Dorothy Lal
Dorothy Lal, newly qualified nurse working in Aged Residential Care at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital in Dunedin
What made you decide to become a nurse?
I worked as a healthcare assistant since my arrival from the Fiji Islands to New Zealand thirteen years ago and enjoyed it. After getting over the apprehension of going back to school after 20 years and support from one of my clinical managers, I decided to pursue a career in Nursing. I thoroughly enjoyed my nursing education journey and graduated from Otago Polytechnic in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree along with friendships for life.
Where are you employed?
I feel very fortunate to be employed as a new graduate nurse at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital in Dunedin - an organisation where I worked as a part time Health Care Assistant for the duration of my studies.
How have you found working in Aged Residential Care?
For the past four months, I have gained a lot of experience - I have managed admissions and discharges; assessed and diagnosed; liaised with medical professionals; managed staffing issues; provided palliative support; dealt with death; and not forgetting documentation involving care plans. Working in Aged Care (ARC) has given me the opportunity to manage and deal with multi-complex diagnosis involving cancer, mental health diagnoses, cardiac and respiratory related issues along with post-surgical wound management. With the focus on “closer to home” services, I have witnessed advancement in ARC nursing roles. I look forward to gaining clinical skills such as catheterization, venepuncture/phlebotomy and setting up/managing syringe drivers.
Although I enjoyed working in Aged Care, initially when I qualified my preference was to work or gain experience in Surgical or Medical such as in Cardiology or Oncology. This was influenced by my time spent in these areas during placement. However, since working as a qualified nurse at Monticello Veterans and the experience I have gained my perception has since changed.
How are you supported?
My preceptor, colleagues and clinical nurse manager have been very supportive with providing me with every opportunity of learning as a new graduate nurse. Their experience and passion along with their confidence in me, have been a great source of motivation. The Nursing Entry to Practice (NETP) programme has given me a structured system to gauge my learning/advancement and the support provided by the coordinators have been wonderful. I enjoy the study days as I can liaise with and share experiences with fellow new grads also employed in Aged Residential Care. I am
pleased to be under the NETP umbrella during my initial year and particularly value the support I have received from my very capable and caring preceptor.
What have been the challenges?
As a new nursing graduate in 2020, one of the challenging issues was dealing with the protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing isolation protocols and being aware of the specific requirements involved with each Level as per Ministry of Health guidelines. The most challenging thing was the lack of physical contact of loved ones and the effect it had on the resident’s wellbeing. Whilst managing these challenges, I had not realised how far I have come in a few months whereby I am more confident in my role now.
Have you any reflections?
Reflecting back, I am happy that I am employed in an ARC facility. I feel that the learning and experience gained within this setting is a great foundation for working in any health care setting.