Blood and bones are nothing new to Ash, one of our many outstanding Perioperative Theatre Nurses here at Peninsula Health; she’s more than used to seeing the inside of the human body.
Based at Frankston Public Surgical Centre, Ash works mainly in orthopaedics, a specialty area concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system, where she holds an Advanced Enrolled Nurse classification.
Perioperative nursing has many roles; as a Scrub/Scout, Ash is responsible for the sterile field instrumentation, working closely with surgeons during operations, perioperative record documentation, adapting to changes in equipment requirements and maintaining communications between surgical and airway teams.
“I’m passionate about the complexities of orthopaedic nursing; one day it’s hips and knees, the next it’s ankles, wrists and shoulders,” says Ash, “You never stop learning; I love that about nursing; you get to give your patients a new lease on life while being a part of a big well-oiled machine. It takes a tremendous amount of teamwork, and I’m blessed to work where I do.”
Ash describes her life at work as “building for bodies,” collaborating with her team to repair body parts, and helping patients become more active in their everyday lives.
Looking to the future, Ash plans to undertake a Bachelor of Nursing in semester one of 2024 to fulfil her goal of becoming a Registered Nurse and then a Clinical Nurse Specialist in orthopaedics. Honing her skills to eventually work in every role of the perioperative field.
“After working on the wards, I got some exposure to the perioperative side of nursing and never looked back; working in theatre is my passion.”
Nurses like Ash are incredibly vital to our health service; their ability to run a theatre and assist in the operations of life-changing surgeries make all the difference to the health outcomes of our patients, working as a part of a team to optimise their clinical knowledge and expertise, to ensure patient-centred care is at the core of what we do.