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Twilight Sessions: A Nurse and a Physio

To help someone in need is a beautiful thing. So said Wenona alumnae Sophie Sinclair (PY2012), a nurse, and Monique Bain (PY2012), a physio, at our latest Twilight Session.

There was a fantastic turnout for Director of Student Opportunity and Career Education, Ms McFetridge’s Zoom Twilight Session last Wednesday, with almost 40 Senior College students and staff logging on to learn more about what a career as a Registered Nurse or a Physiotherapist entails.

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Sophie Sinclair now lives in Edinburgh, so she generously set her alarm early in order to get up and speak with our students. She arrived in the United Kingdom just as COVID-19 hit and has been on complete lockdown ever since. Just recently, Sophie has found nursing work at The Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. Working on the frontline during a global pandemic has been stressful. Not least because wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) for long stints is challenging, with the mask causing her to have nosebleeds. Still, her passion for the job, caring for patients in need, has overridden any sense of personal hardship. 

Sophie loved her time at Wenona, counting herself very lucky to be unexpectedly offered a spot for Year 7. “I saw a real passion in the teachers. It’s something that I knew I wanted to bring to my career too.” Although she says she “wasn’t the best student academically”, she was House Captain of Hooke and loved all the carnivals. However, the real turning point for Sophie was her Service Learning trip to Vanuatu in Year 9. “It gave me a lot of life experience.” And it confirmed to her that she would like to pursue a career that would involve helping people. Her goal was to become a midwife.

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After taking a gap year in the UK, Sophie went to the University of Sydney to do a Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced Studies), with the hope of going on to do a post-graduate degree to become a midwife. “Midwifery was always my first choice, but I didn’t get the marks. At first, I felt like I was taking the long road to doing what I wanted to do. But everything happens for a reason, and from my very first day on the course, I fell in love with nursing.”

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Throughout her degree, Sophie worked as an assistant nurse at Royal North Shore Hospital, gaining vital experience in patient care and the anatomy behind it. When she graduated in 2017, Sophie was faced with “the terrifying prospect of actually adulting.” Against stiff competition, Sophie secured a new-graduate position at Sydney Children’s Hospital. Initially, she had her heart set on working in ICU and “being a lifesaver” but was offered a place on the Haematology/Oncology inpatient and outpatient wards, caring for sick children who had been diagnosed with severe blood disorders/illnesses and various cancers. “Again, I thought it would be another stepping stone to what I really wanted to do, but I fell in love with the children and their families. It was a privilege to provide care to them.”

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As Sophie explained, families are typically very distressed when seeing their children suffer and absorbing their distress or anger can be hard. While administering pain relief, looking at monitors, adjusting fluids and drugs, nurses must also comfort the patient and their family. “It can be tough, but you have to remember you are touching people’s lives and this is something you can never take for granted.”

Sophie spoke about the strong and supportive relationships she has formed with her colleagues on the frontline. While you sacrifice a lot to be a nurse – long hours, night shifts, missing out on Christmas or New Year with family, she said it’s all worth it. “When a kid goes into remission, it’s worth it. When a kid gives you a hug, it’s worth it.”

In 2019, having watched so many children lose their hair through chemotherapy, Sophie did the World’s Greatest Shave. “I always say to the kids that it’s just hair and that it will grow back, so I decided to do it myself.”

When Sophie first arrived in the UK, she travelled to Derry in Ireland to do her nursing registration exams in order to be eligible to work there. Feeling overwhelmed and a little trepidatious about her future, she spotted a sign on a building. ‘A Stitch in Time', it read. It made her reflect on how grateful she is to have had a Wenona education, which taught her grit, persistence and resilience, and to follow her passions.

Above all, said Sophie, don’t be afraid if things don’t work out as planned. “Life takes you in directions you don’t expect. And that’s exciting!”

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Like Sophie, Monique Bain also graduated from Wenona in 2012. “Dr Scott started at Wenona when I was in Year 11. Her speeches were so inspiring. She always had so much faith in us and our future as women.” Monique had always intended to have some kind of career in Science, which was her passion at School. However, like Sophie, she also had a kind of a catharsis during her Service Learning trip to Vanuatu. “It made me realise that I also had an interest in helping people.”

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Swimming at a national level throughout her secondary school years gave Monique first-hand knowledge of the importance of strength, conditioning and injury prevention, so she decided to combine her love of sport and her passion for helping people, to study Physiotherapy. And because she wanted to experience living away from home, she opted to go to the University of Newcastle. She was able to continue her swimming here, competing in both college carnivals and ocean swims.

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Monique said the Second Year of her degree was certainly the toughest. “It had most of the theory content of both physio skills, biology and pathophysiology.” She also had to get to grips with learning anatomy by dissecting human cadavers. “It was certainly an experience!”

In her Third Year, Monique travelled to Cambodia for a four-week placement. “We were able to practice physio skills that we had learnt at Uni by setting up a temporary practice in a rural community where the local people did not have access to such services. We also attended an amputee clinic and a health clinic in Siem Reap.” This experience highlighted to Monique how much she enjoyed helping people.

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After graduating with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) in 2016, Monique’s career has focussed on the rehabilitation of sports injuries to facilitate the safe return to sport. Growing up in the Lane Cove area, Monique spent time at Lane Cove Physio as both a client and work experience student while at Wenona. Upon graduating, Monique spent her first year as a physiotherapist with Central Coast Local Health District, primarily treating post-operative patients in the acute setting, where she developed skills in musculoskeletal and rehabilitation physiotherapy. She also has a strong interest in Women's Health and paediatric physiotherapy and has covered sports physiotherapy for Gordon Rugby Club.

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Monique said one of her biggest takeaways from her career so far is that there is always room for manoeuvre. “There’s always a way to get into a course. If you don’t get the right ATAR, don’t give up on your career dreams. You can always start off doing another course and then transfer to the course you want. Or you can go in as a mature-age student.” She also told the students to be open to change, to be flexible about their options and not to dismiss career opportunities early on as your interests and passions evolve over time.

Wenona, Monique said, gave her a great grounding in life, exposing her to different people, perspectives and ideas. “It made me become quite worldly.”
Like Sophie, Monique has found her passion in her job. She spends extended periods of time with her patients, building relationships founded on trust. “You have to love it,” she said. “The days are long with early starts and late finishes. You have to like people as you are never really alone. And you need a lot of energy.”

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Both Sophie and Monique highlighted the importance of intelligent communication in their careers, which is arguably at the forefront of successful treatment and recovery. Both are highly empathetic and perceptive, as well as highly educated healthcare professionals. And both are committed to lifelong learning, relishing the opportunity to learn new skills or read up on the latest research.

Ms McFetridge said, “It was both uplifting and inspiring for our students to hear from Sophie and Monique about their passion for their chosen careers. Some of our Year 12 students are still deciding what they want to do when they leave Wenona. Choosing university courses and future career options can be daunting, so it was fantastic for them to get a better idea of what goes on behind the scenes as a nurse or a physio. We are so grateful to our alumnae for giving up their time and sharing their insight and experience.”