“If you’re thinking about becoming a nurse practitioner, it’s a big commitment. You really need to know your area of specialty, that you’re passionate about it and that this is the area you’ve decided to work in.
As a nurse consultant or registered nurse, I always felt that I had so much more to offer to patients, families & the health system, but my role was so restricted. As a nurse practitioner, you’ve got much more leeway to really improve what you do for your patients.” 🏥
Emma Everingham is a Nurse Practitioner in the Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department at Westmead Hospital & one of our UTS #NursePractitioner alumna!
See more of Emma's story in our latest blog! (www.utshealth.blog) 👀
It’s Nurse Practitioner Week! We’re celebrating with stories from our Nurse Practitioners in the #utshealth community – Meet Rochelle Firth, NP in Neurosurgery at RNSH & Coordinator of the Master of Nurse Practitioner at UTS. “I became a Nurse Practitioner because I wanted to continue to work directly with patients & carers, helping them navigate their health admission and improving the experience they had. I wanted some way of using my expert knowledge on direct interactions with patients.
In my role, I’ve helped bridge the communication & knowledge gap between patients and families and health care teams. By coordinating care within the team, I’m able to advocate the patients’ individual needs and then provide “whole team” communication back to the patients. I’ve been able to be an expert resource, easily accessible to patients, families and the health care teams.”
In West Africa in 2001, Nursing graduate Sonja Dawson was working on a Mercy Ship when she met 3-year-old patient Cavilla and her pregnant mother. After Cavilla’s premature passing, Sonja visited her village and was astounded by the poor conditions. She dedicated every Saturday thereafter to teaching basic health care to the community. 15 years later, Sonja went back to Benin to see the village thriving, and the once pregnant mother of Cavilla was now the mother of a 15-year-old girl, Julia-Sonja, named after the nurses who changed her life.
Sonja is now completing her PhD on the experiences of nurses on Mercy Ships. “Nurses come back time after time because it’s fulfilling. You’re taking care of the whole person and transforming their life.” #utshealth #nurselife #nursing #mercyships #mercyshipsnurse #healthresearch #heartsofhealth
