Congratulations to RCH staff member Sonja Elia, who is the first Victorian to become endorsed as a nurse practitioner in the field of immunisation, and one of only three in this field across Australia.

As a nurse practitioner, Sonja can now offer special risk vaccines to patients without relying on medical staff to prescribe the vaccine and deliver a script.

Special risk vaccines that Sonja can now prescribe as a nurse practitioner include Meningococcal ACWY, Hepatitis A and Meningococcal B.

Sonja says this endorsement will enable the immunisation team at the RCH to offer a more timely service and provide better continuity of care for patients.

“This will have a hugely positive effect on our service, particularly for our special risk patients, so we are very excited,” she said.

“Immunisation is an ideal area to have a nurse practitioner as it is becoming more complex and the number of special risk vaccines we offer continues to increase.

“It’s going to make a really positive difference to the way we care for our patients.”

To learn more about the RCH Immunisation Service, visit: www.rch.org.au/immunisation