Our stories

Endometriosis - behind the uniform
Zara is a midwife who lives with the pain and fatigue of endometriosis. She tells us how asking for support and some small fixes made a big difference to her work days.
Hope after burnout looks like this
When burnout pushed her to her limit, Frances literally drove away from her life. She tells us about working her way back to a life of hope.
Cultural load in a clinical role
Marni shares her experience of balancing cultural responsibilities with clinical work, the weight of cultural load, and the importance of connection, trust, and having someone to yarn with.
Occasional drug use can become your norm
Registered Nurse Val recalls how using cannabis and alcohol became a coping habit. She thanks a colleague who talked about their own struggle, and shared the power of peer support in recovery.
Racism, discrimination and the CALD nurse
Jenna, an RN from a CALD background, shares her experience and the impacts of racism and discrimination at work. She tells us culturally safe, supportive workplaces are essential.
Chronic health issues and the need for support
Nurse educator Kate tells her story about living with a chronic illness and how good support helped her to complete her training and continue working as a nurse.
Finding the right words – talking about burnout
Registered Nurse, Martin, shares his story of professional burnout. He encourages those who are not coping to hold on to hope and reach out for support.
Workplace bullying: a manager’s experience
RN and manager Nel understands that a good manager supports and encourages their team. She talks about the stress and distress of being bullied by unsupportive management.
Alcohol takes away the pain until it doesn’t
Stress, isolation and workplace bullying took RN Terry to a place of alcohol misuse and despair. He tells us how a specialist health service helped him to sobriety and new hope.
Stress adds up and takes its toll
Trauma, violence, busy shift. Hannah talks about the benefits of peer support and having someone walk beside you who understands the reality of the job.
Scheduling sleep – how your roster can help
A new career as a nurse led to sleep ‘chaos’ for Rachel. She talks about how poor sleep led to anxiety, and how careful roster planning helped her to sleep better.
Depression and disturbed sleep
Stress, menopause and poor sleep worsened Tina’s depression. She tried sleep routines, diet, exercise and to sleep better and manage her mental health.
Sleep issues – detecting apnoea
Makena thought shift work was her sleep issue. It didn’t occur to her that sleep apnoea could be the cause. She talks about treatment and choices she made to improved sleep.
Normalising counselling for nurses and midwives
Bridget talks about the need for counselling services so graduates will realise that they can debrief, and prevent burn-out from the beginning of their career.
Small steps back from burnout
Burnout called a halt on ‘normal’ life for Christine. Her health improved thanks to her supportive GP, workplace and family. And the care of a specialist service.