Providing services for women by women is a key component in demonstrating we are a trustworthy and reliable source of information and support for the women who come to us. We can all sympathise and empathise to a certain extent with every patient’s story that comes our way, whether we have lived a similar experience or we can imagine what it would be like. We are advocating for the health of all women who come to us from a place of wanting to improve the services and support for ourselves as women too. I am striving to have as much of the answers or guidance towards the information women are seeking as possible knowing that I am taking care of my own health at the same time.

I think patients feel more at ease and hopefully safer with their stories because we are female-led. There is something about confiding your female health related issues/experiences with a nurse – even more boldly a female nurse – that makes you feel understood.

I know that we are making a difference in the lives of so many women, which is what excites me the most. The Women’s Health Clinic has built a real community, and I love that we have so much to offer women. We are constantly seeking opportunities to grow and find new ways to inform and support women. I can visualise how big this network can grow, and how many more women we can help. With every great phone call, or great appointment, there is a knock-on effect where she will share her positive experience with more women. As nurses, we want to help, and with this job specifically I am directly receiving appreciation and acknowledgment that I am helping which is incredibly rewarding.

The most challenging part of my job is keeping to the time! I really enjoy speaking with the women over the phone, and I always wish I had more time to hear about them and continue our conversations.

I feel truly honoured to know I am making an impact on women who visit TWHC. I have worked in research, which can be quite far removed from direct impact. I have worked in emergency medicine, which is as direct of an impact as you can get, but everything in emergency areas will generate attention and care to some degree. It is with this type of job though where women who may not ever share their stories, or they have shared their stories thousands of times without being heard or offered options that because we are giving them the time and the information that I feel the direct connection and impact.