ADDING an extra 40-plus hours of study to their already busy week, Mount Gambier Hospital’s emergency department nurses have recently completed tertiary qualifications to further their expertise.
Five of the city’s emergency department nurses have been busy juggling work, study and other commitments over the past 12 months.
Lisa Balkin, Ruth Lawson, Maddie McPherson and Morgan Wilson recently completed their post graduate certificate in emergency nursing through Flinders University.
However, fellow colleague Jodie Laube has another six months of study ahead as part of her graduate diploma of emergency nursing through the University of Adelaide.
While the majority of the Flinders course was accessible online for rural students, Ms Laube has made many trips to Adelaide to participate in lectures out of reach from home.
Ms Lawson said tertiary study was the best way to develop further skills and knowledge in their field.
“It is this pathway which takes nurses from novice to experts in their field, it is about providing better care for members of our community,” she said.
“As a regional department, we work extremely hard and independently, so for us to have further education is extremely valuable for ourselves, colleagues and patients.”
Ms Laube said it was a challenge juggling study with work.
“All of our study was completed in our own time and it added an extra 40 to 50 hours per week to our already tight schedule,” she said.
“We were fortunate to gain some scholarship funding to help us with the costs involved with study.”
Ms Wilson said the hard work had already started to pay off.
“It was tough to balance life, work and study, but the knowledge we have gained has been worth it,” Ms Wilson said.
“We are celebrating our hard work because this extra education has already benefited our patients and department.”
Throughout the study period, Ms Lawson said fellow hospital staff members provided great support.
“With the support of our fellow staff members during our studies, we were able to show our commitment to excellence in emergency care,” she said.
“It is about life long learning and just because we are in Mount Gambier does not mean we should be exempt from such study opportunities.”
Each year, new emergency department nursing students will take on the tertiary study to continue the department’s professional development.
