Undergraduate Course Guide Fremantle 2020

32 While the fast pace of change in industry is something we have all come to expect, it’s not often you come across a true trail-blazer. But that’s exactly the status Notre Dame Nursing graduate, Amy Wallace, has achieved through her ground-breaking approach to mental health care. As a Clinical Nursing Specialist in Physical Health Care at Graylands Hospital, Amy spearheaded the establishment of a Wellness Clinic with two main aims: 1. To improve the physical health of current patients, taking a holistic approach to their wellbeing, including the introduction of sport as a key element in the recovery process; and 2. To introduce a communications campaign to increase awareness of wellness services among General Practitioners with a referral pathway for patients who experience mental health trauma. Reflecting the success of her innovative approach to mental health care, Amy received the WA Nurse of the Year Award at the 2017 Nursing and Midwifery Awards—the first mental health nurse in the history of the awards to be named Western Australia’s top Registered Nurse—and the Excellence in Registered Nursing Award. “The clinic is very much centred on that ethos of holistic care, looking at the entire person from top to toe,” says Amy. “In my role I constantly strive to achieve understanding of the very poor physical health of mental patients who have a gap in life expectancy of up to 30 years when compared to the general population. “For example, the introduction of a sports group for acute psychiatric inpatients has not only improved their physical health it has also significantly reduced aggression and self-harming behaviours and helped to reduce the amount of medication that they require.” The GP communications campaign has also paid dividends. Since the formal launch of the Graylands Hospital Wellness Clinic, the number of inpatients referred to Amy or a doctor at the clinic has increased more than seven-fold. “By continuing to address the issues, improve the quality of life in the mental health environment and promote positive messages to the wider health care community, I hope to inspire others to make a difference in this vital area of Nursing.” NURSING & MIDWIFERY Blazing a trail in mental health trauma Clinical Nursing Specialist WA Nurse of the Year 2017