Meet the newest addition to Logan Hospital's Endoscopy Unit: our Nurse Practitioner (NP) Candidate Jody Merrit.
Chances are you’ve seen her ‘scoping’ out the unit for the past 10 years and you’d be spot on.
Until recently, Jody was the CNC of the unit, but when the opportunity to dive deeper into the practice of Endoscopy presented, she leaped faster than a gastroenterologist chasing a runaway scope!
The newly onboarded NP Candidate said her motivation to apply for the position went beyond professional development to a strong desire to better serve the community’s healthcare needs.
“I believe it is a fabulous opportunity to assist in providing timely access for the community and be involved in the service expansion and to provide high quality healthcare,” she said.
As the successful candidate, Jody will now complete the two-year QUT Master of NP Endoscopist Program, along with supervised on-the-job learning.
At a recent workshop Jody performed her first colonoscopy under the watchful eye of Logan Hospital’s Director of Gastroenterology Dr Wiyang (Sean) Szetoo.
The procedure was also filmed* and observed in real-time by others attending the training, including two other NP Candidates from South-East Queensland.
Jody said the experience, including the critiquing and feedback sessions, was extremely valuable and it felt good to come together and support one another through the early stages of their journey.
Dr Szetoo said Jody’s abilities during the procedures surpassed his expectations but jokingly added he had to resist the urge to jump in and assist by holding his hands behind his back!
“Jody was very committed to the process, took feedback well and accomplished more than I would have expected,” he said.
He was eager to share his knowledge with Jody and said he intended to build on her current level, refine her endoscopic skills, and contribute to the development of a comprehensive approach to clinical decision-making.
*Patients involved in the two-day training procedures were carefully selected and consented to their procedures being filmed and used for educational purposes.