Lismore local, Janice moved to the region over 30 years ago from Sydney. As a nurse at the Lismore Base Hospital, Janice shares her story about why she loves nursing, the appeal of the Northern Rivers, and why she made the switch to Summerland.
Becoming a nurse
At school I was always interested in health and science. I just had a natural ability and seemed to do well at it, so that was the reason for getting into nursing. When I first started, I didn’t have a clue about nursing. Having begun my training in January 1981, I am now in my 39th year and still absolutely love my job.
Every day is different, and you always have so many stories to tell. The patients are just beautiful. If you can support the patients and their families, it makes a huge difference when they go home. I’m so pleased with the decision I made all those years ago, as it’s the best and most rewarding career.
Making a difference
I currently work as a surgical nurse at Lismore Base Hospital, where I’m in the new section of the hospital. It is an amazing state of the art facility, with dedicated professional staff working there.
As a nurse, I just love looking after people in my community and I enjoy giving them the best of care – I treat them as I would treat my family. In my role, you get to know the patients and their families, and they always have the most beautiful stories to tell, and those are the ones that stay close to my heart.
To give the patients I come into contact with, the best of care, respect and dignity they deserve is very important to me. If you can give them that, they will remember you and know that they can come to Lismore Base Hospital and feel safe and secure, knowing that there are people at the hospital that will look after them and make a difference to their lives.
Living in the Northern Rivers
Back in 1981 when I started nursing, I always had a plan that if I was going to have a family and children, I would move out of Sydney to somewhere that’s affordable but at the same time was beautiful and picturesque. When I moved to Lismore in 1990, I settled in East Lismore. The reason being it was family oriented and local to everything which included schools, buses and the university. It was just a lovely old established area.
The Northern Rivers just has this energy about it that draws you in. The countryside is lush and green, and with the people being lovely too, it has a special magic about it that I can’t explain. As I’ve come from Sydney where it’s very compact, you appreciate the spaciousness of the Northern Rivers. Understandably, it was also a lot cheaper to buy a house here.
On my days off, I like to go to the beach and on walks, as I have three dachshunds. They really are wonderful dogs; so I like to spend a lot of time with them. My pride and joy are my dragon fruit trees and I like to spend some time giving them some care and attention when I’m out in the garden. They’ve finally produced some fruit, which I can’t wait to try!
Switching to Summerland
Since the age of 16, I had an account with one of the big banks. Then at the end of last year the front of my house started to subside; which became a bit of an urgent job. Unfortunately, my bank didn’t make it easy for me, which first started with the bank telling me they wanted an engineer’s report. A representative from the bank then came out to my house, giving me a meagre valuation – I was devastated to say the least. They left me in a position where I just didn’t know what to do or who to turn to.
Fortunately, I had a close friend who had told me some pleasing things about Summerland Credit Union. When I came to talk to Penny at the Lismore branch, she didn’t see any issues. Penny helped me work out that I had some savings and a redraw available and was also able to get the loan approved quickly. I now have a better interest rate, I’ve got less debt and I’ve got a great relationship with them. Penny was amazing, she treated me like I was a person, not just a number.
Every time, I walk into Summerland in Lismore, it feels community minded and friendly. The fact that Summerland takes an interest in the hospital and puts money into supporting the Lismore Base Hospital Staff Appreciation Awards is wonderful. The awards recognise staff for their hard work hard and the positive things they do to make the hospital a better place for patients. I am proud to work at the Lismore Base Hospital with so many talented people and I am also pleased I made the switch to Summerland.
The statements are the opinions of the interviewee and should not be taken as financial advice from Summerland. Summerland loans are subject to lending criteria. Terms and conditions, fees and charges may apply
