A journey in Nursing starting at CIT

Registered Nurses Leia Clementine started her career in nursing in a classroom in the old CIT Woden campus, and since then she has gone from strength to strength. She is now working in at Orbost Regional Health, a rural multipurpose health service in East Gippsland, where she describes herself as a "nurse with many hats."

"I'm not only working in a busy acute and medical hospital setting and aged care, but I also have developed nursing skills in dialysis and palliative care," Leia said.

When looking back on her career, Leia thanks the Nursing team at CIT for their support. "There were many who started this journey with me at CIT, and so many others before and since. I was one of the younger students in a mature aged class, but we all were in it together."

"The skills and time which has been put into my nursing career started with a seed in those first CIT classes in 2010 and has grown with practice and patience," Leia said.

Since CIT, Leia had continued her studies and achieved a Bachelor of Nursing, all the while working either in a rural setting or a metropolitan orthopaedics unit. She is now undertaking her Masters in Palliative Care, while also working in her current role.

2020 was not only the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also the Year of the Nurse. For Leia this has been a chance to reflect on her journey. "Nursing has so many different aspects, and to quote one of my CIT teachers, ‘it depends'. It depends on the patient, the disease progression and the chosen treatment. It all depends, and good nursing assessment helps with this."

Leia is now looking to the future, and she left us with a parting thought. "Bring on 2021, a year where nurses can breathe more easily and continue to do their jobs well."