I have been a nurse since 2013 – to be frank, I chose nursing because my parents told me I would never have difficulty finding a job in the medical profession. I did my Nursing in India and worked in a hospital until I migrated to Australia in 2016 and worked in a GP Practice in NSW.

I had 2 weeks of clinical placement in an aged care facility in Melbourne while pursuing my Australian Nursing registration. It was there I realised I was interested in pursuing aged care as my career. When I met my husband he lived in Tasmania. So, when we got married in 2018, I moved to be with him and finally got the chance to work in aged care at CHT.

When I worked in the hospital, I provided acute care to patients who were only there for one or two days. So, when I just started to get to know a patient, they left. I felt like my days were unpredictable and rushed. Coming into Aged Care, I treat the same residents every day over the years. You get to know the residents and their families, and it becomes a community. I work at my own pace, and I know what to expect when I arrive in the morning.

When I started working at CHT I was a RN for 3 years. You walk the floor and look after the patients. I found there was a call to develop more skills outside of just clinical, and I worked on developing my leadership skills. I was encouraged to apply for a clinical nurse position when it became available - I was really proud to get the position.

I’m the most senior nurse and supervise the nurses and the care staff. I also give inductions to new staff. When the Manager of Snug Village (Denise) goes on leave, I step into her role as an acting manager and look after the whole facility at those times. Then I set up visits across the site. These include dietitians, speech pathologists, palliative care, family conferences, and such.

I feel like I’ve bonded with the team here and I’m well supported.

We had an accreditation last year and that was the first time we had an accreditation visit since I got this job. We were able to fully pass, I was so happy, it was part of a big effort from everyone on our team.

My favourite part of my job is supporting the residents and their families to achieve what they want. When we get new residents, it can be hard for many to come here. They might have lived in their house for 50 or 60 years. Most of them love their garden, they have all their furniture and personal things. So, it's our job to make them feel like they're at home even if it’s not going to be 100% percent the same. We try our best to make them feel accommodated. You'll get a resident, and they say, “I'm not coming in.” But after a week, they said “This is the best decision I have made, I'm so happy here, I've got more friends now because when I was at home, nobody visited me and I had nobody to chat to, now I've got lots of activities and friends.” That makes us very happy.