IN THE Irrigator’s latest profile with a Leeton District Hospital nurse, we caught up with registered nurse Kelly Shung.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Shung was a “late-comer” to the field of nursing, but there was a special reason she chose the career path.
She said she knew she wanted to give give back to nursing following the birth of her first child, who was nine weeks premature.
“Nursing was not something I wanted to do from school as my mother had been a nurse and I remember her starching her hats and the funny buttons on her uniforms,” Ms Shung said.
“I finally made the decision to start nursing when my children were all in school and I managed to get a traineeship to do my enrolled nursing (EN).
RELATED
“I was an EN for 16 years before I became an RN.”
To become an EN, Ms Shung studied at ACU in Melbourne, which is also where she started her RN training before transferring to CSU to finish.
She has worked at Monash and Dandenong hospitals in mental health, the emergency department and special care nursery as an EN.
“When I came to NSW I worked at Griffith on the nurse bank as an EN and an RN,” Ms Shung said.
“I did my grad year here at Leeton hospital and stayed here because it is close to home and offered me the opportunity for further education.”
Ms Shung acknowledged there were many ups and downs to being a nurse, but it was a career she won’t be giving up any time soon.
“I love that I am helping people every day I come to work,” she said.
“I love the variety of my work and not always knowing what each day may hold, I rarely get bored. I love the flexibility shift work offers me.”
However, she said the downside was there was a lot of pressure in not having enough permanent staff, so nurses do get very tired at the hospital.
“I think young people should consider nursing as a serious career option,” Ms Shung said.
“There are communication and science skills that a lot of people do not often see together in a career. It is a challenging, but rewarding career.”
****
While you’re with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Friday at 6am from The Irrigator. To make sure you’re up to date with all news in Leeton sign up here.
