By Craig Wilson.<\/p>\n
GARRY Tierney clearly likes people.<\/p>\n
About a minute into my interview with Garry I realise he\u2019s the real deal, a nurse with 45 years under his belt who still has a passion for people and caring for them.<\/p>\n
Garry has been at Willaura Hospital for three years, following a long stint working as a nurse in Ararat and New South Wales.<\/p>\n
He started training 45 years ago at Sydney\u2019s Adventist Hospital in 1977 in a class of eight men and 32 women.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great place to meet my current wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe married in 79, two years after we met and she blames me for dropping out of the nursing course. She became one of the first female ambulance officers in New South Wales,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From there he and wife Julie moved to Goulburn where Garry worked at the local base hospital, then as a psychiatric nurse at Kenmore Hospital before heading back to Sydney to work at Camden Hospital.<\/p>\n
After the birth of their twin boys, Garry and Julie returned to Victoria where they have been ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was from Melbourne and Julie was from Horsham so we though the Grampians would be a good spot, so we bought a bush block and owner-built our own house at the foot of the Grampians.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, I went to see Miss Hinchey at Ararat Hospital and she kindly offered me a part time job so I could earn some money while building the house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That part time job started a long and productive career nursing in the Ararat district.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started off on the private wards on the top floor with Edith Thomas, the charge nurse and Gwen Knight as her able assistant in 1988.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great place to work, some wonderful people worked there. Miss Hinchey the director of nursing was a real character and Garry Lewis was head surgeon in those days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Garry said once his house was built, he was able to secure a full time role at the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter finishing the house I wanted to go full time and I was offered the job of charge nurse on the first floor which was then the medical, surgical and children\u2019s ward, so it was quite a mixture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI then went to Pickford House for nine years in charge of the nursing home and then spent 14 years nursing people in palliative care.<\/p>\n
\u2018In palliative care, you are a stranger into someone\u2019s house so you have to be on their level, you can\u2019t come in gung-ho and say you need this or that. You\u2019ve got to come into a persons house, find out where they are at, everyone is at a different level and a different stage, and you do what they want.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting people to trust you in that situation is so important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After his time working in palliative care, Garry was looking for a change, taking on positions with Budja Budja and Willaura Hospital, before taking on a permanent role at Willaura.<\/p>\n
He said Willaura Hospital is an amazing facility, offering exceptional care and comfort to elderly residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like working in a big family here, the staff are fantastic, the kitchen staff, cleaners, domestic staff all work really well together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very old, historic hospital. I regularly get people coming in saying they were born here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When I asked what made a good nurse, Garry said the ability to listen to people is the key.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve found that just being a good listener is so important. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has something they want to share with you, to share what their condition is. You have to sit quietly and listen and ask questions at the right time. Being a good listener is half the battle,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaring for older, vulnerable people is a great privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou learn so much and its just a wonderful opportunity to make new friends. They\u2019ve all had vastly different backgrounds, careers, experiences, adventures and you can never stop learning and admiring and sharing in their excitement and joy of life well lived,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Garry said after 45 years of nursing, he\u2019s taking life one year at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago when I was riding my bike to work (from Moyston to Willaura) at six in the morning, in the dark, I was slowed down a bit when I hit a kangaroo. I ended up with a fractured hip and that slowed me down, I got an ambulance to Ararat and a helicopter rise to Royal Melbourne Hospital where we landed on the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I only ride my bike in daylight hours, at my wife\u2019s insistence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cycling had been an important part of Garry\u2019s life, especially the annual Murray to Moyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have ridden 13 Murray to Moyne\u2019s, it has been a wonderful privilege to be with East Grampians Health Service to raise money for various items along the way. We had a fantastic group of people with us and it was great fun along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I would still do it but I have an e-bike now so I don\u2019t think they would let me in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Garry said nursing was an incredible profession, encouraging young people to consider it as a career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens so many doors. It is such a wonderful opportunity to experience so many fields, I mean look at me, I have worked in so many different areas and I\u2019ve had such a wonderful time. You can work wherever you like in any part of the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve even worked in Goulburn Jail, it just takes you so many places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garry said his wife Julie had been his \u201crock\u201d over the past 45 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has been a great support to me. Without her I wouldn\u2019t be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a Christian and I owe a lot of my achievements to God because he has supported me all of the way. It has been a great blessing to have him in my life,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be a Christian gives you great values and teaches you to love and care for your fellow man and be humble. Without God, I don\u2019t think I would be here today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Garry said his next stage of life is all mapped out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a caravan at home and we love travelling and exploring Australia. In 1999, we had long service leave and travelled around Australia with our children when they were young and we\u2019d love to go back again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have four grandchildren now so we are tied to Victoria and Tasmania and we have a daughter in Perth, so we are spread around a bit,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GARRY Tierney clearly likes people.
\nAbout a minute into my interview with Garry I realise he\u2019s the real deal, a nurse with 45 years under his belt who still has a passion for people and caring for them.
\nGarry has been at Willaura Hospital for three years, following a long stint working as a nurse in Ararat and New South Wales.
\nHe started training 45 years ago at Sydney\u2019s Adventist Hospital in 1977 in a class of eight men and 32 women.
\nSee the story in the current print edition of your locally owned Ararat Advocate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[31],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_0246-4-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdqUu4-kf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1255"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}