JOURNEY OF AN ICU NURSE ON INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY 2025
With
Kate Leigh, Clinical ICU Nurse
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Nedlands, Western Australia | May 2025
Kate Leigh is a clinical nurse at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Perth, Western Australia, with seven and a half years of experience in intensive care, having started her career in London as a new graduate nurse. Initially focused on haematology, she found herself drawn to ICU after meeting a confident and knowledgeable nurse during a discharge. Inspired by his expertise and assuredness, Kate decided to pursue a transfer to Critical Care after seeing an internal advertisement that highlighted educational opportunities and professional development programs.
Since her transition, Kate has found the ICU environment to be incredibly supportive and welcoming. Despite not knowing anyone in the field before her entry, she fostered strong relationships with colleagues and has remained in Critical Care ever since, enjoying her role each day. Currently, she is involved in various projects aimed at enhancing patient and family experiences in ICU, such as the Three Wishes project, which focuses on providing palliative care and comfort items for patients and their families.
Additionally, Kate emphasises the importance of preventing ICU admissions and readmissions through early intervention and patient monitoring. Her work with the Metcal team and clinical nurse specialists aims to identify and address issues with deteriorating patients on the wards before they require intensive care, demonstrating her commitment to improving patient outcomes within the critical care environment.
Source: Written by AUDIENCED from transcript
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World first in rural and remote nursing
In March 2023, the Australian Government released the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023–2027. The Framework is a world first and describes the unique context of practice and core capabilities for rural and remote Registered Nurses in Australia.
The Framework was developed by the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner and Australian Health Journal spoke with National Rural Health Commissioner, Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, and Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner – Nursing and Midwifery, Adjunct Professor Shelley Nowlan, on the importance of rural and remote nursing and of the Framework itself.
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Being Part of the New Health Frontier
In November last year, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport delivered its bipartisan report “The New Frontier: Delivering better health for all Australians” on the approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia.
Australian Health Journal spoke to some of the industry bodies who were part of the Inquiry, for their comments on the process, the report and hopes in the recommendations being implemented.
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Generosity of spirit in teaching
The Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence is considered one of the most prestigious awards in biomedical research in Australia and is highly sought after by researchers in the field.
In 2022, Professor Matthew Kiernan was the recipient of the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence and the associated $50,000 award.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kiernan to hear about his journey in medicine and science to try and uncover and understand diseases and his generosity of spirit to pass on what he has learnt.
