Louise Lommerse MACN is a Stage Four Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Emerging Nurse Leader. As a nurse with a chronic autoimmune condition, I have a different insight into the concerns that some patients have when they come to hospital. After working as a paramedic and a nurse I thought I had a fairly good…
I completed my Bachelor of Nursing in December last year and, if your undergrad degree is anything like the program I did, you have heard A LOT about SMART goals. But how do you actually use SMART goals, especially when creating learning objectives for your student placements? Well, that is what this article is for…
Welcome to the musings of a new nurse. 2020 was my graduate year of nursing and the year of more formal support to transition from student to nurse. I was lucky to have such a year, even if the COVID-19 pandemic meant it did not go as I had pictured it. I enjoy medical and…
In 2018, as a newly registered nurse, I was unmatched for a graduate program. Wondering what nursing could be, I challenged my own perceptions and the ideologies of roles and positions that are expected of a “graduate nurse”. This involved accepting a position in a trailblazing graduate program focussing on caring for the older person.…
Liam Jackson MACN — a Stage Five Australian College of Nursing Emerging Nurse Leader (ENL) — is part of the 1.44% of midwives in Australia who identify as male (NMBA,2020). With International Day of the Midwife (IMD) approaching on 5 May, we caught up with Liam to discuss his journey to becoming a midwife and…
Stage Four Emerging Nurse Leader Sophie Daniel MACN has penned a heartfelt open letter to welcome in 2021’s new graduate nurses and nursing students. Dear graduate nurses and nursing students, No matter how young or old you are, soon you will embark on one of the biggest journeys of your life. Nursing will push you…
By Emma Reardon MACN I began writing this article on 11 August 2020, eight days into my quarantine at the Hotel for Heroes with a COVID-19 infection. Over the past eight months, I’ve written and rewritten the words, shaped and reshaped the story. This article began as a public health message with details of symptom…
By Hayley Pollock MACN(Student) Stage One ACN Emerging Nurse Leader Moving through a degree in nursing is really exciting, however, it can also feel bizarre at times. Suddenly, you’re out on placement, with real patients who are relying on nurses to care for them. This is an enormous responsibility that nurses take very seriously but,…
At the Australian College of Nursing (ACN), we are privileged to have so many female Fellows and Members whose unmatched leadership, dedication and courage is front and centre of protecting our communities. On 8 March, the world will celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), with the global UN Women theme for 2021 ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving…
By Louise Lommerse MACN Stage Four ACN Emerging Nurse Leader Since 2017, I have been part of a volunteer organisation called Disaster Relief Australia (DRA). DRA is a veteran-led organisation that rapidly deploys disaster relief teams domestically and internationally. This organisation provides a purpose for veterans, emergency first responders, health professionals and civilians to serve and assist others in times of need.…