.361 At one stage, I've set up and run day surgery facilities, 0:02:56.561 --> 0:02:59.601 worked in a private hospital as a registered nurse. But 0:02:59.641 --> 0:03:02.361 also within that process there looked at other things that 0:03:02.441 --> 0:03:05.241 what actually affected myself in my own daily life and 0:03:05.281 --> 0:03:07.281 what else could I do to give back to nursing 0:03:07.601 --> 0:03:09.560 and back to the staff that I was working with. 0:03:09.721 --> 0:03:12.561 I became a workplace self and safety officer. I also 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:16.641 became a BLS trainer. Took notice then of accreditation about 0:03:16.641 --> 0:03:18.921 what was happening with in that space as well too, 0:03:19.081 --> 0:03:21.921 because these things actually interested me. But was it over 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:23.520 and above what I was doing. But the stuff that 0:03:23.561 --> 0:03:25.561 I wanted to know about that, I wanted to learn. 0:03:26.281 --> 0:03:29.240 My pathway took me to various other areas to where 0:03:29.281 --> 0:03:31.681 a point. Now I work not implivate anymore, but working 0:03:31.721 --> 0:03:33.881 with a whole range of nurses in a very different 0:03:33.881 --> 0:03:36.961 field to theaters, but certainly to still see the passion 0:03:37.281 --> 0:03:40.121 and the compassion that is required and needed every day 0:03:40.161 --> 0:03:42.281 for nurses to do what they do and to keep 0:03:42.281 --> 0:03:43.361 coming back the next day. 0:03:43.961 --> 0:03:46.561 You've seen some huge changes, and you know, being at 0:03:46.561 --> 0:03:49.401 the age of seventeen because I started at PA and 0:03:49.521 --> 0:03:52.801 laying out people that have passed away, and you know 0:03:52.961 --> 0:03:56.521 those little processes you do when someone passes just I think, 0:03:56.561 --> 0:04:00.521 so you can cope to where nursing is now. It's 0:04:00.761 --> 0:04:02.281 polar opposite snelly, isn't it? 0:04:02.281 --> 0:04:04.321 It is, Rebecca, But we still have some things that 0:04:04.361 --> 0:04:06.841 are exactly the same. We still need to lay out 0:04:06.881 --> 0:04:08.721 people when they've gone on to the next part of 0:04:08.761 --> 0:04:11.841 their journey, adults and children's alike and everyone in between, 0:04:12.081 --> 0:04:15.081 and that respect needs to be remaining within there. So 0:04:15.161 --> 0:04:18.801 those basic fundamentals of nursing. What's within our remit What 0:04:18.881 --> 0:04:21.361 can we do with nurses? What do we do with nurses? 0:04:21.641 --> 0:04:24.321 We look after people, We care for them when they 0:04:24.361 --> 0:04:27.201 aren't able to do so for themselves. We look after 0:04:27.241 --> 0:04:29.681 them and we answer their questions as best we possibly 0:04:29.721 --> 0:04:32.161 can to make sure that they have the understanding of 0:04:32.241 --> 0:04:34.841 what is actually wrong with them, and we include them 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.161 in that to make sure that we know that they 0:04:37.241 --> 0:04:40.440 know what's going on. Language is a big thing within nursing, 0:04:40.521 --> 0:04:43.320 in all professions and all areas of life. In my opinion, 0:04:43.601 --> 0:04:46.921 nurses have their own language. Patients don't know that language. 0:04:46.921 --> 0:04:49.320 They don't understand what we actually saying. I heard a 0:04:49.361 --> 0:04:51.601 funny story a number of years ago from someone who 0:04:51.681 --> 0:04:54.241 told me that they contacted a family member who was 0:04:54.281 --> 0:04:57.721 so upset because they were diagnosed with hypertension and they 0:04:57.721 --> 0:04:59.841 actually thought that they were going to die. When it 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:01.241 was explained to them it was just a little bit 0:05:01.281 --> 0:05:03.721 of blood pressure and they could take medication to be 0:05:03.801 --> 0:05:06.440 able to sort that through. They fully understand that, but 0:05:06.521 --> 0:05:09.001 that person for that length of time had a real 0:05:09.081 --> 0:05:12.241 concern about their mortality and what was happening with them. 0:05:12.561 --> 0:05:15.960 So understanding that we have our own language and that 0:05:16.001 --> 0:05:18.640 people don't know our language is very very important for 0:05:18.721 --> 0:05:22.521 us as well too. So those things haven't fundamentally changed 0:05:22.761 --> 0:05:25.441 technology as we're seeing right here today. To be able 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:29.281 to reach out to everybody on this podcast is just extraordinary. 0:05:29.281 --> 0:05:31.400 To be able to do that from where we are now, 0:05:31.601 --> 0:05:34.041 that wasn't heard of, not even five or six years ago. 0:05:34.161 --> 0:05:36.521 Per Sae. It was there, but not to the extent 0:05:36.641 --> 0:05:40.401 that it is here now. COVID came and COVID still here, 0:05:40.721 --> 0:05:43.921 but it changed how our technology is utilized, how we 0:05:43.961 --> 0:05:46.361 see nursing and how we see each other, how we 0:05:46.401 --> 0:05:49.801 now interact with each other, and to find that collegiality 0:05:49.841 --> 0:05:52.921 and to maintain that connectedness that we need to do 0:05:53.001 --> 0:05:56.241 with patients is really super important. I found that one 0:05:56.241 --> 0:05:58.840 of the big things during COVID was the great barrier 0:05:58.921 --> 0:06:01.921 to everything was having to wear a mask. So you 0:06:02.001 --> 0:06:04.721 have people who are hard of hearing, you have people 0:06:04.761 --> 0:06:11.841 who mumble. We have known curtains who do mumble. Rebecca, 0:06:12.361 --> 0:06:14.521 it's almost best guess, but not what you're doing as 0:06:14.521 --> 0:06:18.440 well too. But so for patients, different language backgrounds, those 0:06:18.481 --> 0:06:21.521 types of things. So it was really difficult for nurses 0:06:21.761 --> 0:06:24.161 as a whole to actually get through that. But then 0:06:24.201 --> 0:06:26.921 how do we express ourselves while still wearing a mask. 0:06:27.281 --> 0:06:30.520 It's in touch, it's in feel, it's in eye contact 0:06:30.841 --> 0:06:34.041 and those things are vitally vitally important, and those things 0:06:34.201 --> 0:06:35.121 have not changed. 0:06:35.281 --> 0:06:38.761 Now. One of my clients is a speech pathologist, and 0:06:38.961 --> 0:06:41.320 the number of kids that were born during that time 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:45.041 that are coming through with serious speech issues and learning 0:06:45.081 --> 0:06:47.841 how to talk. Because everyone was wearing masks, I didn't 0:06:47.841 --> 0:06:49.921 think about that. I was like, oh, my god, of course, 0:06:50.081 --> 0:06:52.681 you know, it makes sense. It was quite interesting. So 0:06:52.801 --> 0:06:56.320 I can imagine someone hard of hearing, or sick in bed, 0:06:56.641 --> 0:06:59.801 or just imagine how frightening it might have been for them, 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:01.481 especially with people who are in full ppe. 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.561 Absolutely, it's all very sort of you know sci fi 0:07:04.641 --> 0:07:06.561 travels As an area it was as. 0:07:06.401 --> 0:07:10.361 A nurse practitioner, it was fantastic having telehealth. I was 0:07:10.441 --> 0:07:14.441 able to do vaccinations. I had lots of people having 0:07:14.481 --> 0:07:18.321 consultations through telehealth that normally wouldn't have reached out to 0:07:18.361 --> 0:07:21.641 me because I couldn't obviously do the cosmetic side of dermatology. 0:07:21.881 --> 0:07:24.481 But it was awesome to have people bring up and go, oh, 0:07:24.521 --> 0:07:26.881 my acne has fled up so badly, can you give 0:07:26.881 --> 0:07:30.041 me a hand? Able to still see them over skype. 0:07:30.121 --> 0:07:32.161 It gave you a purpose. It was really great to 0:07:32.201 --> 0:07:34.961 be able to still help people, and especially when GPS 0:07:35.001 --> 0:07:37.601 and that were so under the pump, it was pretty 0:07:37.601 --> 0:07:40.281 cool to be a nurt practitioner and have that ability 0:07:40.321 --> 0:07:42.961 to continue to help people outside of that hospital space 0:07:42.961 --> 0:07:45.441 and keep people out of hospitals and doctor surgeries and 0:07:45.441 --> 0:07:47.241 that sort of thing. It was pretty cool. 0:07:47.121 --> 0:07:48.961 And it's changed the way that we're going to see 0:07:49.001 --> 0:07:50.681 health going forward into the future as well. 0:07:50.721 --> 0:07:56.161 I believe so, kath in your position, dealing and managing 0:07:56.361 --> 0:08:01.481 with staff is paramount for you. What do you or 0:08:01.521 --> 0:08:08.361 your organization do to keep your staff physically, emotionally, and psychologically. 0:08:08.521 --> 0:08:11.961 We'll start with the obvious one is occupational violence. Occupational 0:08:12.041 --> 0:08:14.681 violence appears to me to have actually been on the 0:08:14.721 --> 0:08:17.601 increase over the last number of years. I don't have 0:08:17.721 --> 0:08:20.761 any understanding or reasoning why that would actually be. We 0:08:20.801 --> 0:08:23.081 can see all the advertising now sort of you know, 0:08:23.241 --> 0:08:25.721 we're just a human being, We're just like you. We've 0:08:25.721 --> 0:08:28.681 got a job to do. Please don't abuse our staff. 0:08:29.041 --> 0:08:31.401 It's everywhere you go to now, even in the shops. 0:08:31.441 --> 0:08:35.041 You know, we don't accept any bad language, no yelling, 0:08:35.041 --> 0:08:37.321 and those sort of bits and pieces. And I truly 0:08:37.361 --> 0:08:41.161 do wonder about how our society has actually got to 0:08:41.241 --> 0:08:44.161 that point, I don't know when it was ever okay 0:08:44.361 --> 0:08:47.481 to yell or scream or abuse somebody. It's never was 0:08:47.601 --> 0:08:50.001 in my lifetime to be I was never brought up 0:08:50.041 --> 0:08:52.921 that way, So I don't know why now, just because 0:08:52.961 --> 0:08:55.121 you're not getting your own way all some things aren't 0:08:55.121 --> 0:08:57.961 going in your particular way that you feel or some 0:08:58.001 --> 0:09:00.881 people do feel that it's okay to abuse the person 0:09:00.921 --> 0:09:04.041 in front of you, and I can't understand where that's 0:09:04.081 --> 0:09:07.481 actually come from. Occupational violence not just verbal, it's also 0:09:07.521 --> 0:09:10.681 physical as well too. With our aging population, and we're 0:09:10.681 --> 0:09:13.161 continuing to keep people alive for a lot longer to 0:09:13.281 --> 0:09:16.401 see an increase in dementia patients. Having had my mother 0:09:16.441 --> 0:09:19.041 go through dementia, she didn't know what she was saying 0:09:19.081 --> 0:09:21.081 most of the time. I spent most of my time 0:09:21.121 --> 0:09:23.481 apologizing to stuff because of my mother and the words 0:09:23.481 --> 0:09:25.801 that she was saying. So we need to understand that 0:09:25.881 --> 0:09:28.921 and probably separate that out from people who are choosing 0:09:29.001 --> 0:09:33.161 to be verbally aggressive to people. It's up to individual areas, groups, 0:09:33.321 --> 0:09:35.401 organizations to be able to find the best way to 0:09:35.401 --> 0:09:37.801 support their staff by asking their stuff, what do they 0:09:37.841 --> 0:09:40.321 really need? That alludes to the physical and also to 0:09:40.361 --> 0:09:43.041 the psychological side of things and to the emotional we 0:09:43.161 --> 0:09:46.361 have introduced quite recently. I to say the last couple 0:09:46.361 --> 0:09:49.721 of years is a hot debrief after any major situation, 0:09:50.401 --> 0:09:52.361 But should that go down to an end of day 0:09:52.401 --> 0:09:55.041 debrief about making sure that staff are okay when they 0:09:55.041 --> 0:09:57.961 do leave work and if there actually are okay when 0:09:57.961 --> 0:10:01.161 they come to work. We carry emotional baggage no matter 0:10:01.321 --> 0:10:04.041 how hard and how much we say, leave it at home. 0:10:04.121 --> 0:10:07.161 You don't bring that stuff work, we can't help not to. 0:10:07.721 --> 0:10:10.601 And then for each person it's very very individual. So 0:10:10.721 --> 0:10:13.721 we found that the debriefs have been highly beneficial been 0:10:13.801 --> 0:10:16.921 rolled out now in a variety of other situations and scenarios. 0:10:17.121 --> 0:10:18.721 Though I said, I do believe that an end of 0:10:18.801 --> 0:10:21.601 day debrief or I go home chat or whatever you 0:10:21.601 --> 0:10:24.041 want to call it, or a team huddle is really 0:10:24.081 --> 0:10:26.961 super important for people to be able to understand and 0:10:27.001 --> 0:10:30.321 clarify and clear up anything that's occurred during the work hours. 0:10:30.641 --> 0:10:33.081 That helped with the emotional side of things, but also 0:10:33.121 --> 0:10:35.721 looking out for those warning signs and they are there 0:10:36.081 --> 0:10:38.881 if we choose to see there lies a huge issue though, 0:10:38.961 --> 0:10:41.161 so we could be looking glossing over what we're not 0:10:41.241 --> 0:10:44.401 actually seeing Are they not engaging? If you are doing 0:10:44.401 --> 0:10:48.001 a homebound huddle or something like that, who's not participating, 0:10:48.081 --> 0:10:51.841 who's looking sideways, who's looking distracted? Do you have the 0:10:51.881 --> 0:10:55.241 skills yourself or you have the ability to gain or 0:10:55.321 --> 0:10:57.721 source the skills to be able to support that person 0:10:57.801 --> 0:11:01.441 going forward? If I ask somebody truly, are somebody are 0:11:01.481 --> 0:11:04.561 you okay today? And they say to me, well, actually, 0:11:04.641 --> 0:11:07.401 cath no, I'm not. How am I going to respond 0:11:07.401 --> 0:11:09.841 to that? Am I emotionally stay able to be able 0:11:09.841 --> 0:11:11.521 to do that? Do I have the skills to be 0:11:11.521 --> 0:11:13.401 able to do that? But how am I going to 0:11:13.441 --> 0:11:16.321 respond to that? So it keeps that person safe, but 0:11:16.401 --> 0:11:18.361 it also keeps me safe as well too. 0:11:18.761 --> 0:11:22.001 We are empathetic to everybody else except to other nurses often. 0:11:22.241 --> 0:11:24.561 How do we change that dialogue? 0:11:24.561 --> 0:11:25.321 How do we. 0:11:25.481 --> 0:11:30.041 Encourage nurses to feel safe sharing that information and then 0:11:30.121 --> 0:11:33.321 getting the support that's needed for them without every Tom, 0:11:33.361 --> 0:11:35.881 Dick and Harry finding out and then blah blah blah, 0:11:35.921 --> 0:11:37.761 and you know, the gossip chain starts. 0:11:38.001 --> 0:11:40.881 Absolutely. So the old adage is we eat our own. 0:11:41.081 --> 0:11:43.721 I'm very very sad to say that that's still part 0:11:43.721 --> 0:11:46.481 and parcel a major part of nursing. We ask people 0:11:46.481 --> 0:11:48.361 to come into the profession, and then we turn around 0:11:48.401 --> 0:11:50.441 and we treat them dreadfully. I think you have to 0:11:50.481 --> 0:11:52.881 be fully aware and be honest with yourself how others 0:11:52.921 --> 0:11:55.601 see you. You know, if you're truly honest with yourself, 0:11:55.641 --> 0:11:58.921 what would your colleagues say about you? And understand that 0:11:59.041 --> 0:12:01.321 and accept that? And if it's not what you want 0:12:01.361 --> 0:12:03.601 it to be, we have to change. You have to 0:12:03.681 --> 0:12:06.841 change that. I have to change that for myself. I 0:12:06.881 --> 0:12:10.441 can't change anybody except for my own thoughts and feelings. 0:12:10.681 --> 0:12:14.201 So I have to be truly reflective about my behavior, 0:12:14.561 --> 0:12:16.761 about the way that I see things, and I speak 0:12:16.801 --> 0:12:19.801 and express myself to staff and to my colleagues, no 0:12:19.841 --> 0:12:22.761 matter who they are. Oftentimes I tell people, what are 0:12:22.801 --> 0:12:24.761 your thoughts when you wake up at half past three 0:12:24.881 --> 0:12:26.841 or half past four in the morning, it's just you 0:12:27.281 --> 0:12:30.081 and the universe sitting there, how do you actually feel 0:12:30.081 --> 0:12:32.921 about how your day work yesterday? What are your thoughts 0:12:32.921 --> 0:12:35.601 and feelings in and around that we've always spoken about. 0:12:35.641 --> 0:12:37.881 I was brought up to be kind and to be polite, 0:12:37.921 --> 0:12:40.761 But what has been kind and polite mean to other people? 0:12:41.081 --> 0:12:43.441 How does that actually look for each of us? That's 0:12:43.521 --> 0:12:46.921 making time to be with people. That's making time to hear, 0:12:47.281 --> 0:12:49.921 not just listen, but to actually hear what they are 0:12:49.961 --> 0:12:52.721 saying and trying to say to you. My senior role, 0:12:52.881 --> 0:12:56.161 by the title of it, alludes to they're a scary person, 0:12:56.281 --> 0:12:59.201 and I've tried extraordinarily hard over my years in the 0:12:59.281 --> 0:13:02.481 senior role to make that only an illusion, to give 0:13:02.521 --> 0:13:04.961 them an understanding that whilst I am a senior nurse, 0:13:05.201 --> 0:13:07.521 at the crux of it all, I'm Kathy Flannig and 0:13:07.601 --> 0:13:08.681 I'm a registered nurse. 0:13:08.841 --> 0:13:12.081 So just like you, I mean me knowing you and 0:13:12.361 --> 0:13:15.681 having worked with you and under you, having a huge 0:13:15.681 --> 0:13:20.481 amount of respect for you, are other organizations as aware 0:13:20.801 --> 0:13:21.641 as what you are? 0:13:22.001 --> 0:13:24.401 The empathy side of things, we speak about it an 0:13:24.401 --> 0:13:27.641 awful lot how we enacted on a day to day basis. 0:13:27.681 --> 0:13:30.201 I don't see that happening in an awful lot we 0:13:30.241 --> 0:13:32.521 do say, and I hear it all the time from people. 0:13:32.801 --> 0:13:34.801 I'm like that, But that's where I go back to that. 0:13:35.161 --> 0:13:38.761 What's that true self reflection? How do others actually see you? 0:13:39.081 --> 0:13:42.081 Do you accept and understand what feedback is being provided 0:13:42.121 --> 0:13:45.081 to you. There's been a variety of different programs over 0:13:45.121 --> 0:13:47.801 the time about trying to give feedback to people to 0:13:47.881 --> 0:13:51.521 help them to understand how they are perceived by other people. 0:13:51.841 --> 0:13:54.761 I can't change human nature, beck I'd love to in 0:13:54.761 --> 0:13:57.601 a variety of areas, but there are some people who, 0:13:57.801 --> 0:14:00.321 for what they've come from, for where they've been, they 0:14:00.361 --> 0:14:03.241 find it very, very difficult to change any part of that, 0:14:03.801 --> 0:14:06.961 and they've got themselves into, oftentimes a niche role where 0:14:07.161 --> 0:14:11.561 to their power and importance is the most fundamental part 0:14:11.601 --> 0:14:14.201 of their being. I will say the word dominance, but 0:14:14.281 --> 0:14:16.521 their dominance over other staff. 0:14:16.241 --> 0:14:19.281 Working in the operating theaters. I found that to be 0:14:19.641 --> 0:14:22.361 very prevalent in the theaters because it was such a 0:14:22.401 --> 0:14:26.161 closed off area. There were power struggles over who was 0:14:26.201 --> 0:14:28.921 going to scrub for who, And I mean god, I 0:14:28.961 --> 0:14:32.001 remember back at PA when I first started working there 0:14:32.001 --> 0:14:34.641 and I went to the theaters for the first time. I 0:14:34.721 --> 0:14:39.801 remember nurses hiding instruments from other nurses and they would 0:14:39.801 --> 0:14:42.641 get there early so that they'd have those instrumentations for 0:14:42.721 --> 0:14:45.961 their surgeon. It's hard to comprehend that happened, but it did, 0:14:46.121 --> 0:14:49.601 and they were doing it purely because they wanted, I suppose, 0:14:49.761 --> 0:14:51.961 be the best nurse they could be for that particular 0:14:52.001 --> 0:14:55.361 doctor and it saved instrumentation being thrown at them. Some 0:14:55.441 --> 0:14:58.481 of those theater nurses. When I first started, I was 0:14:58.961 --> 0:15:01.401 terrified of them, and I still loved it, and it 0:15:01.481 --> 0:15:03.521 wasn't for everybody. And I do think you had to 0:15:03.561 --> 0:15:06.601 be a certain type of to work in the theater's 0:15:06.921 --> 0:15:07.721 long term. 0:15:07.921 --> 0:15:11.401 Absolutely, I've had the opportunities to present a variety of 0:15:11.401 --> 0:15:14.121 people and around different things. One thing that I really 0:15:14.161 --> 0:15:16.641 consider is that I think a lot of this power 0:15:16.681 --> 0:15:20.281 struggle comes from people holding onto their own knowledge. They 0:15:20.281 --> 0:15:22.841 think that their knowledge is their power. So therefore I 0:15:22.921 --> 0:15:25.521 know everything and if I don't tell you, well, then 0:15:25.761 --> 0:15:27.321 I'm going to be the top dog. I'm going to 0:15:27.321 --> 0:15:29.681 be the top nurse because I haven't given you all 0:15:29.721 --> 0:15:32.481 my knowledge. When you spell knowledge in the middle of there, 0:15:32.521 --> 0:15:36.521 there's three little letters altogether. It's owl and that's L 0:15:37.001 --> 0:15:40.161 and l's a very, very wise creature. So as far 0:15:40.201 --> 0:15:43.001 as I'm concerned, within knowledge, there is wisdom that needs 0:15:43.041 --> 0:15:46.041 to be provided to people. And who am I to 0:15:46.081 --> 0:15:48.841 hang on to my knowledge? Because I want to make 0:15:49.041 --> 0:15:51.521 every nurse to be the best nurse they possibly can, 0:15:51.961 --> 0:15:54.801 to be fully empathetic and understanding for the simple fact 0:15:54.841 --> 0:15:58.161 that I might be their patient one day, My family 0:15:58.361 --> 0:16:01.161 will be their patient one day, and I want them 0:16:01.241 --> 0:16:03.481 to be the best nurse that they can be so 0:16:03.481 --> 0:16:06.761 they can actually look after me. Entirely selfish, Rebecca. But 0:16:06.801 --> 0:16:09.041 if I don't give over my knowledge, what am I 0:16:09.121 --> 0:16:10.721 going to do with it? I'm just going to sit 0:16:10.761 --> 0:16:14.361 in a rocking chair a white postages. Why hang on 0:16:14.441 --> 0:16:16.241 to the knowledge? Why not share it and give it 0:16:16.281 --> 0:16:19.441 to other people? Because once I've been provided with that, 0:16:19.801 --> 0:16:22.401 they can't unlearn that. It's a bit like paying forward. 0:16:22.441 --> 0:16:24.841 If I give that knowledge to someone, I want them 0:16:24.841 --> 0:16:26.681 and I tell them I want you to give your 0:16:26.721 --> 0:16:29.361 knowledge to others as well too. You're here to be 0:16:29.441 --> 0:16:31.921 the best nurse you can and to make other nurses 0:16:32.201 --> 0:16:34.041 the best nurses they can because. 0:16:33.761 --> 0:16:38.321 It's interesting within the aesthetic space. I've always shared my information. 0:16:38.401 --> 0:16:41.881 I've gone out and trained for galderma, happy to teach 0:16:41.921 --> 0:16:45.001 because I think if you learn good processes and you 0:16:45.081 --> 0:16:46.881 know the right way of doing things, you're going to 0:16:46.961 --> 0:16:51.201 be a better cosmetic injector or nurse. And I've had 0:16:51.241 --> 0:16:52.961 so many people that come up and go, I can't 0:16:52.961 --> 0:16:56.001 believe you're sharing your intellectual property. Why would you do that? 0:16:56.121 --> 0:16:58.481 You know then they'll come in and undercut and I 0:16:58.521 --> 0:17:02.841 think it makes the whole industry profession so much better 0:17:03.041 --> 0:17:07.121 if the nurses that are rear nurses share the knowledge 0:17:07.161 --> 0:17:09.521 that they've got. I know, we say nursing is a profession, 0:17:09.961 --> 0:17:13.120 but I think we really need to start really looking 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.801 at it as a standalone profession. I've done a fair 0:17:16.801 --> 0:17:21.441 bit of conferences in the States and how they perceive nurses, 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:26.640 nurse practitioners, physicians, assistants. It's really respectful and I know 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.481 they've worked very, very hard to get into that position, 0:17:29.561 --> 0:17:33.441 but they're really smashing it over there in the value 0:17:33.481 --> 0:17:37.161 that they see nurses bring to the health system. And look, 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:40.200 it's an awful health system, but they really value what 0:17:40.281 --> 0:17:43.200 nurses say. And the last conference I went to that 0:17:43.321 --> 0:17:46.880 was run by a plastic surgeon. The majority of people 0:17:46.921 --> 0:17:52.241 that were there and that spoke participated with nurse practitioners, physicians, assistants, nurses, 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:54.960 and there were a few doctors thrown in the mix. 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:58.161 And here was the plastic surgeon deferring to a nurse 0:17:58.201 --> 0:18:02.360 practitioner about anatomy facial anatomy. I mean, it was mind 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.880 blowing for me sitting there to see that it made 0:18:04.921 --> 0:18:08.121 me really proud to be a nurse and it gave 0:18:08.201 --> 0:18:11.481 me hope that moving forward in Australia, that we can 0:18:11.521 --> 0:18:15.640 look after our own and really nurture an amazing profession. 0:18:15.761 --> 0:18:17.520 But I think we've got a little way to go 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:18.160 at the moment. 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:21.001 I'd agree with that the growth of the nurse practitioners 0:18:21.001 --> 0:18:23.440 and the senior nurses doing those types of roles and 0:18:23.521 --> 0:18:28.241 other individualized roles within the profession is certainly growing. We 0:18:28.321 --> 0:18:31.120 are still basically under the English way of doing things 0:18:31.120 --> 0:18:34.041 so greatly or wrongly, but certainly we need to step 0:18:34.041 --> 0:18:37.200 away from that. That the doctor isn't God. The doctor 0:18:37.281 --> 0:18:40.161 is part of a healthcare team. We see allied health 0:18:40.201 --> 0:18:43.561 people now undertaking advanced practice scenarios as well too, with 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:47.721 our physios and occupational therapists. Speech pathologists have been able 0:18:47.721 --> 0:18:50.561 to actually prescribe some bits and pieces as well too, 0:18:50.681 --> 0:18:54.000 so that whole allied health process has changed. We need 0:18:54.041 --> 0:18:58.321 to look at our patients holistically and our care delivery holistically. 0:18:58.721 --> 0:19:01.441 It's something that's always been spoken about, though we've never 0:19:01.521 --> 0:19:03.761 truly done that. We tend to defer back to a 0:19:03.801 --> 0:19:07.680 hospital based system, a hospital slash GP type system, and 0:19:07.761 --> 0:19:10.161 that isn't working for us at all, because the hospitals 0:19:10.201 --> 0:19:12.041 will get to a point and they are back at 0:19:12.041 --> 0:19:15.360 that again there's just not enough beds. The best place 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.441 for treatments in your home in the hospital. Acute care 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:21.841 absolutely not an issue. I need to be on a respirator. 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.600 I need to have something very majorly, some major interveections 0:19:25.681 --> 0:19:29.041 undertaken bit theater, b at ICU, be at a cardiac 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.161 intervention or whatever it may be. But the place I'm 0:19:32.201 --> 0:19:35.001 going to recover is in my own home. Being in 0:19:35.041 --> 0:19:37.640 a hospital, it's fully supported in and around, having all 0:19:37.681 --> 0:19:39.961 the doctors and nurses there. You've got to go home 0:19:40.001 --> 0:19:42.161 at some stage and that's when you begin to get better. 0:19:42.201 --> 0:19:44.761 In my opinion, The health system in Australia, in my 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.721 opinion needs a major at shakeup, both publicly and privately 0:19:48.761 --> 0:19:51.801 as well too. I think with the NDIS they begin 0:19:51.961 --> 0:19:54.681 to see some of that, even though that system has 0:19:54.721 --> 0:19:57.000 its major quirks in there as well too. But to 0:19:57.041 --> 0:19:59.521 have all that out at health to keep those clients 0:19:59.521 --> 0:20:02.201 in their homes to be able to maintain a lifestyle 0:20:02.321 --> 0:20:04.521