The frontline of Nursing
Abby-Rose SCHMIDT (2012) At the height of 2021’s COVID period, Abby-Rose was (and still is!) on the frontline as an ICU Nurse in RPA’s COVID ward. Providing fascinating insight into her experiences and how SCEGGS’ emphasis on helping those in need led Abby-Rose to a career brimming with possibilities, this young Old Girl is making a difference to the lives of those needing it most. 8
Having completed your nursing degree just five years ago and with the opportunity to work in environments such as GP clinics, community or telehealth nursing, what attracted you to work in a hospital setting and in particular in ICU? Most Registered Nurses (RNs) go on to apply for a “new grad” position in a hospital setting. The hospital environment is where you gain a variety of clinical skills as you are exposed to a range of clinical areas and this is beneficial for career progression. I was lucky to be offered a position at St Vincent’s Public Hospital. It was a steep learning curve and a challenging year! I spent six months in a busy surgical ward involving 13 different specialties and six months in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In 2018 I applied for a two-year ICU program at RPA to consolidate my skills in critical care and be supported in a large teaching hospital. I was drawn to ICU as it’s fast-paced and challenging, with a variety of complex patient presentations. It has given me a great understanding of the pathophysiology of complex diseases as an ICU RN works closely with members of the multidisciplinary team including physiotherapists and social workers, as well as the various specialist medical teams. I love the challenge of being able to manage critically unwell and rapidly deteriorating patients. It’s an honour every day to provide comfort for the patient and their family who are experiencing what is often the worst time in their life. I personally think every new RN should have experience in a big hospital setting and I believe that my qualifications and experiences will open a range of career opportunities for me throughout my life. I know many RNs in their 50s with fascinating jobs in healthcare – and they don’t do shift work! How does working in ICU differ from other areas of the hospital? For example, are there more specialist skills and training required? An intensive care RN will normally care for one or two patients usually with very complex care needs. An RN on a ward will normally have 6-8 more stable patients and they may have an AIN (Assistant in Nursing) in their team. I feel I have more autonomy working in ICU as we are trained in operating
