It takes a special kind of person to balance the trauma and pain witnessed in the emergency department.
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But for Deborah French, the surprise of the unknown coupled with the family-like camaraderie make it all worth it.
After moving to Griffith from Leeton, she started work at Griffith Base Hospital in 2001 as an assistant nurse.
“Believe it or not, I saw an ad in the paper, and I had always wanted to be a nurse so I thought why not?” Ms French said.
“I think it’s because of the adrenaline rush, you never know what’s coming through the door."
- Deborah French.
“I had two kids by the time I was 18 so I felt my choices were a bit limited.
“I was 40 when the ad came up and that was it for me, I’ve loved it ever since.”
She then became an enrolled nurse, completed her RNs, became a clinical nurse specialist, and is now the acting Nurse Unit manager for the emergency department.
“Once I became a registered nurse, I’ve only ever worked in ED.
“I think it’s because of the adrenaline rush, you never know what’s coming through the door.
“Sometimes it's the worst nightmare you’ve ever seen and sometimes it’s the loveliest.”
What she loves most about the job is the family atmosphere among colleagues, as well as seeing the patients through to the other side.
“We see them at their worst, and their families as well, and when they come back you think they are a totally different person standing in front of you.”
On the flip side, when patients don’t pull through it can be incredibly hard to bear – especially children.
“I cope as a parent. You have those emotions like everyone else, but I think if you don’t have emotion, that empathy, you can’t do the job.”
With changes in technology making everything accessible (Dr Google, anyone?) social media sites have also maximised the voices of “the one per cent” of people dissatisfied with their hospital experience.
“As nurses we can’t address that. But it’s all part and parcel with the job we do, and we know we give 110 per cent to every patient.”
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With over 2000 presentations at GBH in August alone, it’s safe to say the department is always fast-paced.
“We do get road-blocks sometimes, not being able to do the best you can do when you can do it, and not because of our ability or resources,” Ms French explains.
“We are in the country so we don’t have the immediate specialists we need.
“It can also be when people have had a sore arm for three months and come into emergency today.
“Do you want us to stop doing CPR on someone while we are out looking at your ear-ache?
“It’s frustrating people don’t understand what goes on behind the doors.”
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