Their profession was in the spotlight on International Nurses Day last week, as it highlighted the constant work nurses do to keep their communities safe.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the immense contributions made by nurses into the spotlight. But nursing doesn’t stop, just because the virus is becoming manageable.
Ms Edwards, who is Finley born and raised, says she loves nursing in the community she was brought up in.
‘‘I’m from Finley, I was born just up there (in the hospital). My mum was a nurse here, now I’m nursing.
‘‘It’s nice to see local people coming in and I think it makes them more comfortable when they get to see a familiar face.
‘‘I like when they run into my dad down the street, and tell him, ‘oh, your daughter looked after me!’
‘‘That’s why I do my job. I like working here, I like Finley,’’ Ms Edwards said.
Ms Permezel grew up near Wagga, and she says community nursing has her heart too.
‘‘You get back so much more. You see people in the community after you’ve seen them at the hospital.
‘‘Everyone sort of knows what you’ve done. It’s so much more intimate, because you see them, and their family, and you get more feedback.
‘‘We care about our country areas.
‘‘Death rates are higher out here than in the city, so you care about it more.
‘‘You really care. You want good care to be coming out of your hospital, into your community,’’ she said.
Nursing is not without its challenges, the pair said.
It’s demanding, and high stress, and smaller resource pools mean that nurses sometimes have to put out more, with less.
‘‘We’ve got next to no mental health resources in rural areas; that’s probably the hardest, I reckon,’’ Ms Edwards said.
‘‘There’s not really a patient that’s easy to get back home, because out here there’s less services, but in a bigger town there are so many resources.
‘‘Just speaking out about it is important,’’ Ms Permezel said.
But the pair say they wouldn’t trade their jobs for anything else.
‘‘I’m happy every day when I wake up and go to work, I love just being around people,’’ Ms Permezel said.
‘‘Nursing out here, you see so much; you see so many cool things,’’ she added.
‘‘Being a nurse, you have so much initiative, you just get on,’’ Ms Edwards said.
‘‘You have to be able to be fluid, and go with the change. You have to move with your community,’’ Ms Permezel said.
‘‘It was hard last year, but already we’ve bounced back, and we’re back in it.’’
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