Sophie is loving her new role in Nursing Education

Associate Nurse Unit Manager, Sophie Conallin has enthusiastically embraced a new challenge as the Clinical Support Nurse in Edenhope, as part of the 110 strong Grampians Health Nursing & Midwifery Education and Training team.

Sophie, a Registered Nurse joined Grampians Health 18 months ago, after completing a Bachelor of Nursing at La Trobe University Bendigo. Growing up on a sheep farm in Deniliquin, New South Wales, Sophie worked at a local café whilst completing her studies.

Reflecting on her motivation to pursue nursing as a career, Sophie shared, "I have always wanted to be a nurse  since I was little. My grandmother, great aunts, and auntie are all nurses, so that definitely influenced me."

Sophie got a taste for the role when her predecessor was on leave and she was asked to fill in “I decided I really quite enjoyed it and when they started a new role in Grampians Health I applied”.

In her role as a Clinical Support Nurse, Sophie is primarily responsible for supervising nursing students from a variety of education providers both in Victoria and interstate, to provide them with the best possible clinical learning environment and opportunities.

She spoke about her aspirations for the role, saying, "Hopefully, I can ensure that nursing staff feel confident and competent in all nursing procedures they have to complete. I hope that we can increase their knowledge and allow them to try new things and be a wealth of knowledge for more junior staff."

Sophie works with various teams to promote continuous professional development at Edenhope, stating, "I would love to implement weekly in-services with staff, covering a new topic each week. Or running simulations of a code blue situation or a deteriorating patient to allow staff to increase their confidence and define their skills for these events."

Whilst it can be challenging balancing her dual roles of Clinical Support Nurse and Associate Nurse Unit Manager, Sophie was optimistic in her aim to implement further educational activities in Edenhope, and in collaboration with educators throughout the Grampians Health team.