It is quite an amazing experience to work with people who really care & are so client focused!
Here at Interchange Australia we have a wide range of staff, both in our office and out in the field performing all the services for our valued clients and participants. We regularly try to shine a spotlight on these amazing staff to show you all just how incredibly hard working they all are.
Today we are introducing you to Kerry, who is our Interchange Australia Registered Nurse.
It is quite an amazing experience to work with people who really care & are so client focused! From the CEO across the whole team.
By Interchange Australia Marketing Coordinator Tahlia Bunt.
My name is Kerry and I am Interchange Australia’s Registered Nurse. I have only been with Interchange for a short couple of months now but wow what an amazing experience it has been so far.
I have been married for 35 years with 4 children and 8 grandbabies. My husband and I grew up on the South Coast – he was a surfie and I was a surfie chick, as they put it back then. We met when we were 15 and 18 and have been enjoying every second of our lives together since. Growing up on the coast we spent all of our summer days on the beach and nights around a beach fire, and that’s exactly how we raised our own children. My husband was a courier and I was a stay-at-home mum so every chance we got we were four-wheel driving, camping, swimming, fishing, canoeing and going on any adventure we could muster up. In our spare time we enjoyed crewing for the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Canberra, which led us to our current passion.
Once all of the kids left home my husband and I began travelling. One place we ventured to was Albuquerque, USA, with a pilot we met in Canberra, who introduced us to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – an event that will just BLOW your mind. We are now addicted to travelling and have been back to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 6 more times. One of the Hot Air Ballon pilots got in my husband’s ear and from there convinced him to become a Hot Air Balloon pilot. So now, along with continuing our family hobbies we now have Hot Air Ballooning as an extracurricular. We have our own Hot Air Balloon which is called ‘Dream Weaver’, it’s a 77,000 cubic foot balloon, made in Georgia in America, and it can carry 3 people in the basket, my husband as the pilot, plus 2 passengers. We fly as often as we can around Goulburn and try to attend as many Balloon Festivals as we can, including Canberra & Canowindra.
I have been a nurse since 2005, first as an EEN – a role I fell into. My husband became a paramedic and I was looking for something that would move with me, if he was sent around the state. I met a girl who was an EEN & she told me her work frequently advertised for trainees in the Newspaper, and there it was in the local paper the next day – I figured maybe it was a sign. I finished my EEN training in Goulburn in 2006 centred mainly around Mental Health, but then moved to Nowra, where my husband was stationed.
I Started studying to become an RN in 2007 at UOW and started as an RN at Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital in 2010. In 2013 we moved back to Goulburn and I Worked at Goulburn Base Hospital as a casual RN in most departments – Surgical, Paediatrics, Medical, Day Surgery then moved to Community Nursing in 2019.
I left that role because I was looking for a change, something different. I randomly sent an email which ended on the lap of the Interchange CEO who then forwarded it to the Professional Services Manager – and it just so happened that they were considering starting with an RN. I have always had an interest in working with people with disabilities, I wanted to become a teacher at a School for children with disabilities before I became a mum.
My role at Interchange Australia is as a Registered Nurse doing bits and pieces all over the place. I currently do clinical reviews on our Home Care Package clients, who have level 3 or 4 packages. I also do wound care if required, for any of our clients. We have one client with an SPC (supra-pubic catheter), who I currently look after, changing the SPC regularly. We have also recently started brokering out to other Service Providers for any RN services that they may need. I also give education on medication safety and Nutrition and have assisted with updating protocols and policies.
The thing I enjoy most about my role so far is meeting our clients, it is such a privilege to get to sit with them & hear their stories. Meeting so many people from such a variety of walks of life, that I would never meet otherwise. Its feels worthwhile to be able to add in a small way to helping people to continue to live independently. Coming from a nursing background it is such a different nursing experience to be able to spend the time 100% focused on the client I am with, and not have other people requiring assistance at the same time.
I seriously love my job. I feel like I kind of just fell onto my feet! I am in awe of the team I get to work with, they are so vibrant & upbeat, and nothing is too much of an effort for their clients. The Goulburn team, who I spend the majority of my time with, welcomed me from the very first day. They are an incredible team, the way they adjust and work so that the clients get the best care & therefore are able to live their best lives in a way that they choose. I only spend 1 day a week in Bowral but they have also truly welcomed me and I have been slowly getting to know each and every one of them. They make me feel like part of the team & it is an ever-moving energetic hub.
It is quite an amazing experience to work with people who really care & are so client focused! From the CEO across the whole team.
