Our stories

Occasional drug use can become your norm
Nurse Val tells her story of casual drug use that became a problem and how a colleague sharing their own struggle helped Val to take the first step to better health.
Racism, discrimination and the CALD nurse
Discrimination, a lack of support and token commitment to inclusion and equality made work for CALD RN Jenna stressful and de-humanising. She tells us why we need to call out racism.
Chronic health issues and the need for support
Nurse educator Kate Herbert 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 and asking about burnout
Our Implementation Deputy Director, Mark Aitken, shares his story of professional burnout. He encourages those who are not coping to hold on to hope and reach out for support.
Avoiding moral burnout with the right support, mentoring and resources
RN and paramedic Paul Haines came to Australia 10 years ago. He shares his observations about how our jobs have changed and what we need to help us deliver the best care to patients.
Support – why we need to expect and give it more
Recent RN graduate Lou questions why nurses and midwives don’t receive more support to manage the daily stresses of the job. And shares her ideas for getting that 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 an 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.
Pain medication and stress – a pathway to dependence
Medication for Angus’ chronic migraines helped alleviate his stress but resulted in dependence. He shares how meeting others with the same story helped him navigate a path back to safely managed pain.
Stress adds up and takes its toll
Exposure to trauma, violence, under-staffing. Hannah talks about her workplace and the benefits of talking to a health service that understands what it is to be a nurse.
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.
Menopause, disturbed sleep and or depression
With the onset of menopause, Tina’s sleep suffered and her depression worsened. She shares the choices she made that helped her to sleep better and manage her depression.
Sleep issues – detecting apnea
Makena thought shift work was her sleep issue. It didn’t occur to her that sleep apnea could 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 individual care of a specialist service.