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Sandy’s Shift: From a New Zealand ED to Travel Nursing Down Under
My name’s Sandy and I started travel nursing when I joined HCA at the end of 2019 as I was finding it increasingly difficult to find funds for travel and mortgage commitments while having to work long and hard in a busy NZ ED. I seemed to have lost the passion I once had as the expectations mounted in the hospital I’ve been employed in since 1987.
I had been to a recruitment evening in New Zealand a couple of years earlier and really liked what I learned from that experience.
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Table of Contents
When did you start travel nursing with Healthcare Australia?
I was on a cruise in Australia in 2020 when the boarders shut with Covid so I made my mind up to stay and start travel nursing nursing. My first 12 week contract was in Ivanhoe, NSW in a Primary Health Care (PHC) facility, what an eye opener. At the time the population was approximately 180 but it also services a larger area of farmland. Working in Ivanhoe was a big change from the fast pace I was used to.
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I’ve done several more NSW contracts, including Moore, two in Leeton, one in Balranald and one in Berrigan. All of these sites were inland so after working these facilities I wanted to venture into another state and leapt at the opportunity to be put forward for a contract in Mossman. Mossman is just a short drive away from Port Douglas and was my first coastal contract.
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Tell us a bit more about your time working in Mossman?
This is a truly beautiful part of the world, right on the doorstep of one of the oldest rainforests in the world – The Daintree. I did quite a bit of touring during my 12 weeks on contract. A few real highlights were The Kuranda Skyrail, Mossman Gorge and a snorkel trip to Lowe Isles.
Mossman is a busy ED that sees a-lot of tourists and services a wide area. We saw up to 60 people a day in ED. Some critical patients requiring resuscitation, stabilisation and transport out in the rescue chopper.
There is often a daily transfer to Cairns in the ambulance accompanied by a paramedia, the daily transfer was a duty shared by the RNs. The team in Mossman are excellent, very skilled and supportive. There is a large number of agency staff that support this site so easy to feel a comradeship. I’d be happy to go back for another contract.
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Any tips to people who are new to Rural and Remote nursing?
To prepare for rural and remote nursing and travel nursing I have done a few online courses that I found very helpful.
Pharmacotherapeutics
Remote Emergency Care
Maternity Emergency Care
Immunisation
The maternity aspect of working remote is a little daunting as I’m not a midwife and there is not always a midwife on call.
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What do you do while off contract back in New Zealand and what’s next?
When I’m back in NZ I work as a casual ED nurse in my hometown, which I find more enjoyable now.
I will continue to work R&R with a focus on doing a remote contract later this year to experience indigenous culture more in-depth and learn more about their disease burden.
— Sandy
If you’re interested in being a travel nurse but aren’t sure where? Be sure to check out another blog about the WA and beyond we have published here.