Princess Alexandra Hospital Nurse Practitioner, Chunyan (Jen) Zhen is kicking goals in her specialty of Diabetes and Endocrinology and has now expanded her practice into Osteoporosis.
“Being a Nurse Practitioner is very rewarding,” Jen said 12 months into her qualification as an NP.
“I feel a lot more confidence. My consultations with patients have shortened as I can more efficiently and effectively get the information from the patients. This enabled me to commence upskilling for the osteoporosis part of the role.”
Jen’s commitment to doing what is best for the patient was what motivated her to qualify as a Nurse Practitioner. Her former role as a diabetes educator (CN) for seven years involved her operating as the middle person in the complex equation of chronic disease management.
“I found the process of calling the patients, getting data, consulting with the specialist or other clinicians, then getting back to the patient involved steps that seem to lengthen the delivery of care to the patients,” she said.
“Within my scope as an NP, I get to review patients with more complexity and have more clinical communication with other clinicians, particularly the specialists in haematology/oncology as well as immunology and gastroenterology. This makes the role more diverse.”
During training and the first six months as a graduate NP, Jen undertook case reviews of all her patients with her mentors. From there, her process was about making clinical decisions that were patient-centred, cautious, safe and focussed on progress.
Jen says the sheer size of the hospital and the many patients who require complex case management across different specialties make working at PA Hospital enjoyable with adventurous approaches to diabetes care.
“I get to see different patients every day; this dynamic is quite rewarding at this stage of my career.”