Assistant In Nursing (AIN) Minnie Chen wears compassion like a badge of honour.
Known for her contagious smile and caring nature, Minnie’s positive influence has left a lasting impression on patients and colleagues across QEII, and earned her the title of QEII’s 2024 International Nurses Day (IND) Compassion Award winner in May.
Minnie says it was her own parents who inspired her to make the switch to assistant nursing a decade ago, where she found her purpose in caring for others.
“Because I’m far away from my parents in China, I am not able to take care of them. When I started this role, I thought if I can help other older people, it’s like taking care of my own parents,” Minnie said.
Today, Minnie has amassed more than 10 years’ experience between aged care and hospital environments, where her pay-it-forward attitude brings big meaning to small everyday moments.
“I like working with older patients. When they need help to shower or wash their hair, I’m there and it makes their day. If they want to sing a song, I sing with them. If they want to pray or read the Bible, I do that with them too. I find so much joy in it, because I’m always thinking that I will be in that position one day, and I think about the kind of care that I would want,” she said.
“Every patient has a different background, and some have behaviours, but there are reasons behind every behaviour. I just try to engage with them, find out what’s going on, and we go from there.”
Visiting a different ward each day, Minnie spreads her positive influence and passion for patient-centred care throughout the QEII campus.
“I don’t mind which ward I go to, because when you put the patients at the centre, it doesn’t matter where you are,” she said.
“My focus is on the patient I’m helping, but I’m lucky to have a lot of guidance and support from all the teams here.
An inspiration to student nurses, trainees and her peers, Minnie has flourished as a mentor and a friend around the hospital, and looks forward to many more years of teamwork at QEII.
“Everyone plays their part to make a strong team. We have to be there to support new team members, because we all had a beginning and we all had to learn from each other and help each other,” she said.
“I want to stay here for a long time and be the best AIN I can be. I’m not the best at everything, but I do my best every day.”
Congratulations on this well-deserved achievement and thank you for all your amazing work, Minnie!