A chat with Phillipa Blencowe, Eastern Health’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

 “The nurse or midwife is the constant. You are the eyes, the ears and the patient advocate. We need to look after people like we would look after our own family, or the way we would want to be treated,” she says.

Across more than two decades, Philippa has worked as a clinical nurse in different settings including intensive care, and in numerous management roles with Alfred Health before she joined Eastern Health, where she is now Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.

Thanks to this experience, which she says has given her a “helicopter view” of the profession, she knows the effort and values it takes to maintain such a high level of care while maintaining your own personal wellbeing.

“You need to have a lot of dignity and integrity. It’s pretty hard!”

“You go through some tricky patches. There are things that leave an indelible mark on you, and you don’t forget them,” she says.

Phillipa sat down with Nurse & Midwife Support to share the things employees and managers can keep in mind to promote healthy workplaces.

First and foremost, Phillipa stresses that looking after staff should be front of mind from the very first phone call with a prospective nurse or midwife.

From the interview to the orientation process and beyond, it’s vital to ensure staff have new educational opportunities and access to flexible rostering practices in line with our guidelines.

And for managers, checking in is key.

“It’s not about waiting until an annual review. It’s about checking in regularly, because people can feel alone. And it’s also about helping people to develop their careers,” she says.

Nurses and midwives face challenges every day and need to have the skills and expertise to cope with whatever happens today and tomorrow.

As well as working closely with their employers to stay within their scope of practice, nurses need access to the right training.

“We have seen an increase in behaviours of concern, and we need to make our staff are trained to manage this change. They need to be educationally ready to look after themselves as well as patients,” Phillipa says.

Nurses understand nurses, and midwives understand midwives.

That means colleagues can be a great support network.

“It's a part of being a team,” Phillipa says.

“You come to work for yourself, your team, and your patients or the community.”

To that end, Phillipa recommends speaking to a manager about your challenges, or finding a buddy you get along with really well. Both options can help you to decompress when the going gets tough.

Phillipa says she’s become far better at switching off from work as her career has gone on, but it’s not always an easy thing.

“It’s really something you need to learn,” she says.

“I make sure I work hard, but when I’m not at work, I do something totally unrelated, so my head isn’t buzzing.”

Whether it’s walking the dog, getting away, or connecting with friends, she tries to purposefully disconnect.

“I have a lot of friends that don’t work in health – so it’s no good talking to them about work but good to debrief if needed!” she says.

Phillipa says that the nature of nursing and midwifery means there’s always going to be tricky patches.

And she’s experienced a few herself.

During her time in ICU, she recalls feeling like everyone she was looking after at work was not faring well.

“I’ve sought assistance across my career, particularly when I was a clinical nurse and it felt like everyone I looked after may not have recovered,” she says.

“That’s the extreme. But rather than bottling it up, I went and sought counselling. If you don’t do that, you harbour all these things.

“It can sometimes feel like everyone is sick. Seeking help is always the best option.”

As well as talking to a buddy or manager, there are services she recommends – like Nurse & Midwife Support.

"People are more open and there’s more opportunities to get help, but people sometimes don’t take it up. Nurses or Midwives want to talk to nurses or midwives. The initial conversation with another nurse or midwife on the phone, who mostly understands what's happening, is important,” she says.

Finally, Phillipa says that nurses and midwives always need to keep sight of the value of their work.

“We are in the most vulnerable part of someone’s life, and that’s a privilege. That’s what we come to work to do and make a difference,” she says.

For free and confidential support by nurses and midwives, for nurses and midwives, call Nurse and Midwife Support on 1800 667 877.

Check out Edition 24 of our newsletter, Career pathways for nurses and midwives