Rebecca Johnson

Acting Nurse Unit Manager, 3 East

St George Hospital

“St George Hospital is one of the only places in NSW at the moment that does peritonectomy surgery, so it’s a majority of our patient base. On this ward the nurses are very skilled and our patients stay for long periods of time. For a surgical ward, we have patients that stay up to six weeks. 

Recently, one of our patients didn’t receive great news. We are really attached to her; she’s been coming back for years. She wanted to renew her wedding vows, but because she lost so much weight, her wedding dress didn’t fit. One of our staff members who used to be a seamstress came in, on his own time, and fitted her dress. It was just a really beautiful experience for everyone on the ward. It’s nice that staff were involved in something that made somebody so happy. It’s so lovely to work with people who are so willing to take their own time to do that.

Ever since I was a student I always liked getting to know patients and their families over a period of time. Seeing them get better, or with patients that don’t get better, you give them dignity at the end of their life and make their last moments with their family as well as they can be.”