Elizabeth Ryan

Nurse Manager, Emergency Department

Prince of Wales Hospital

“I directly manage about 100 nurses and then about 20 non clinical staff. I work closely with the medical co-directors. I think we have a really great team in ED, I’m really proud of them.

It’s a busy department and it can be quite stressful. None of our patients are starting their day expecting to end up in Emergency. So they’re already in a state of stress - whether it’s who’s picking the kids up from school, or the dogs locked in at home, or whether they’re stressed because they’ve got some life threatening illness. So small acts of kindness make an enormous difference. It could be getting a chair for their relative or making someone a cup of tea. Although they seem like miniscule things, those sort of small acts of kindness make a huge difference in someone’s care.”