Holly Robinson’s passion for her patients wins her a national Nurse of the Year award

The following piece was first published in the Macarthur Chronicle.

Registered nurse and Macarthur General Practice Manager Holly Robinson.

GROWING up in the Macarthur region, nurse Holly Robinson has a passion for its residents and is driven to give back and improve health outcomes.

Ms Robinson, 32, of The Oaks, performs the dual role of registered nurse and practice manager at Macarthur General Practice, at Park Central and has a real love of her work.

Passionate about education, she also runs nurse-led clinics for patients in chronic diseases, health assessment­ and preventive health.

"We, as nurses in general practice, get to influence so much change in the community,'' she said.

"We are not defined by a particular area. We see people of all ages, presentations and illnesses.

"It's great to utilise knowledge and skills and to educate myself to provide health care in public health settings.

"We strive to get our patients­ accountable for their health care.''

Keen to make a difference, Ms Robinson also sits on local health board committees that are developing change in mental health and chronic diseases.

"It's very interesting and I work with other GPs, community groups, council and Aboriginal health centres,'' she said.

"We all work together to improve health outcomes for the community.

"It's very important that we are involved in the community so we can utilise what people offer and the funding that is available.''

Ms Robinson also mentors undergraduate and graduate nurses and doctors as they transition to work and said this role was particularly important to her.

"I help to set them up for a solid pathway in their career­. It can be a daunting time for them,'' she said.

Ms Robinson's devotion and dedication to her field was rewarded when she won the Australian Primary Health Care Nurse Association (APNA) Nurse of the Year Award.

She was shocked and humbled and did not expect­ to win the award at APNA's national conference in Hobart last week.

The award acknowledges nurses who give back to the community, and it looks at their skills and how they forward them on as mentors.

Ms Robinson said she followed in the footsteps of her aunt Sheila, who is a nurse at Campbelltown Private Hospital, when she decided to enter the profession and she has not regrets.

"It's an interesting career for people. People think it's just working in a hospital but nursing is so much more,'' she said.

Ms Robinson studied nursing at Western Sydney University and worked as an undergraduate at Camden and Campbelltown hospitals before training as a midwife.

She moved to general practice after the birth of her first child, Lachlan, now 10.

Ms Robinson also has a daughter Daphne, 4, and said her children were her motivation to go to work.

"Coming home and walking into their smiling faces is also a motivator,'' she said.

"My children are my life and I can switch off and be a child again with them.''

The simple pleasures of going to the park or washing the dog with her children also gave her a great deal of joy.