Katherine Wickson’s path to nursing was shaped by lived experience, intellectual curiosity, and a lifelong passion for culture and connection. Having spent much of her childhood and adolescence managing chronic illness, life-changing surgery in her early twenties opened the door to a nursing career she had not previously imagined possible.
She began in Charters Towers, studying online with CQU while honing her early clinical skills in a close-knit rural community. Following graduation, Katherine completed her graduate year across the Gold Coast Health and Hospital Service before finding her passion for nurse navigation through the Gold Coast Integrated Care project – recognising that the role aligned with what matters most to her: helping people feel seen, understood, and supported.
Three years working as a rural generalist across Blackall and Barcaldine in the Central West deepened her understanding of health inequity, the power of relationships, and the resourcefulness required in rural practice.
Today, she works as a Multicultural Nurse Navigator in Metro South Health. Working with some of the most culturally diverse and vulnerable patients in the system, Katherine brings together everything she has learned – clinically, culturally, and personally – in a role she describes as her dream job.
“When I saw the advertisement for Multicultural Nurse Navigator, I thought – could this be possible? My dream job, combining my passion for cultures with healthcare? I could not think of any other place I would rather be. It is an immense privilege to support such a vulnerable yet beautifully unique cohort every single day.”