Q&A
ENROLLED NURSE LISA BOURKE ADVOCATING, LEARNING, AND CARING Lisa Bourke has been a Nurse for five years working at Calvary Hospital. Since joining the industry, Lisa has become a branch member and most recently a Workplace Delegate, continuing to do what she loves while advocating for the rights of colleagues and patients. We spoke to Lisa about her career so far, the impacts joining ANMF ACT has had on her, and her hopes for the future.
What does your career pathway look like so far?
What does it mean to you to be a nurse?
I studied at Canberra Institute of
My passion for being a Nurse is
Technology (CIT) in Canberra for 18
patient advocacy; making sure that
months and then after that became an
they understand the diagnosis, the
Enrolled Nurse. Since then, I’ve been
treatment options, and the follow
working at Calvary Public Hospital
up care, because sometimes in a
Bruce where I’ve been for five years.
heightened and stressful environment
Did you always know you wanted to become a nurse? No. Before becoming a Nurse, I had my own business in private investigation. ANMF ACT member and Workplace Delegate, Lisa Bourke
However, my father became unwell so I had to stop working for myself to care for him. During that time, we were often at the local hospital, in rural Australia, and there were three beds
information. For me it’s really important that people are provided with adequate information for them to make informed decisions about what they want to do, and their pathway forward.
What does a day in your life look like? A lot of running around! Feeling hot
a matter of sort of becoming an expert
and sweaty, especially when you’re
in my dad’s condition. The nursing staff
working in the red zone because that’s
would ask me to get all the things that
head-to-toe PPE. We’re just really busy.
they needed while they set my dad up.
We try and move as fast as we can and
It was at that time the conversation
prompt doctors as often as we can to
naturally flowed to ‘why aren’t you a
get results known and people sorted.
Nurse?’ The staff told me that I was
It’s a lot of problem solving, advocating,
able to do all these things for my dad
and updating patients on why things
so I thought why not. I felt that if I could
take so long, educating them about the
do it for someone I love, I can do these
system and the processes.
how I got into nursing.
Observations March 2022
state, you’re not really absorbing all the
that one Nurse had to manage so it was
sorts of things for strangers and that’s
14
and when they are in an emotional
