VICDOC Winter 2022 - Magazine - Page 48
“We were counting boxes of gowns and
working out how much hand sanitiser we would
need. As part of our huddle we were giving stock
updates making sure we would have enough
gowns over the weekend shifts. Things I had
never had to directly address in such a
way before.
“The nature of working in a small region
meant that all of our staff work elsewhere, so
the rumours that they heard from their other
services were feeding anxiety into ours, but credit
to our executive and stores, their messaging
was very consistent — we have enough
equipment, we just have to ask.”
Not one to shy away from a challenge, in
the middle of 2021 Georgina fell pregnant with
daughter, Ava, who was born early in 2022.
This meant she found herself, a mother to four
young daughters already, pregnant, working in
a busy emergency department in the middle of
a pandemic.
Georgina said she focused on the positives.
“I was grateful that I was pregnant in 2021 as I
was double vaccinated by that point which was
a great reassurance and I got my third dose as
soon as I could,” she said.
“I also had the benefit of reflecting on the
prior 12 months and seeing women who had been
pregnant and given birth to healthy babies, and
knowing that there were no major links with fetal
or congenital abnormalities which are the things
that would have worried me.
“But no doubt it was tiring. Working long
hours in a N95 mask, I found I got short of
breath with a big baby and a big belly.
“I did take some precautions to avoid some
suspected COVID-19 cases in my last trimester
and my team were very supportive and I am
grateful they took on that extra load and risk
for me.”
Georgina also experienced the challenges of
giving birth in the middle of a pandemic that have
affected all other women who normally enjoy this
time with family and friends.
“It was just my partner and I at the hospital with
no other visitors allowed, which was hard on my
older child who couldn’t participate,” she said.
“Then when we got home we just locked down
a little bit as a family to reduce our risk. We are
realistic though, our older children are now at
school and we know so many families who have
had COVID-19 so we are just waiting until it hits us.”
Georgina’s experience is exceptionally rare.
As a woman, it is still relatively uncommon to lead
an Emergency Department and then continue to
take on that challenge while raising a family.
When Georgina first took on the role of
St John of God Geelong Hospital Director of
Emergency Medicine in 2015, she was the
only female in the region at such a level.
In 2020 she started her Masters of Business
Administration at Deakin University and in
mid-2021 took on her first Board role at
Colac Area Health.
“One of the best things that has come out for
COVID-19 for me in a professional sense has been
the creation of a women in leadership within
emergency medicine group which we have used
to share information, and issues at the same time
as discussing difficulties in juggling things like
parenting. It has been so supportive,” she said.
“I do want to highlight that throughout this
pandemic, as throughout my entire time leading
the hospital’s Emergency Department, it has been
a team effort. I feel that, especially in emergency
medicine, it is very much a team environment.
Whether you are a registrar, consultant or a
junior doctor you pick up the next patient waiting
to be seen and you do your best with the support
from your colleagues to care for that patient and
their loved ones.”
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