September 18, 2021

Member Stories

After 58 years of nursing, Sister Marianna Wowk retires 

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Fiona Edmonds from the Maitland Hospital Branch shares her tribute to friend and colleague Marianna Wowk, who will be retiring after 58 years of nursing.

After an impeccable and outstanding 58 years of nursing service, Sister Marianna Wowk has retired from nursing, having worked her last shift on the 22nd August 2021 at  Maitland Hospital. 

Marianna and her family emigrated from the Ukraine via Germany when she was a toddler, coming to the Greta Migrant Camp and then, the family settling in Greta. 

Marianna had dreamed of becoming a nurse from a young age, walking past Maitland Hospital, as she attended the nearby school at Monte Pio. Mary has described her career as “all she wanted to do when she left school”. 

Marianna’s career began at Maitland Hospital as a Ward Cadet, and she finished her nursing training in 1968. Marianna moved to Melbourne shortly thereafter where she studied midwifery, and worked for 2 years at Queen Victoria Hospital in Lonsdale Street. 

Marianna returned to Maitland Hospital where she worked as an in-charge nurse before commencing in the operating theatres, where she has remained for the past 36 years.  

During the past 36 years, Marianna has seen a lot of change in nursing and surgical advancements, along with surgical techniques.  She credits laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures along with advancements in orthopaedic surgery as progress during her career. 

Marianna has regularly worked as an in-charge of the operating theatres during all this time.  There have been many on-call shifts during her working life, which involved travelling 30 km to Maitland in the middle of the night for emergency surgeries – sometimes accompanied by her husband in the car for the drive in.   

As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Marianna has provided great support, extensive knowledge and advocacy for other perioperative nurses and medical staff. Mary’s integrity, wisdom, knowledge, commitment and dedication to her profession, to our workplace and perioperative nursing has been inspirational to many nursing colleagues and staff over many years. She has been a highly respected and highly valued member of staff from both the nursing and medical fraternities. 

Marianna credits her husband Chris and his support over the past 50 years, in reaching all of her achievements which included winning a state Nursing quest. 

In retirement, Marianna looks forward to spending time on the family property at Vacy, community activities, with plans of travelling in Australia and enjoying time with her family when COVID restrictions ease.  

We, the perioperative staff at Maitland Hospital, sincerely wish her well in her retirement and thank her for her dedication and inspiration to our profession and our workplace. 

 

In our hearts we know we are doing the right thing

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The Waratah Mental Health Branch of the NSWNMA joined with Belmont and other hospitals in taking strike action against the NSW Government’s insulting pay offer and continuing refusal to agree to safe nurse-to-patient ratios.

We had one of our largest branch meetings ever. We held a secret ballot and the decision to strike
for 24 hours was unanimous.

It was an extraordinary moment because many of the people who came are generally quiet and conservative. For them to unanimously vote on strike action is an indication of just how deeply and widely felt this issue is.

We know that if the NSW Government can treat frontline workers with such disrespect during a time when such workers are vital to the survival of the state, then they have even more draconian measures up their sleeve.

We know in our hearts that we are taking action not only for our patients and ourselves, but for other workers, and for our children.

We will not stop until we win.

Niko Leka, EN

Respect for midwives is waning

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This profession has sucked the life out of my colleagues and me. Despite this, there is very little acknowledgement, respect or financial recompense from the NSW or Federal governments to justify forgoing family time, weekends, days of no sleep whilst working nights, and the health implications of injuries to necks, backs and knees working in a female-dominated profession.

Over the past 10 years, I have seen a change in increasing workloads, an increase in quality creep, more “patient rounding”, and decreasing respect towards midwives.

I see this disrespect mostly from male partners of patients, who question everything we say, attempt to intimidate us, and treat midwives as handmaidens, requesting that midwives do everything from changing their baby’s nappy, to “taking their blood pressure”.

What more do midwives have to tolerate?

We are losing midwives in droves. Work one shift in any postnatal unit and you will know why. The load is overwhelming, and physically and emotionally exhausting. Fathers and partners need to understand that they play a support role – not a patient role. Plus, babies need to be counted in our workload under our staffing models.

Rachel Bush, Midwife

Making our voices heard is how we win

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There were tears in my eyes as I stood against the tree outside Wyong Hospital during the recent strike, joining in the chants about ratios: “Four on the floor! Three in ED!” while listening to the honks of the horns from the community as they drive by.

The issue of safe staffing ratios is so important.

The emotional stress is a killer for nurses, as well as the impact on our patients.  We are simply too busy with the current ratios.

Looking around me I notice I am the only old nurse here. So many older nurses have gone.

I reminisce about standing outside Bankstown Hospital with a placard shouting “Pay nurses a living wage!” during the strikes in the ’80s. I remember how poorly paid we were then. I had been paid more as a teenager taking phone orders at a liquor company in the ’70s.

The camaraderie and support from the community was amazing.

I think of all the improvements nurses have brought about by being proactive and making our voices heard. Wins like maternity leave, patient-centred care, and the no-lift policy especially.

We need to get the community behind us now! Get out there! Let them know that because of these ratios the nurses are overwhelmed. Take the fight to the people and they will support us as they have before.

Politicians react to voter pressure and this creates results. Nurses unite and fight for our ratio right!

Gail Rollinson, RN

“Members were saying: “Strike, strike now”

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“Our RPA members have been telling us they are stretched, having to staff several vaccinations hubs, the special health accommodation hotels, and the COVID screening stations.

Staffing those things has taken away from our casual pool and extra nursing hours, leaving our Emergency Department, Intensive Care and Midwifery reporting mass shortages at the hospital.

I know that each NSWNMA branch has met and held meetings and decided individually to go out on strike. A union is only as strong as its members. It’s important that we hear from our members about how strongly they feel about this issue.

At RPA 70 members came to our branch meeting to discuss the strike – in the middle of COVID to get 70 members is just incredible. All the comments from the members were saying ‘Strike, strike now.’ It was a very strong and clear message from all the members involved that they wanted to take action. I haven’t heard that in a good ten years.

A motion was put up on 25 June to strike immediately, and members voted to walk out for two hours. Several hundred nurses, midwives and supportive allied health staff assembled on the footpath on Missenden Road.

Whenever we are on strike, we make sure that there is skeleton staffing, and a plan to cover any dangerous situation.

The community was really supportive. People come into hospital and see how busy we are.”

— O’Bray Smith, NSWNMA President

‘It was my first strike and it was really empowering.’

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“It was my first strike and it was really empowering. It was nice to finally get out there and show everyone we are understaffed, we are overwhelmed and overworked. It was really exhilarating.

There were members of the community who asked: ‘What are you striking for?’ and wanted to know what our issues were. It was nice to share our concerns with members of the community and to really feel heard.

In the ICU, short staffing has been our major problem. There are points where people are being asked to fill two roles at once. People who are Clinical Nurse Educators have to fill roles on the floor, so they are being taken away from supporting junior staff and facilitating education and training.

Half of the general beds in ICU – one quarter of our entire ICU – is devoted to COVID patients. The dedicated cardio thoracic unit and neuroscience unit in ICU are having to take on general ICU patients.

Staff are overwhelmed. The hospital is texting us with overtime work messages: there was one day when we had seven. It is hard to switch off from work. I was on a holiday recently, and the first text message when I turned on my phone was ‘Overtime available’.

You’re trying to look after yourself, and you want to help your colleagues at work, but a lot of us are stressed and others are burnt out.

Nurses who are on night shift can wake up to three overtime messages. They ask themselves ‘What am I walking into tonight? Is it going to be safe for patients?’

— Kaylene Pring, RN, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital