Did you know we have a service that allows patients to complete their admission at home? Kahlia, our NUM from Wallaby, tells us all about it and what a typical day for her looks like!

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

Wallaby Ward is a 51-bed ward for children who are medically stable but are still requiring once to twice daily interventions. Wallaby Ward allows patients to complete their admission at home. Our team of nurses, allied health and medical staff provide the care in the patient’s home. This allows families to return home sooner and reduces the anxiety of a hospital admission.

Tell us about your RCH journey.

I started at RCH in my graduate year in 2005 in the ‘old hospital’ and then went on the following year to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Paediatrics and worked across various wards. I then nursed interstate and overseas for four years and then returned home to RCH. I was fortunate to come back to a job in the Emergency Department at RCH, where I stayed for the next five years and completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Emergency nursing whilst job sharing.

In 2016 I moved to the Complex Care Service as a Clinical Nurse Consultant. Then in August this year I was successful in becoming the Nurse Unit Manager of Wallaby Ward for the next twelve months.

Talk us through what a typical day looks like?

A typical day includes meeting with the Associate Nurse Unit Manager first thing to discuss patient numbers, including current numbers and expected admissions and discharges for the day. We also look at staffing numbers for the day and the days ahead. I review the schedule/booked visits of the staff on the road to decide if we have capacity to provide more visits, which means accepting new referrals. I then attend the RCH daily huddle to hear about the access and flow of the hospital for the day. Following this, the day flies by with meetings, emails, recruitment, supporting staff and reviewing our processes to ensure we are providing GREAT care.

What is the most rewarding thing about your current role?

Working alongside an amazing dedicated team and being witness to all the great things the Wallaby staff are doing in the comfort of the patient’s home.

What is your favourite RCH memory or achievement?

My favourite RCH memory is moving from the old hospital to the new hospital and getting lost for the first 12 months following the big move.

In five words, tell us what you love you about your work?

Making a difference to people’s lives.

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

Ice blocks, music and sunglasses.

If you weren’t a nurse, what would you be doing instead?

I would be living my life on a yacht, chasing summer with my lottery winnings.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why?

I would be a dolphin so I could spend my life eating squid, socialising, travelling and resting.