The Echuca mother-of-three has been nursing for 37 years, 18 of which have been at Echuca Regional Health.
And two years ago, she transitioned to the specialised area of community palliative care nursing.
“We meet people in a vulnerable stage of their life and our job is to not only support the patient but the family as well,” Jan said.
“Yes, our palliative care patients die, but dying is a normal part of life, everyone dies.
“My job helps people to die with comfort according to their wishes, be that at their own home or in hospital.
“Our team educates and supports families to know what to expect and how to help care for their loved ones.
“It's such a privilege to be involved with families at such a important time of their lives. We have tears some days, but tears are good.”
Jan said dying with dignity was so important, for the patient and the family left behind.
“Planning death often provides enormous comfort for a patient at the end of their life,” she said.
“It also helps families in the bereavement phase to know their loved one got their wishes and died comfortably without pain.”
Community palliative care nursing requires a diverse skill set, including patient assessment, communication skills, empathy, honesty and the ability to make people feel comfortable with a stranger entering their home.
“I joined a fabulous team who provides community palliative care to patients in their own homes across Campaspe Shire,” Jan said.
“I love meeting and caring for people and it's incredibly rewarding.
“I am lucky to be nursing in the current era where nurses are considered an instrumental part of the treating team.
“Currently nursing involves identifying symptoms and reporting, initiating treatment, being involved in discussions about management for a patient etc on top of supportive patient care, it is constantly advancing as a profession.”
Jan said she loved the variety of nursing, the ability to make a difference, working with a fantastic multidisciplinary team and mentoring young nurses.
“Nursing is amazing. Nurses are caring, well educated, professional, dedicated, strong, selfless, hardworking and normally have a fantastic sense of humor,” she said.
“Nurses spend so much time with patients and are instrumental cogs in the healthcare system.
“There have been beautiful reports in the past few weeks of COVID-19 patients dying with nurses holding their hand because families could not be present. That sums up nursing to me.”
Jan is one of several nurses the Riv is profiling as part of International Nurses Day on May 12.
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