Ipswich in Spring 2020

IPSWICH’S OWN FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE SAYS TEAMWORK IS KEY TO SUCCESS

Going into surgery can feel like a scary prospect.

She is an Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School old girl and has worked at the Ipswich Hospital for the past 14 years. “I have been a nurse for 23 years and most of that time I have been a perioperative nurse,” Mrs Hunter said. “I especially enjoy seeing new nurses whose development I have contributed to, performing independently.” Becoming a nurse was a childhood dream for Mrs Hunter as she watched her sister suffer from asthma. She also remembers spending time in hospital watching while her pop’s health declined. “I remember watching the nurses busily providing care taking and recording observations and taking the time to get to know the patient and their families,” Mrs Hunter said. “I thought that this was something that I could see myself enjoying.” Subscribe free to Ipswich First news alerts at Ipswichfirst.com.au/subscribe/

After you change into surgery clothes, a nurse and orderly wheels you into the pre-op area where the last face you are likely to see before going under anaesthesia, might be Amy Hunter’s. Amy Hunter is a perioperative nurse and has been named West Moreton Health’s Nurse of the Year. “When people are coming to the operating theatre they are usually feeling quite vulnerable,” Mrs Hunter said. “They have a loss of control and they are placing their trust in us and what we do. “It is something that we take seriously. “We spend time explaining to them what’s going to happen, that they are safe and that we will be with them the whole time.” Mrs Hunter was born in the Ipswich Hospital and has spent most of her life living and working in Ipswich.

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