IPSWICH Emergency Department nurse Tiarne Campbell’s dedication to her role and her fellow staff members has been recognised with the announcement that she has won the People’s Choice Trophy in the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Excellence Awards 2022.
Tiarne was nominated for her positive work helping to establish the Ipswich Hospital’s Emergency Department Wellness Team, which encourages a positive workplace culture and cohesiveness.
The wellness group was created because of the increased workload, the pandemic, and high turnover of staff in the Emergency Department and focuses on improving culture within the ED through a number of simple initiatives.
One of these initiatives is the “ED Pet Wall” in the Emergency corridor, which aims to brighten up both staff and patients’ days with fun images of staff pets.
Another initiative is the ED Wellness Wall, which has a “dad joke” posted every week by one of the staff. Staff utilise this wall to post different breathing techniques and stretches to alleviate stress.
Tiarne also created a “Get to know your colleagues” wall, consisting of staff photos and fun facts to encourage workplace collegiality and make it clear that all staff are people first, and their designation or role second.
Through these simple initiatives the staff have come to know their colleagues better and it has helped develop a new-found appreciation for everyone and what they do.
“I think there’s something so special about being an ED nurse,” she said.
“True empathy is being able to relate to patients and their families and let them feel that you’re a human and not a robot.
“Being there for your colleagues when they go through a loss or a win, but also being there for the patients and their family and being their biggest advocate is probably my highlight.”
“People make happy people, so, if staff are happy, it will flow through to other areas of their lives, including how we care for patients.”
Next on Tiarne’s list is organising various donations from community stakeholders who are willing to donate prizes, including games and competitions, to support the ED Wellness Team, with the aim to further promote a positive and happy work culture.
A baking competition, trivia night and yoga sessions are some of the ideas Tiarne has on her future planning board.
