Tracey Nielsen

Nurse

I feel very fortunate to be entrusted to support our students to make positive choices about their health and wellbeing. My background is predominantly in critical care nursing, and mostly in a hospital setting. Throughout my nursing career I have always felt that I have been in a privileged position; supporting people through a specific time in their life-whether it be an illness, the birth of a child, or a critical event. MLC has a wonderful pastoral care team and the nurses are often the first port of call for the students when they require support.

The role can be quite varied on a day-to-day basis; sometimes we may assist a student who has a complex need and other times we may hand out band-aids and ice packs. During the winter months, our team of three nurses will see between 50-60 students a day. Being able to provide holistic care and assist the students helps them to focus on their education and optimise their learning. I have been in my role for nearly 10 years and it is really exciting to see how the girls have grown and developed into such lovely resourceful young women. I hope I have had a positive influence in their time at MLC.

One of the things I enjoy most about my role at MLC is that I am able to work with so many different people, both on the campus and beyond, as we all work together to support the girls. This involves all of the MLC community, from teachers to the grounds staff to the boarding community. We also liaise closely with external supports such as the GPs, specialists, physiotherapists and anyone else who is working with the students and their family. This allows us to provide holistic care for each of the girls.

I also enjoy working in such a lovely physical environment. The Health Centre is in the Centenary Building and being able to look across the Great Court and the grounds each day is really beautiful. It is a lovely feeling to be surrounded by so much history and watch the girls become part of that history as they complete their education.