Barwon Health paediatric nurse unit manager Sandra Van Roon is saying goodbye to nursing after more than 40 years of caring for Geelong children and their families.
Sandra has watched generations of children grow up on the children’s ward and relished the opportunity to care for them and their families.
Joining Barwon Health as an enrolled nurse in 1979, Sandra soon was inspired to study further and become a registered nurse.
“I wanted to soak up all the information and so I did three years working on wards as a student nurse,” she said.
“It’s in paediatrics that I've felt I made the biggest difference because you can work so closely with parents as well as the patients.
“I'm a very calm mother and very mothering, so I've loved caring for babies and teaching skills to new mums.
“Our role is very much about helping parents and teaching them how to care for the health of their kids, so it’s been rewarding to make such a difference to parents as well.
“A lot of the time, we're caring for the child and the parent, nurturing them both as you hopefully send them home with a better understanding of the child's illness.
“I’ve been to a 40th birthday recently of a patient I looked after, so you really get to watch them grow up.”
Sandra’s nurturing approach to nursing extends beyond patients and their families, with many staff viewing her as a mother figure after many years mentoring younger nurses.
“A lot of nurses come to me for advice or for emotional support when things are a bit tough, and I’ve always tried to teach them that family should come first.
“I aim to be flexible with my staff and meet their needs while making sure the ward keeps going, showing we're here to help as much as we can.”
Her legacy in paediatric nursing goes beyond conventional care, with a passion for oncology nursing, where she was a pioneer in developing guidelines and processes for oncology care in children.
As she retires, Sandra acknowledges the evolving nature of paediatric care and the responsibility to look after mental health, as well as physical.
“I think kids have changed, and their lives are more complex now, especially with changes to the family dynamic,” she said.
“There are a lot of families out there doing it tough, and mental health education has become a greater part of our focus. We're not only medical and surgical nurses, but there's mental health on top of it, as you care for all of the patient's needs.”
A morning tea was held for Sandra with staff paying tribute to her contributions to Barwon Health, before her final day on Friday 20 October.
