Nurse earns place as award nominee
A Peel Health Campus graduate nurse has made her mark in the profession, standing out as a finalist in the HESTA Australian Nursing Awards.
Nurse Michelle Buchanan was selected as one of five finalists in the outstanding graduate category, for a quality improvement project she conducted in the emergency department.
Mrs Buchanan said her project involved examining the clinical practice of the insertion of IV cannulas — a tube inserted into a vein, primarily for the administration of intravenous fluids, for obtaining blood samples and for administering medicines — against procedural standards.
As a result, Mrs Buchanan said there was an increase of 41 per cent in the use of standard precautions, reducing the potential risk of infections to patients.
She said it also increased the use of appropriate equipment and lowered the risk of needle stick injury to staff.
“It also enhanced communication between medical and nursing staff and, most importantly, improved patient care,” she said.
Mrs Buchanan said she was happy with the results she achieved and overwhelmed with excitement about the upcoming awards night.
“I believe strongly in quality and safety improvement and I feel that if every nurse improves one aspect of the profession, nursing will continue to excel,” she said.
Clinical services director Di Barr said Mrs Buchanan was a quiet achiever who was self-driven to start her graduate project.
“When she collated her full results, she demonstrated improvements, she didn’t just do it for the sake of doing part of the program — she was really passionate about improving patient care,” she said.
“We are all very proud.”
Mrs Buchanan’s clinical nurse manager Leonie Wilson said it was a privilege to have her on the staff.
“She is self-directed, she is very professional, she is very advanced for her years of experience and she has a savvy to be a fantastic emergency nurse,” she said.
Mrs Buchanan was flown to Sydney to attend the awards dinner, where the winners will be announced tomorrow night.
The outstanding graduate award winner and the nurse of the year will each receive a $5000 ME Bank EveryDay transaction account and a $5000 education grant.
