After opening our new Emergency Department at Monash Medical Centre, we spoke with Dawn MacRae to talk about her experience as the Emergency Department Nurse Manager.
Dawn has been the Nurse Manager at Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department for the past two years and describes her role as being “a jack of all trades”, responsible for managing and leading our emergency department nurse employees.
Dawn’s nursing background is in General Medicine, but she made a move to the Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department in 2020.
Dawn said, “moving to the emergency department was a career progression for me to expand and stretch my skill set as a nurse manager”.
A look inside the Children’s Emergency Department
The first stage of the Emergency Department redevelopment opened in March 2021.Dawn stated the Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department is unique due to the level of care provided to the community, from pre-birth to end-of-life.
“We are the only hospital in the state that is a tertiary emergency department which provides care to adults and paediatrics. Whether you are having your baby here or need paediatric, adolescent, or adult care, we provide that.”
Dawn and her nursing team have recently moved into our new Emergency Department, and she provided some insight into the new facilities.
“It is great having a space that is fit for purpose to deliver care. The cubicles and the rooms have all been designed to accommodate for different patient cohorts.”
“We have procedure treatment rooms designed for paediatrics, their families and carers and sensory rooms for mental health patients, which means we can deliver better care in an appropriate environment which allows us to provide care to patients in a timely manner.”
Dawn describes the work culture at Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department to be very team-based.
“Everyone is so supportive, kind and caring. It is a very high functioning team, where everybody wants to perform to the best that they can and deliver excellent care.”The nursing team at Monash Medical Centre Emergency Department are excited to be working in the new facilities.Dawn said her favourite part of her day is doing her round in the morning.
“I’m able to check on all my employees and Nurse Unit Managers, and through this I get to see them grow and watch their clinical progression.”
“We are very focused on supporting our employees to grow in their careers and offer opportunities to learn through different cohorts with a multidisciplinary team approach that has great medical and nursing collaboration. We grow you for life here.”
With the Emergency Department at Monash Medical Centre expanding to help care for more people in southeast Melbourne, Monash Health is now recruiting more healthcare professionals to join our team.
Dawn is eager to see the team grow and has a clear message for anyone who might be thinking about applying.
“I would say to come and join us. I would encourage you to apply for the nursing roles at Monash Medical Centre because we offer safe, high-quality care across the entire lifespan. We have great education frameworks and professional development. If you come with some experience from other organisations, we will recognise prior learnings so you can be placed where you want to be, and we can start progressing you.”
To learn more about vacant roles in our Emergency Department, visit our Emergency Department Careers website.
