With our Length of Service Awards approaching, we are proud to say we have some employees celebrating a staggering 45 years of service.
One such employee is Director of Nursing, Sharon Wood.
Sharon has experienced many proud moments in her 45 years at Monash Health. But perhaps most of all, she feels privileged to have helped shape its culture and nursing practice.
Sharon joined Prince Henry’s in 1977 as a Registered General Nurse. She also trained as a midwife and studied advanced nursing. When Monash Medical Centre was created in 1987, Sharon helped to develop its culture and systems from a combination of existing and new facilities.
Her many roles have included interim Executive Director of Nursing/Chief Nursing Officer, and senior nursing director positions at Monash Medical Centre, the Kingston Centre, Moorabbin Hospital, and Monash Cancer Centre.
Highlights include helping commission the McCulloch House Palliative Care Unit and a long-standing relationship with the Moorabbin Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, which has raised funds since the 1970s.
Sharon has mentored nurse leaders and introduced clinical nurse consultants and nurse practitioners in urology, head and neck cancer, gynaecology/oncology, oncology, and metastatic breast cancer. She was also a director of Prince Henry’s Hospital Credit Co‐Operative, which became Monash Medical Centre Credit Union, and enhanced its services by merging with the police credit union (now BankVic).
Nursing has changed a lot in 45 years, with nurses more involved in planning and delivering patient-centred care.
“This is a change that I’m pleased to have fostered, encouraged and continue to participate in,” Sharon says.
Technology has revolutionised medical records, which are finally fully online. “Gone are the days of writing hourly obs in a folder or waiting hours, or sometimes days for testing results,” Sharon says.
“In my various roles, I have participated in significant improvements in the patient experience, with patients and their families who are now involved in the planning of and participation in their care. I’ve been given many opportunities to develop my own skills and contribute to Monash Health for which I’m grateful. I’m extremely proud to call myself a ‘Monash Health Nurse’.”
Approved by Louise Kanis and Katrina Nankervis