Organisation: Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
Job Title: Clinical Nurse (Paediatric and Adolescent)
Word Limit: 2 pages
Location: Cairns
With clinical experience spanning almost fifteen years, including close to seven years of experience within the Children’s Ward of Cairns Hospital, I am a confident, committed and passionate nursing professional. I have significant experience in paediatric nursing, as well as in child and youth mental health nursing, including the care of young people experiencing eating disorders. I pride myself on my ability to communicate with patients, their family members and members of the multidisciplinary team in a positive and professional manner to facilitate the best possible patient care and appropriate support and advice for the family.
Recently in my position as a Registered Nurse with Cairns Hospital’s Children’s Ward, I have worked as a Clinical Nurse and Clinical Nurse Consultant for several weeks while these roles are being actively recruited for. Working in these more senior positions has given me the opportunity to further refine my leadership capabilities and cemented my professional goal of driving positive patient outcomes through exceptional staff and clinical management, supporting staff development and a consistently proactive approach to quality improvement. Additionally, I have developed further insight into core management principles and standards, including Occupational Health and Safety, Equal Employment Opportunity and Antidiscrimination, as well as a deeper understanding of Queensland Health policies and the legislative standards governing the healthcare environment.
While working as a Clinical Nurse, I was conducting ward handover with the group consisting of several members of the multidisciplinary team. During the process, one of the Registered Nurses was behaving quite aggressively towards me, and proceeded to find fault with everything I was saying. Handling the situation with composure, I considered that my more senior position may have been contributing to the staff member’s inappropriate behaviour. I continued the handover, and upon its completion several doctors, the pharmacist and the ward clerk all mentioned to me that they had found the nurse’s behaviour inappropriate. I sought to discreetly speak with the aggressive nurse. I asked her if there was anything wrong or if I had offended her in some way. She replied that I had not, so I explained to her that her behaviour during the handover had been unprofessional and several other staff had mentioned the same to me. I let her know that I was there to contribute to, support and guide the team, and one of my expectations was to be treated with the same respect that I showed her as a member of the nursing staff. My professional and prompt handling of the situation has ensured I have had no further issues with this staff member, demonstrating my ability to lead with confidence and integrity.
A confident nursing professional, I have a strong understanding of my personal strengths and areas for development, and seek appropriate professional development to ensure the care I provide is consistently improving, is in line with evidence and best practice as well as meets the complex needs of my patients.
In my role as a Registered Nurse at Cairns Hospital, I was seconded to work in the Emergency Department (ED). During one shift in the ED, a paediatric consultant noticed I was there and asked me to assist with a paediatric patient. The patient had complex health issues, including a tracheostomy, and was in need of high-flow humidified oxygen, however none of the ED nurses knew how this could be administered to a young child. Utilising my critical thinking skills, I sourced an adult circuit and all the equipment needed to administer the oxygen, since there is no device specifically for paediatric patients. Once the oxygen was administered, the patient’s vital signs improved and his parents were very grateful for my skills and knowledge, as well as my quick thinking in a high-pressure situation. The care I provided this child demonstrates my ability to understand and maximise the impact of my strengths within the complex care environment.
I pride myself on the depth of my clinical knowledge, particularly in relation to the care of paediatric and adolescent patients, which is where I have developed the majority of my skills and knowledge since qualifying as a Registered Nurse. Calm and composed under pressure, I have strong problem solving skills, often offering innovative solutions to complex issues. Additionally, I have coordinated Medical Emergency Team calls within the Children’s Ward at Cairns Hospital on multiple occasions, demonstrating my advanced knowledge and effective coordination skills.
Recently, during a shift as Acting Clinical Nurse-in-Charge, a patient with a grade 3 laceration to her spleen was admitted to the ward. I was concerned that this patient would not be able to receive the care she needed outside of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and had the potential to deteriorate quickly, so I advocated for her and contacted the surgical team for a review. The surgical team were unconcerned about the young patient, however I was still perturbed so sought to consult both the paediatric medical consultants and the ICU registrars. Upon having the patient reviewed a second time, it became apparent that the patient would indeed receive more appropriate care within the ICU, and she was promptly transferred. My strong advocacy skills and well-developed clinical competence are showcased through my professional and diplomatic handling of this situation, which resulted in the best care for the patient’s condition.
My commitment to evidence-based practice underpins my approach to nursing, and drives me to seek out learning opportunities wherever possible. I am currently undertaking a Graduate Diploma of Play and Childhood to deepen my understanding of my paediatric patients. Additionally, as a senior member of the Children’s Ward team at Cairns Hospital, I often induct and guide new and graduate staff in their roles, assisting them to become familiar with the facilities, policies and procedures that will enable them to provide our patients with exceptional care during their hospital stay.
In my current position at Cairns Hospital, I cared for a 4-year-old patient who had come into the ED. She had complex health needs, and nursing staff on the ED were having issues accessing her port-a-cath. Upon my arrival, the need for access was urgent, so I commenced talking to both the patient and her mother to build rapport and distract them from what was occurring. During this time, I managed to access the patient’s port-a-cath and commence fluids for the patient. Once the patient was calm, I spoke with the ED nurses to give them some insight into how we access the paediatric patient’s port-a-cath, and why we do so as a sterile procedure. Sharing this knowledge with my colleagues in the ED gave them information to help them in managing paediatric port-a-cath patients more effectively. My identification of an opportunity to share knowledge and drive the professional development of my ED colleagues demonstrates my commitment to on-going learning within the nursing team.
Passionately committed to improving the overall care experience for patients and their families at Cairns Hospital, I have been involved in numerous quality initiatives and process improvements to streamline the nursing process and ensure a seamless experience for patients. For example, I worked in collaboration with maintenance staff to create and implement appropriate storage for different sized blood pressure cuffs, removing waits of up to 36 minutes for patients while their nurse sought the correct sized cuff to take their blood pressure.
Recently while acting as Clinical Nurse, a situation arose where the ward was full and there were several children awaiting admission from the ED. Reviewing the list of patients due for discharge that day, I coordinated across the multidisciplinary team to have patients reviewed and approved for discharge promptly, which opened up beds on the ward far quicker than if we had waited on the discharge process to occur naturally. Later on, the acting Nurse Unit Manager returned to the ward after attending the bed meeting with high praise for our team and the effort we had all put in to ensuring that patients were able to leave hospital as soon as possible and those waiting in the ED for a bed were admitted without delay. This example demonstrates my commitment to exceptional service within the hospital environment.
A confident member of the multidisciplinary team, I have well-developed interpersonal skills as well as a highly adaptable approach to communication that enables me to drive effective exchanges at all times, even when faced with a high-pressure situation. With close to seven years of experience within Cairns Hospital, I have cared for patients from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds, and I am respectful and culturally sensitive at all times, embracing the diversity and uniqueness of all my patients.
While assisting a doctor to cannulate a young child, the doctor suggested that we wrap the child to make the procedure easier. As this was already a frightening experience for our young patient, I explained to the doctor that there are kinder ways to perform the procedure without traumatising the child further. I spoke with the patient’s mother, asking her to hold him tightly so we could safely insert the cannula. Using diversional therapy techniques, I was able to distract the toddler so the cannula could be inserted without scaring him. The patient was successfully cannulated and his mother thanked me for making the procedure as pleasant as possible by engaging with her son and ensuring that the least force necessary was used. My strong communication and interpersonal skills within the multidisciplinary team, as well as with patients and their family members, are demonstrated in this example, resulting in a positive patient outcome from what started as a distressing experience for both the patient and his mother.
I am confident that the depth and breadth of my experience within paediatric and adolescent nursing, as well as my passion for driving positive patient outcomes and my natural leadership skills, will ensure that I can make a positive contribution to the Cairns Hospital team as a Clinical Nurse (Paediatric and Adolescent).
