4 Corners Newsletter - Vol 3 - Central Queensland University

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The future of the profession According to departing lecturer and course coordinator, Loretto Quinney, the profession of nursing is at a watershed - and as yet it is unclear how exactly it will all pan out. “On the one hand, we are looking at reduced numbers of places for our graduates as preretirees continue to work to boost their superannuation. There just hasn’t been the attrition in industry to release places for graduates. This will impact on our student numbers in the near future.” “On the other hand, ANMAC warns us that in five to seven years, there will be a significant shortfall of Registered Nurses as the baby boomers retire.” Loretto believes the role of the RN is about to undergo a fundamental change and the role of the EEN will be modified to fill the gaps. “Our challenge is to be prepared for that and I think CQUni is doing some great work in this respect.” She has great confidence in handing her profession over to the next generation. “The badging ceremony comes around soon and as I look at the caliber of nurses we have contributed to developing, I think we have every right to be proud.” The demands of twenty-firstcentury health care services will continue to test the nursing profession’s ability to maintain high caliber care that meets contemporary societal needs. Historically, the nursing profession has consistently demonstrated its ability to adapt to changing and varied health care needs. It remains an exceedingly popular and highly respected profession that attracts large numbers of new recruits to its ranks. There is little doubt that nursing will continue to maintain its status as an extremely important profession, serving the health needs of the nation. New horisons for Loretto ‘How do you eat an elephant? – one bite at a time.’ This adage rings true for Loretto Quinney as she exchanges the Sunshine State for the Garden State. Loretto grew up as part of a large family on a wool property in the western district of Victoria. From early childhood, surrounded with plenty of fun, laughter and good food, she always tries to see life as a positive experience. “So much of whether you will enjoy life is about your outlook and if you are not happy, then you need to step up and change it,” she said. She went to school at the local college in Camperdown and chose to start her General Training at St. John of God Hospital in Ballarat. She knew, however, that she wanted to tackle something bigger and after graduation went to Melbourne to do Intensive Care/Coronary Care at the Western Hospital. “My first patient was ventilated, had a Sengstaken-Blakemore, peritoneal, dialysis, arterial line, Swan Ganz and a CVC with a Christmas tree of inotropes. I got through the grand round, went out to the loo and threw up. I was so scared, but I kept going back and stayed in critical care for the next 8 years. It’s still how I identify myself.” Loretto went to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and then did Midwifery at the Royal Women’s Hospital. “I remember my first week in Delivery Suite was in December and all the medical students had left for the holidays, so there was no competition – I had 50 deliveries in my first week and had to stop counting or otherwise that would not have let me back for my second round”. In the early 1990’s she moved back to Ballarat as ADON (HR) and a few years later took on a joint role managing Education and Marketing. In 2010, Loretto moved to Rockhampton with her husband after working in Townsville in Midwifery, Critical Care and Renal as well as teaching at TAFE. Part of her motivation in life is the immense energy she gets from teaching. She loves it when she has the students in Residential and they ask questions and make connections. “My greatest buzz has been teaching and watching the students develop their knowledge base and extend their reasoning,” she said. Although Loretto has only been at CQUniversity Rockhampton Campus for three years, she has made quite an impact. Shortly after starting at the Centre for Professional Health Education in 2010, she moved to the undergraduate program and was appointed as the Course Coordinator for Acute Nursing Management. The program needed a review and with her background and experience as a clinician, she was able to bring currency to the re-write. Loretto strongly believes that you need mentors and was lucky enough to have several – each with their own area of expertise. “Working in academia has many opportunities and facets that you need to program an attack so you don’t become overwhelmed or start to work in ever decreasing circles,” she said. With the guidance of Maude Chapman who gave her a sound platform to start from and who was around in the initial months, Loretto got her head around the course and the task at hand. She worked with Sandra Walker who gave her the learning opportunity to understand how to map assessments and structure the course so that the broad set of learning objectives were embedded in every activity. Working in a clinical course helped her to gain an overview of the program and understand the nexus between practicum and theory and to see how each phase of the program was built and scaffold onto the next. It also gave her a chance to identify the gaps and contribute to providing solutions for these. The teaching team working with her, Sandy McLellan, Penny Heidke and Virginia Howie all contributed significantly to the rewarding aspect of having the course be successful and achieve the learning outcomes and KPIs. “This course is a fantastic course to teach and coordinate as students are really keen to learn about ‘real’ nursing and often see the course as being the nuts and bolts of their chosen career,” she said. She also teaches in Critical Care and Advanced Physical Assessment. 8
elationship with the School. “I believe the best aspect of working at CQUniversity has been the permission to think differently, challenge old ideas and explore new and different ways of doing things.” Movements around the School Changes around the School creates new opportunities. Two staff members are leaving CQUniversity - Loretto Quinney and Jenifer Jones. At Rockhampton Campus, Justine Connor (below) is taking on Deputy Head of Nursing Program to Jenny Davis who is taking on Head of Program. Kerry Reid Searl taught her that teaching in different ways can achieve greater outcomes than you can imagine. Not only can you think outside the box, but you can turn it upside down and stand on top of it. For Loretto, the most exciting opportunity is starting to study Research by Higher Degree. It has been part of her life plan and, as with most things in her life, she is determined to finish what she started. The next stage will be the data collection and she is keen to see the outcomes of the data. She acknowledges Ysanne Chapman and Trudy Dwyer as inspirational supervisors and feels indulgent to have access to two such knowledgeable people to guide her in her study. The next stage of life is unplanned. She looks forward to pouring herself into her research studies as she gets the family settled back in Victoria. She’s looking forward to spending more time with her family, working part time as a clinician in Melbourne, diving off Cape Otway, enjoying the music and art shows on offer, and planning the sailing trip around the Greek Islands and the Dalmatian Coast for the not too distant future. Loretto tries hard to live by the adage ‘first things first’ - getting her priorities in order and balancing her family-life-work. “I do what needs to be done most and be where I need to be most. I guess, in essence, this is why we are leaving.” Julie Bradshaw (below) is leaving her position as Head of Program. RESEARCH AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION The HEALTH CRN offers a suite of programs aimed at maximising individual research and career development opportunities. The programs are within a strategy to build world-class research capacity at CQUniversity. Programs focus on the individual and will enable health related researchers to: • visit partner Universities; • use specialised research facilities and equipment at partner Universities; • collaborate on research projects, grants and publications; • attend research skills workshops and training programs; • develop ongoing relationships with researchers at partner Universities. The HEALTH CRN is supported through the Australian Government’s Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) Program. Successful applicants participating in the HEALTH CRN ’s Short-term or Long-term Exchange Program will be provided an opportunity to further their research career by participating in a high-performance research team from within the network of the HEALTH CRN partner universities. The strong base of leading research centres and champions of research excellence from within the network of the HEALTH CRN partner universities provides researchers with diverse opportunities to tailor an application to best suit their individual needs. The cross-institutional visits aim to provide researchers with experiences and opportunities to develop further collaborative research. Researchers are expected to co-author publications and grant proposals, and participate in training and career development opportunities. The programs are fully funded - travel and accommodation are paid for by the CRN. It is a unique opportunity for staff (and their families) to take time in their non teaching term to undertake a trip to one of the partner universities for 3 months to spend time investigating part of their research. Contact Prof Sonj Hall for enquiries or visit www.cqu.edu.au/ research/research-organisations/health-crn/programs 9
Page 1 and 2: 4 CORNERS VOL.3 2012 ISSUE03 From t
Page 3 and 4: Clinical Placements for nurses The
Page 5 and 6: On a lighter note a 3-minute thesis
Page 7: Kerry and Sherie cited for outstand

4 Corners Newsletter - Vol 3 - Central Queensland University

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