This International Nurses Day (May 12) is focused on empowering current and future nurses. Uniting AgeWell celebrates its diverse nursing workforce and strives to continue to be an employer of choice for nurses in aged care.

Udan’s story is just one example of a nursing journey here at Uniting AgeWell, but it is a strong endorsement for seeking out continuous learning and improvement opportunities as part of building a lifelong career.

“You have to be continuously learning, but at the same time more qualifications don’t always make a great nurse.”

Udan wouldn’t describe himself as great, but among our nurses, he stands out. In just six and a half years at Uniting AgeWell, he has achieved remarkable career progression. Especially considering he left his birthplace of Sri Lanka less than a decade ago.

Udan farewelled his mother and brother to pursue a career in health with a purpose, a level of determination that inspires.

“I always joke with my Mum, that if I was to lose everything and you put me in a different country, I have the skills to be okay,” he laughs.

Skills and opportunity are what Udan values most in his nursing career. Both have shaped his rapid journey from Personal Care Worker while studying, to Enrolled Nurse, Registered Nurse, and now one of Uniting AgeWell’s youngest Care Managers at Andrew Kerr Care Community in Mornington.

He spent two years working through the worst of COVID at his “first home,” Strathdon Community in Forest Hill. As lockdowns isolated aged care communities and residents became increasingly vulnerable, Udan felt the weight of his responsibilities.

“With families not even being able to visit, at one point you become their family,” he says. “Sometimes you are their final face or person they get a little comfort with.”

The experience led Udan to complete a Postgraduate qualification in Infection Control, winning an academic award for the highest GPA within James Cook University that year.

Udan did his acute training at Austin Hospital. There, clinical educators were onsite and constantly available, but often taken for granted. Now with a few more years under his belt and working in a setting where educators move between sites – Udan is grateful for any learning and development opportunities that arise and is more proactive seeking them out.

With more clients arriving sicker and with greater cognitive complexity than ever before, aged care nursing now requires strong subacute skills, The stigma that aged care nurses are less clinically skilled is becoming more and more outdated.

Udan believes nurses who actively invest in ongoing education are the ones who will thrive as the discipline continues to evolve.

“Hone your skills in specific areas – it’s not about giving medication or just being there. Hone or gain skills to become an industry leader, because it’s possible.”

Now in a leadership role, Udan is focused on creating those opportunities for others. He knows his own progression began with a leader who recognised his potential.

“It’s just one person that had that faith in me that inspired me to work for six and a half years and progress in this industry,” he said. “We need more leaders like that.”

Udan is determined to be one.