TWO Riverland mature-aged students have been awarded scholarships, named in honour of Loxton-born nurse Kirsty Boden, to help them complete their nursing degrees locally.
Third-year Flinders University students Tammy Stephenson and Hollie Bullock were chosen as the 2021 recipients of the Kirsty Boden Nursing Memorial Scholarship, granting them $10,000 towards their studies at the university’s Renmark campus.
The annual scholarship is supported by a grant from the State Government and named in honour of Kirsty Boden, who tragically died in the London Bridge terror attacks in 2017.
Ms Stephenson, of Monash, said she felt “completely humbled” to be granted the scholarship named after Ms Boden, who she said demonstrated that “caring for people is not a profession but a value”.
“I feel this is a realisation I have come to over the past few years of nursing study, that is, you can be taught nursing principles but the care you apply to people is something that doesn’t leave you when you’re not on shift,” she said.
“It’s a part of who you are.”
Ms Bullock, of Loxton, said she was honoured to receive the scholarship and remembered the sorrow within the local community following Ms Boden’s death.
Ms Bullock started her nursing studies after spending 12 years as a dental assistant, and becoming a mother of two children, now aged five and seven.
“I reached a point in my career after completing my family where I wanted more of a challenge,” she said.
“There are so many different aspects and career choices being a registered nurse, therefore I can always challenge myself by changing what area I work in or continuing to study.”
Both Ms Bullock and Ms Stephenson – whose daughter Alana was a scholarship recipient in 2020 – have experienced the real world of nursing, having completed various work placements including a four-week stint in the Northern Territory.
Ms Stephenson spent time in the remote town of Tennant Creek and was exposed to child health care, family health care and community nursing.
“I enjoyed becoming part of the local community and meeting the local Warrumunga people as many of the women shared some of their special places and stories with me which was such a privilege,” she said
“These placements are essential in putting theory into practice.
“They also provide you with a broader understanding of how broad nursing can be and therefore expand your ideas of career options.”
Flinders University nursing course co-ordinator Associate Professor Pauline Hill said students who completed their degrees at the Renmark campus reaped the benefits of rural practice.
“Regional nurses have greater responsibility and are exposed to a variety of patients and scenarios within a multidisciplinary team of health workers,” she said.
“Our Renmark students also become registered nurses who are more autonomous and in touch with their community.”