We would like to introduce you to Ash from Koala – our ward that provides specialist care for patients with both cardiac and renal conditions.  Ash told us how he always strives to make a positive health difference to his patients and what he would take with him if he was stranded on a desert island.

What makes your ward and the patients you care for different from other wards?

Every ward is different. What makes Koala ward a great place to work is our team’s commitment to improving the lives of children with congenital heart disease and renal conditions. We strive every day to be the healthcare leaders in our specialities and we are committed to ensuring that even in hospital children have a great experience.

Tell us about your RCH journey. When you joined, the roles you’ve held here.

I have been at RCH since 2007. I started out as a Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse prior to being appointed as an Associate Nurse Unit Manager in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. In 2014 I was appointed the Nurse Unit Manager of the Koala ward – Cardiac and Renal Unit

Talk us through what a typical day looks like… or what you’re doing today.

My morning starts with a walk around Koala and saying hello to the families and nursing/ medical staff on the ward.

I then have a briefing with the Koala ward ANUM prior to attending the RCH clinical briefing.

The Ward ANUM and myself brief three times a day to plan the needs for each individual patient.

The remaining parts of the day are juggling meeting attendance with other departments within the hospital and implementation of the hospital strategic plan.

At the end of the day, I attend a briefing with the After-Hour Hospital Team.

What is the most rewarding thing about your current role?

The most rewarding part of my day is when patients have had a positive experience during their hospital admission. It is our privilege that these children allow us to share in their experience with their families. They are brave and strong. They make us better people.

What is your favourite RCH memory or achievement?

My favourite RCH memory is my first day working as a nurse at The Royal Children Hospital. Realising that I would be working with some of the brightest paediatric health care leaders. To this day, I continue to feel honoured to be working side by side with people that are committed to improving paediatric healthcare.

Tell us what you love you about your work?

Being part of a healthcare team that strives to make a positive health difference to children with illness.

If you could only take three things with you to a desert island, what would they be?

A hammock, sunglasses and a hat.

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and why?

I think it would be inventor Nikola Tesla, who was a scientist and inventor of alternating electrical currents. I would like to ask him what it was like to work alongside some of the greatest inventors and how that shaped his contribution to inventing.

What attracted you to working at the RCH?

The people at RCH – the staff are so committed to innovation of paediatric services that it is an inspiration to work alongside these healthcare leaders.