Our Nurse Leaders Share Advice on International Nurses Day

“I was inspired to become a nurse by a person; my favourite aunty in the whole world,” says Fiona Sanders, the General Manager of Salvos Home Care. “She worked in Melbourne, in the Alfred Hospital, in the operating theatres, and I looked at her job and career and thought, how exciting it was! She always talked about the fact that she loved being a nurse and being able to care for people and make a difference in people’s lives.” 

Samantha Jukes, the General Manager of the Care Quality and Compliance team, shares this sentiment. “I was inspired to become a nurse quite early on, similar to a lot of people,” she states. “I spent quite a lot of time in hospital at a young age and one of the things that made that a lot easier to bear, was the nurses that I had contact with. I spent quite a lot of time sending them letters and drawing them pictures, and in the end, decided to become a nurse to see if I could have the same sort of impact on other kids like me.”  

Fiona notes that the possibilities of nursing are expansive. “The breadth of opportunities is enormous; when I started my nursing career, I worked in the operating theatre,” she explains. “I stayed there for quite some time; I then moved into a management role. I’ve worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Paediatrics, I’ve worked as a consultant, in subacute care, post-acute care and of course, now in the aged care sector.”  

“There are a multitude of opportunities,” Margaret Williams, the Manager of Clinical Procedures and Practice Excellence, says. “A lot of people think that nursing is simply about working in a hospital, but there are so many career options within nursing, and the ability to travel. Not just overseas, but around the country to different locations and loads of different ways that nurses can be involved in improving patient care and having better outcomes for the people that they help look after. I have been lucky enough to have travelled and worked in remote Aboriginal Communities in the Kimberley, the Northern Territory and in England as well as several areas around Sydney” 

Irwan Anang, Manager of Aged Care Advocate and Complaints, states that The Salvation Army Aged Care has many opportunities for nurses. “There is always an opportunity to grow your career as a nurse, especially with The Salvation Army.” Gurpartap ‘GP’ Dhaliwal, Manager of Accreditation, Compliance and Clinical Risk, agrees. “A special callout goes to men out there to join nursing to challenge traditional gender stereotypes and offer a more diverse healthcare workforce,” he says.   

Residential Services Area Manager Andrea Mabalo, notes the necessity of care, when considering a career in nursing. “Knowledge and skills can be learnt but you need to have the passion and the love to deliver the care,” she explains. Similarly for Centre Manager at Macquarie Lodge Aged Care Centre and Registered Nurse, Milly Prokopenko, she notes the importance of creating a supportive environment as a nurse. “Have passion and love and most of all a heart, where you can give unconditionally, and create a home within a home for our aging population.”  

International Nurses Day is marked annually on 12 May, occurring on the birthday of Florence Nightingale and acknowledging nurses worldwide.