Congratulations to our Bays nurse Justine Killen who recently completed her stomal therapy course, as the inaugural recipient of our Nursing and Midwifery Education Fund scholarship, with founding partner Rotary Mornington.
Our Nursing and Midwifery Education Fund is a partnership with The Rotary Club of Mornington to support The Bays nurses to undertake specialised training.
Thanks to the scholarship, Justine is now one of a handful of qualified stomal therapy nurses on the Mornington Peninsula, trained to help people adjust to living with a stoma, which is a significant change in lifestyle.
A stoma is a small opening in the abdomen that is used to remove body waste into a collection bag (colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy bag), which is often required after treatment for bowel or bladder cancer.
Justine has already put her newfound skills to good use looking after Bays patients and taking them from the post-operative phase, through post-operative education and discharge planning.
“I’ve gained so much confidence and knowledge to work independently as a stomal therapy nurse. And the course has not only helped me gain a new qualification, but it has enhanced my clinical practice on the ward, working with all types of patients not just those requiring a stoma.”
Training up more stomal therapy nurses is just one of the ways we are enhancing our cancer support services, ahead of opening our new Cancer Care Centre in August this year.
The Bays received a portion of Federal Government funding for the new Cancer Care Centre, but a funding shortfall of $4.9 million remains to complete this critical project.
As an independent, not-for-profit hospital, we now need community and philanthropic support to help complete this vital project.