Ben Minnis
Eighteen years ago, as a new Graduate Nurse, I recall being shocked that I could administer Panadol without supervision.
Since then my career has taken me from a ward in South Brisbane to AusMAT tents in the Northern Territory and further afield, from leading a team in an Ebola Treatment Centre in Sierra Leone to managing an Emergency Department back in Brisbane.
I have many memories and faced many challenges.
As an Orthopaedic new grad, I recall receiving a multi-trauma patient from ICU who was battling to save his legs and having to learn to walk again. Months later as I was leaving that ward, he was back to have the pins removed from his legs – he made it.
I recall cradling a young boy inflicted with Ebola, alone, in a tent full of strangers because none of his family had survived – he died, though not entirely alone. These are sobering memories.
One of my biggest challenges, however, has been to step away from the bedside, losing that ability to affect a patient’s journey.
Although I now relish being able to lead a group of nurses who can also positively affect a patient’s journey, and their own.
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