Clinical Care Coordinator and registered nurse, Nipuni Kodagoda has been working at our Elizabeth Gardens community — a place she calls home — for an impressive 21 years and considers herself privileged to have cared for so many people in that time.
“It’s special to be an aged care nurse and it’s very rewarding. You stay because you love it,” Nipuni says.
Nipuni always knew that she wanted to become a nurse — she comes from a long line of them and has always had a heart to help people.
“I’ve always liked to help people and had a passion for providing them with good care. My mother was a nurse, and my grandmother was a nurse, so it runs through my blood. I like to see that people are happy and cared for.”
While Nipuni provides excellent clinical care, she is particularly passionate about caring for the whole person and values the relationships of trust she has built with the residents that make them feel at home.
“I love providing holistic care to our residents,” she says. “As a nurse I deal with their clinical issues, but my happiness is about making their life comfortable and making sure they feel valued.”
“When I started here when I was younger, I thought, this is an area where I can make a difference in people’s lives and make them smile.”
While Nipuni highly recommends aged care nursing, she says you need to have certain qualities and skills to succeed in the role.
“You have to have lots of patience and empathy and understand that every resident is different and provide care according to their particular needs”, she says. “Teamwork and good communication skills are also very important because you are dealing with lots of different people in order to provide that personalised care, such as families, allied health, doctors and personal carers.”
In her 21 years as a nurse at Royal Freemasons, Nipuni says making residents happy has always been the highlight.
“To see the residents smile — that’s my ultimate goal,“ she says. “I want them to feel that coming into aged care is not a sad place. I want them to feel that it’s a transition from home to home.”
If you would like to join the team at Royal Freemasons, visit: royalfreemasons.org.au/careers
