Tiarne is a Clinical Nurse at the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department, where she is passionate about improving workplace culture. As a result of increased workload, the pandemic, and high turnover of staff, Tiarne helped create the “ED Wellness Team” in conjunction with the Nursing Director and NUM, which focuses on improving culture within the ED through a number of simple initiatives.
One of these initiatives is the “ED Pet Wall” in the Emergency corridor, which aims to brighten up both staff and patients’ days with fun images of staff pets.
Another initiative is the ED Wellness Wall, which has a “dad joke” posted every week by one of the staff. Staff utilise this wall to post different breathing techniques and stretches to alleviate stress.
Tiarne also created a “Get to know your colleagues” wall, consisting of staff photos and fun facts to encourage workplace collegiality and make it clear that all staff are people first, and their designation or role second.
Through these simple initiatives, Tiarne has gotten to know her colleagues and develop a new-found appreciation for everyone and what they do.
Next on Tiarne’s list is organising various donations from community stakeholders who are willing to donate prizes, including games and competitions, to support the ED Wellness Team, with the aim to further promote a positive and happy work culture.
Tiarne recently attended the QNMU Workplace Representatives Training, with hope of becoming a Workplace Representative in her ED. She has consistently submitted workload forms and always encourages colleagues to do the same.
"I think there’s something so special about being an ED nurse. True empathy is being able to relate to patients and their families, and let them feel that you’re a human and not a robot. You’re not just walking into the room of their family members to say, “I’m sorry” and leaving. We do a lot more than that. We make sure they’re cleaned and presented, not looking awful for their family to see or to remember. Being there for your colleagues when they go through a loss or a win, but also being there for the patients and their family and being their biggest advocate is probably my highlight."