Stephanie is a passionate advocate for education in rural areas of the Wide Bay District. Recognising the challenges faced by rural nurses in accessing specialised training and professional development leave, she spearheaded the creation of "Simulation in a Box" education sessions with fellow educators.
In her dual roles as clinical nurse and midwife, Stephanie addresses the limited number of midwives by supporting and teaching her nursing colleagues who may have to assist with birth. Stephanie has ensured all equipment is accessible, provided guidelines in case of an emergency, and supports staff following the presentation of maternity patients. She’s currently completing a quality improvement project to extend their birth resources to all rural sites in their Health and Hospital Service.
Stephanie is passionate about providing care to families bringing new life into the world, as well as support to families farewelling loved ones. She encourages colleagues to allocate extra time to patients whenever possible as each shift presents an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on someone.
“One of my favourite parts of being a midwife is the ability that you have to make a relationship with a family in a really short period of time. You always remember your midwife and I think that’s really special. I still get that now working with an older community; you get to know their family and you have an opportunity to make a profound impact on them as they say goodbye to their loved ones. I recently wrote a reflection on my experience of working as a midwife and a nurse, which is the beauty of opportunity to work with birth and death and I just wanted to read the last few passages of this reflection:
For a long time I thought I was not where I should be,
but now I know this life is meant for me.
My new community are here,
and to be fair how blessed am I to provide continuity of care.
Tired I get but it will never grow old
To sit quietly at night watching life’s journey unfold.”