A REDLANDS nurse has described the joy of helping patients from their lowest moments through to recovery as healthcare workers across the globe celebrate International Nurses Day.
The World Health Organisation has named 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing.
It comes as frontline healthcare workers are under a global spotlight fighting what has been described as the most prolific pandemic in modern times.
Ellianna Beloff, a surgical nurse at Mater Hospital Redlands, completed her graduate program last year and is now working full time on the surgical ward.
Ms Beloff said interacting with patients and getting to know them was her favourite part of the job.
"I think one of the key things we must do as nurses is acknowledge that hospitals can be really scary places for some people and that we have an opportunity to help them through a potentially tough time," she said.
"Particularly ahead of surgery, making sure patients feel comfortable and safe, and that they feel confident in the care they are receiving can make a big difference to their hospital experience.
"Watching a patient go from their worst of worst days through to full health, and seeing them walk out of hospital well again is definitely the most rewarding part of my job."
Ms Beloff said though she has finished her graduate program, learning on the job has been vital to building her skills in the surgical unit.
"We work in teams so I always have someone to help me out and teach me things," she said.
"We work through admissions together, then send patients down for their surgery and once they have finished surgery, we look after patients in post-op care."
She said she was excited to celebrate her first International Nurses Day as a qualified nurse.
"We are all busy people and we all live really different lives, but we come together as a team to care for the community and on days like today, I feel so humbled to be a nurse."
