specialty focus
working as a nurse coordinator, which is basically a fertility nurse.
I work with a small team of nurses. We work with three doctors
and coordinate the care of patients going through assisted
reproductive treatment. Not just IVF, but also giving advice on
intercourse in a natural cycle as well, based on the timing of their
cycle, and also their hormones with blood tests and ultrasounds.
I know better than to ask a nurse what a typical day involves,
but what are some of the key elements of your current role?
It’s a seven day a week clinic, and so we do work a rotating roster.
We don’t have any night shifts, it’s usually 8am to 5pm. It’s less of a
clinical role and more of a counselling, educator role for patients,
and we coordinate the care of patients undergoing their assisted
reproductive treatment. We liaise with doctors, embryologists and
patients in regards to their treatment schedules and their results.
It’s more just educating patients about their natural cycle, as well
as how we tweak their cycle for the IVF process. We teach them
about the medications they need to be using, the procedures that
are involved, the side effects, and the embryology process.
So what happens in the lab once we’ve collected their eggs and
we fertilise them? I meet with patients face to face in our morning
clinic, which we run daily, and for the initial consultations, and
throughout their treatment. We chat to them over the phone and
through email.
What are some of the conversations you look forward to having
with patients?
I think all of us love talking to a patient with a positive pregnancy
result, particularly if they’ve been having cycle after cycle. It’s
quite an emotionally draining process to go through, and you
go throu