When Magda Deveson first came to us as a graduate nurse five years ago, she couldn’t believe how happy everyone was.
Magda had been working in advertising but got sick of politics and the sense of competition. To fill in time, Magda got an administrative job in a medical centre and fell in love with healthcare.
I decided to follow my heart and help people, as cheesy as those sounds, but it’s true.
During her degree, she decided she wanted to become a theatre nurse in a cancer setting.
I did oncology as one of my core subjects and developed a warmth for it.
She did her graduate year with us, spending six months on the ward and six months in theatre. She was impressed with the work environment.
There’s a lot of support, especially when you’re a grad. You really need that.
Working with us
Five years on, Magda is now an Associate Nurse Unit Manager in the operating theatre. It’s a floor coordination role where she looks after the nurses and staffing levels and keeps surgery flowing smoothly.
Magda also works as an ‘instrument’ or ‘circulating’ nurse, otherwise known as a ‘scrub scout’ nurse. In this role she assists surgeons with whatever they need, whether it’s retracting, handing them instruments, or dealing with the tumour when it’s out.
She loves the fast pace of the work environment and the opportunity to work in a high-acuity field.
Working so closely with the surgeons and the anaesthetists … you just learn so much from them.
Her roster varies but is made up of 10-hour shifts, four days a week, and always Monday to Friday, which is rare in nursing. She also works on-call one weekend in five.
A rewarding role
Even though her work is more ‘behind the scenes,’ Magda finds it incredibly empowering to know she has played a part in extending someone’s life or curing them.
Being an advocate for her patients is also important.
They’re anaesthetised, so they don’t know who I am, but I’m there to look out for their best interests while they’re unconscious.
One of the most rewarding parts of her job is seeing patients around the hospital weeks after their surgery or hearing their names mentioned years down the track.
You meet them when they’re at their most vulnerable and they’re nervous and scared. And you’ve been able to travel with them throughout their process in theatre and to give them that calmness that they need.
A supportive work environment
Magda says that a commitment to teamwork and a sense of kindness permeates our organisation.
Everyone is so much more together and compassionate than what I experienced as an undergraduate. Everyone supports each other, everyone debriefs together, and we all just look out for one other.
Magda says that our flat level of management makes it easy to ask for help or advice.
There’s no hierarchy that makes it difficult to approach anyone.
Furthering her education
Next year Magda will go back to study to complete a perioperative postgraduate degree. We will support her with a clinical educator in theatre to help guide her through it.
She says the hospital offers her time off for study as well.
You get additional study days when you study at university to support you with the time you need for your assessments.
In her current role she says she is well supported by two full-time nurse educators: one dedicated to anaesthetics and recovery and another dedicated to surgical.
They’re there all the time. They follow you as you step up through the different surgeries, and there’s competencies that we must complete.
Career progression is a core part of our philosophy.
There isn’t a moment where you stand still in theatre. You’re always encouraged – within your means – to keep progressing.
And Madga’s experience is testament to this.
I’ve become an ANUM [Associate Nurse Unit Manager] within three years of being here. And that’s all through the encouragement of my superiors.