The 31-year-old suffered workplace burnout twice. And almost gave up the career he loves.
That is why he has spent the past three years developing a new app; to support those most at risk and help curb the stress associated with the job.
Athol, who grew up in Lockington, is about to launch fwards; an app specifically designed to help health professionals manage the demands of working on the frontline of healthcare.
“I wanted to create an app that would help myself and my colleagues perform better at work, but also help us to manage the challenges that shift work has on our personal lives,” he said.
“Helping nurses prepare for shift work but also to help them to offload, unwind, rest and recover after a stressful week looking after patients.”
Inspired by his decade-long experiences in nursing, including time as a critical care nurse in Echuca and Bendigo hospitals, Athol said the app would help nurses manage the challenges of shift work, disconnected teams, financial uncertainty and difficulty managing their time outside of work.
“It's never been so important to support nurses, who are now right at the centre of the current pandemic,” he said.
“The spread of COVID-19 has created tension in healthcare systems across the world, creating new and emerging challenges for healthcare workers.”
Although he said Australia had not yet felt the full weight of the crisis, healthcare workers were already feeling the pressure and anxiety about what was to come.
“There are concerns about how the new challenges brought on by COVID-19 are going to impact the nursing workforce, who already experience high levels of stress, fatigue, uncertainty and burnout and we need to be looking for solutions to support the workforce right now, and into the future,” he said.
“Stress, fatigue and burnout are not new to nursing, and we need to ensure that resources for nursing staff continue well after the initial challenges of the pandemic subside.”
Growing up on a dairy farm in Lockington, Athol has been working as a clinical emergency department nurse in Mackay for more than two years.
“We’ve got 12 cases in our catchment area so we’re preparing for the possibility of a lot of people getting it and treating it as best we can,” he said.
Athol said supporting frontline staff to be their best selves at work and home benefitted individual workers, the healthcare system and the wider community.
“Happy, fulfilled and rested nurses equal better outcomes for everyone, particularly for patients whose lives can depend on the actions of the nurses they trust to care for them,” he said.
His app will be available in the first week of May.
To find out more, visit fwards.com