Heather Blackhall has worked as a nurse for almost 50 years. She is currently a Registered Nurse with Carinity Home Care. Ahead of International Nurses Day on May 12, we asked Heather about her career supporting the elderly and people in need.
How long have you worked as a nurse, and what was your first nursing role?
I have been working as a nurse for an extraordinary 48 years. The time has flown by so fast! I initially trained as a nurse at Princess Alexandra Hospital back in the days of the old building and in-hospital student nurse training and then I subsequently upgraded my training to a Bachelor of Nursing in 1994 at Edith Cowan University.
My first nursing role after graduation was in 1980 as a junior RN (Registered Nurse) in an old and now demolished pavilion ward of Greenslopes Hospital, working with an ageing cohort of returned soldiers from World War II. Oh, the stories they told!
I have seen a lot of changes in the hospitals, the health system and the nursing role since those nervous first days as a novice Registered Nurse.
What inspired you to become a nurse?
I became inspired after I became a nurse. When I found myself without a career direction at the tender age of 18, my mother set about "inspiring me to go into nursing". She had been a nurse and there weren't too many career options for young women in the 1970s: either teaching or nursing.
After I completed school, I started a teaching diploma but became disillusioned very quickly. I then strongly resisted my parents' pressure to become a nurse because I had no idea what nurses did - other than being "doctors' handmaidens" - and in the heady days of 1970s women's rights, it did not seem an attractive prospect to me.
After a lot of family arguments I thought I had won the battle when I absolutely refused to apply to be a nurse, but then Mum and Dad called in a favour from a friend of the family with influence. To my surprise, I was offered a place at Princess Alexandra Hospital in the 1977 mid-year intake that I had no choice but to accept.
What nursing roles have you held?
I have enjoyed a long and diverse nursing career working in hospitals, working on location as a set nurse for TV and movies, working in a male remand centre (prison) and now in the community with elderly clients for Carinity. I have also had teaching and facilitation experience in nurse education as a lecturer at Southbank TAFE. I love inspiring young nurses.
What motivates you to help others?
Knowing I can make a difference in the quality of a person's life is what motivates me to help others. Sometimes it is just the visit that makes the difference to someone who is socially isolated, needs company, needs someone to talk with, and a lot of elderly people do find themselves isolated.
Sometimes it is utilising the clinical knowledge I have accumulated over many years of nursing; to advise and sort out the direction the client and the team could take to resolve or manage health problems and health issues the client is facing.
And oftentimes it is actively using the wound care and clinical nursing skills I possess to support the client's care at home and keep them out of the congested hospital system, or to keep them at home and not in an aged care facility.
What does your role entail?
Working as a home care nurse is collaborative and includes every aspect of the nursing care process: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation.
I interview the clients, conduct assessments, analyse the information I have gathered and documented. Then, in consultation with the client and the home care team and other health team members such as carers, family, allied health workers and doctors, we develop a plan for clinical care that is responsive to the client's specific healthcare needs.
I also often act in a more supportive role by educating and directing home care carers. And then some days it is just a cup of tea with the client and their partner, but it all must be documented.
What do you most enjoy about being a nurse?
I continuously enjoy the variety nursing offers because no two days are ever the same and the challenges just keep coming.
Over the last 45 years, I have mixed it up as much as I possibly can, saying yes to opportunities and nursing in contexts others would decline.
I also value working with people. Every client is an individual and I enjoy meeting them and conducting the assessments in a way that involves respect, humour and sensitive human interaction.
When people invite you into their homes seeking help and advice for their health issues it is a professional privilege for me to enter that space and should be a positive experience for the client.
What does International Nurses Day mean to you?
It is a day when the incredible work nurses do and the many roles we undertake are recognised by the local and international communities. As nurses we also recognise each other on International Nurses Day, and that is important.
What would you say to someone who is considering becoming a home care nurse?
I would say do it - we need you! It is a wonderful experience and community nursing offers endless opportunities for learning as well as personal and professional development.
