Five years in the far north has grown Anne Scully’s skillset and her scope as an educator.
The nurse educator has recently joined the Clinical Excellence Unit at Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) and is now focused on training in the region’s rural facilities after her time with the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.
Partner Trevor Wall has also joined her at Mackay Base Hospital (MBH) as the maintenance coordinator for BEMS after spending two years in Cooktown and three-and-a-half years on Thursday Island.
It was a zest for adventure which saw the self-confessed ‘fisho’ leave Mackay after 25 years working at the Mater and MBH to head north to work on Thursday Island.
“Trevor had been up there on a variety bash and was just so impressed by the beauty of Thursday Island,” Anne said, “so when the role of nurse educator was advertised, I jumped at it and we dragged the two boats up north.
“I really grew as an educator working there. I had to work autonomously and was the sole nurse educator but was supported by co-educators for the outer islands,” Anne said.
“I was planning and delivering multiple education programs in the 26-bed hospital as well as all the mandatory and specialised training.
“Up north you have to do everything including the teaching of advanced life support and neo-natal resuscitation,” she said.
“It was a blessing really as it was a great chance to grow my skills as an educator, but it’s not for everyone.
“You have to be ready to embrace and collaborate with the team and community and take ownership and real responsibility as part of the hospital.”
While registered nurses (RNs) are the backbone of healthcare, nurse educators are the foundation, she said.
Anne takes great pride in instilling in new nurses a better understanding of the healthcare system and their patient’s needs.
She’s looking forward to “jumping in” and supporting the education needs of staff at rural MHHS facilities including Clermont, Moranbah, Bowen, Proserpine and Sarina.
It was the warm community welcome upon arriving in Mackay in 1990 that enticed her to stay and raise her family here. She felt the same coming back to Mackay earlier this year.
“We are back now to be good grandparents. The place has changed but the people are the same,” Anne said.
As a student nurse herself, Anne once dreamed of being an educator.
“As a nurse you are really always educating junior staff,” she said. “Now I’m back it’s wonderful to see so many of my former nursing students and how they have really grown into their varied nursing careers.”
