Cancer patient ‘voice’ wins award

SPEAKING up on behalf of cancer patients has won a Geelong nurse a national award.
Narelle Place won outstanding graduate at the 2015 HESTA Australian Nursing Awards in Brisbane last Friday for her advocacy work to assist Barwon Health cancer patients.
The award recognised her “strong advocacy work on behalf of patients and for improving procedures for patients requiring sedation while undergoing cancer treatments”.
Some of her work included initiating changes to improve patient labelling on intravenous medication.
Ms Place said she was pleased her advocacy for a patient requiring a naso-gastric tube while receiving radiotherapy treatment ensured he received the necessary pain relief.
“Working in the oncology ward presents plenty of challenges, often patients experience a lot of anxiety and/or distress,” she said.
“It’s important to speak up on behalf of them, especially when they might not be strong enough to do so themselves.
“Often difficult conversations result in positive departmental changes regarding the processes, such as documenting sedation requirements, so unnecessary anxiety and discomfort can be avoided in future.”
The awards said Ms Place also demonstrated “a pro-active approach to creating awareness among staff regarding the importance of patient labelling on intravenous medication lines and led a project highlighting the risk of patient falls in the hospital.
HESTA chief Debby Blakey presented Ms Place with her award.
“We’re pleased to recognise the drive and initiative shown by Narelle, particularly given she is only in her first year of nursing since completing her nursing degree.”